Aligarh Muslim University of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh अलीगढ़ मुस्लिम विश्वविद्यालय, علی گڑھ مسلم یونیورسٹی

Aligarh Muslim University of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) (अलीगढ़ मुस्लिम विश्वविद्यालय,علی گڑھ مسلم یونیورسٹی),is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920. Spread over 468 hectares in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the first institutions established during the British Raj. It has played a pioneering role in the independence of India. The university is one of the two in India to have earned the epithet Oxford of the East in its past. Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 300 courses in the traditional and modern branches of education. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a social reformer, felt the need for education and started a school in 1875 which later became the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College and finally Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. It draws students from all corners of the world, especially Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. In some courses, places are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries. The university is open to all irrespective of caste, creed, religion or gender. It ranks 8th among the top 20 research universities in India. Alumna of the university are popularly known as 'Aligarians'. This is to be distinguished from the more generic 'Aligarhiya' which is to be used exclusively to refer to those who are inhabitants of Aligarh, but have not, indeed, studied at AMU

About Aligarh Muslim University

The establishment of Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College(MAO College) in 1875 marks one of the most important events in the educational and social history of modern India. Its establishment is considered as the first significant response of the Indian Muslims to the challenges of post Indian Mutiny of 1857 era. It was an important catalyst in a process of social change among Muslims. "An epoch in the social progress of India" - with these words on his lips Lord Lytton laid the foundation stone of the Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College on January 8, 1877. Nearly eight years later, when the noted Orientalist Sir Hamilton Gibb looked back at the history of Muslim Transition from the medieval to the modern way of life, he characterized this College as "the first modernist institution in Islam".

The M.A.O. College was originally affiliated with Calcutta University, and was transferred to the Allahabad University in 1885.It was also around this time that a movement began to have it develop into a university to stand on its own. In 1920, the Act of Indian Legislative Council elevated the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College to the status of a Central University and it became the principal Muslim Institution in India. Section 2(1) of the AMU Act says the university means "the educational institution of their choice established by the Muslims of India".

AMU occupies an exalted position among Indian Universities and its contribution to nation building is in no way inferior to the best among the lot. AMU is perhaps the only University in the country, which has high schools in its domain. It has as many as five high schools including one for the visually handicapped, and two senior secondary schools for boys and girls. With more than 30000, students, about 1400 teachers and some 6000 non-teaching staff on its rolls, it has 12 faculties comprising a wide spectrum of academic disciplines (95 departments, 5 institution and 13 centres) and 18 halls of residence with 73 hostels. The University offers 325 courses.

The University has the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Dr. Ziauddin Dental College, Institute of Ophthalmology and Food Craft Institute, Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Centre of Advance Study in History, Centre of West Asian Studies, Centre of Wildlife, Academic Staff College, Women's College, Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, University Polytechnic for boys and girls, separately and Computer Centre. The University has a campus spread over 467.6 hectares of land.

It attracts students from all over the world, especially Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. The language taught here includes English, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, French, Turkish, German and Russian. The medium of instruction is primarily English.

History Aligarh Muslim University

The university grew out of the work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who in the aftermath of the Indian War of Independence of 1857 felt that it was important for Muslims to gain education and become involved in the public life and Government Services in India. Raja Jai Kishan helped Sir Syed in establishing the university.

The British decision to replace the use of Persian in 1842 for government employment and as the language of Courts of Law caused deep anxiety among Muslims of the sub-continent. Sir Syed saw a need for Muslims to acquire proficiency in the English language and Western Sciences if the community were to maintain its social and political clout, particularly in Northern India. He began to prepare for the formation of a Muslim University by starting schools. In 1864, the Scientific Society of Aligarh was set up to translate Western works into native languages as a prelude to prepare the community to accept Western education. Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah, The Aga Khan III has contributed greatly to Aligarh Muslim University with financial support.

In 1875, Sir Syed founded the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he had visited on a trip to England. His objective was to build a college in tune with the British education system but without compromising its Islamic values. Sir Syed's son, Syed Mahmood, had studied at Cambridge and contributed a proposal for an independent university to the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Fund Committee upon his return from England in 1872. This proposal was adopted and subsequently modified. Mahmood continued to work alongside his father in founding the college.

It was one of the first purely residential educational institution set up either by the government or the public in India. Over the years it gave rise to a new educated class of Muslims who were active in the political system of the British Raj. When Viceroy to India, Lord Curzon visited the college in 1901, he praised the work which was carried on by the College and called it of "sovereign importance".

The college was originally affiliated with the University of Calcutta, and was transferred to the Allahabad University in 1885. Near the turn of the century it began publishing its own magazine, and established a law school.

It was also around this time that a movement began to have it develop into a university. To achieve this goal, expansions were made and more programs added to the curriculum. A school for girls was established in 1907. By 1920 the college was transformed into Muslim University.

The first chancellor of the university was a female, Sultan Shah Jahan Begum. In 1927, a school for the blind was established, and the following year, a medical school was attached to the university. By the end of the 1930s, the university had developed an Engineering faculty. Syed Zafarul Hasan, joined the Aligarh Muslim University in early 1900s as Head of Philosophy Department, Dean Faculty of Arts. He was a pro-Vice Chancellor prior to his retirement.