Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University
The seal of the Aligarh Muslim University
Motto	Arabic: عَلَّمَ الاِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَم‎ ‘allama’l-insāna mā lam ya‘lam
Motto in English	Taught man what he did not know (Qur'an 96:5)
Established	1875 (as MAO College) 1920 (as AMU)
Type	Public
Endowment	$18.2 million
Vice-Chancellor	Lt. General Zameerud-din Shah
Academic staff	2,000
Students	30,000
Location	Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Campus	Urban 467.6 hectares (1,155 acres)
Acronym	AMU
Colors
Affiliations	UGC, NAAC, AIU
Website	www.amu.ac.in

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Victoria gate, a prominent building at the university

Maulana Azad Library (viewed from Kennedy Lawns)

Kennedy House, museum (left); auditorium (right)

Bab-e-syed, the gateway to AMU

University canteen

SS Masjid beside Strachey Hall, AMU Aligarh

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is a public university, funded by the central government of India. It was established by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, in 1875 which later became Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO College). It was designed to train Muslims for government service in India and prepare them for advanced training in British universities. The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. The main campus of AMU is located in the city of Aligarh. There are two fully functioning off-campus centers located in the cities of Malappuram and Murshidabad.

History

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 foundation 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 Indian 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 Indian 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 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, The Aligarian, 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 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 before his retirement.

Before 1939, faculty and students supported an all-India nationalist movement. After 1939, political sentiment shifted toward support for a Muslim separatist movement. University Students and faculty mobilised behind Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the University hence became an epicenter of Pakistan Movement.

Campus

Spread over 467.6 hectares in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The campus of AMU has a wide variety of architectural influences ranging from Islamic Architecture to contemporary architectures. The university has full fledged sports facilities like a football field, basketball courts, tennis courts, swimming pools, skating facilities, its own cricket ground etc. AMU is one of the very few universities across the globe to have its own horse-riding club. AMU has a long history of being a culturally active institution with a number of alumni in the performing arts industry of India like Naseeruddin Shah, Javed Akhtar etc.

The university has a number halls of residence for students. Majority of the students live in the on-campus facilities. The university also provides housing for the faculty members, the university housing is commonly known as the Medical Colony, due to its proximity to the Medical College.

Academics and Courses

Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 300 courses in the traditional and modern branches of education. It draws students from all corners of the world, especially Africa, West Asia and Southeast 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. Recently, AMU was ranked 9 among the top 10 Indian institutions by the Times Higher Education India rankings. Alumni of the university are popularly known as Aligarians (the more generic Aligarhiya is used to refer to inhabitants of Aligarh who have not studied at AMU.)

It has more than 30,000, students, about 1,400 teachers and some 6,000 non-teaching staff on its rolls, with 12 faculties in 95 departments, 5 institution and 13 centres. There are 18 halls of residence with 73 hostels. Prominent divisions include Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Dr. Ziauddin Dental College, Institute of Ophthalmology, 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 medium of instruction is primarily English. It has as many as five high schools including one for the visually handicapped, and two senior secondary schools for boys and girls.

Aligarh Muslim University is a residential academic institution offering 280. It has almost 30,000 students, and over 2,000 faculty members with over 80 departments of study. It draws students from a number of countries, especially those in Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. In some courses, seats are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries.

Ranking

In 2012, the university was ranked 5th by India Today. In 2013, the University ranked 9th in the top 10 higher education institutions in India by Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Vice-chancellors

Muhammad Ali Jinnah's will, excerpt

The vice-chancellors of Aligarh Muslim University are:

1. Raja Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan 20 December 1920 – 28 February 1923
2. Mohammad Muzammillah Khan Serwani (Acting) 1 March 1923 – 31 December 1923; 1 January 1927 - 8 February 1929
3. Sahebzada Aftab Ahmad Khan 16 February 1924 – 15 November 1926
4. Shah Mohammad Sulaiman Ahmad (Acting) 9 February 1929 - 19 October 1929; 30 April 1938 - 31 March 1941
5. Ross Masood 25 January 1930– November 1933
6. Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan 1 October 1934 - 12 April 1935; 17 October 1947 - 29 November 1948
7. Ziauddin Ahmed 13 April 1935 - 29 April 1938; 24 April 1941 - 23 April 1947
8. Zahid Hussain 24 April 1947 - 7 August 1947
9. Zakir Husain 20 November 1948 – 15 September 1956
10. Bashir Hussain Zaidi 7 October 1956 – 6 November 1962
11. Badaruddin Taiyabji 8 November 1962 – 28 February 1965
12. Ali Yawar Jung March 1965 – January 1968
13. Abdul Aleem 6 January 1968 – 3 January 1974
14. A. M. Khusro 20 December 1974 – 12 December 1978
15. Syed Hamid June 1980 – 26 March 1985
16. Syed Hashim Ali 8 April 1985 – 4 October 1989
17. Mohammad Naseem Faroqui 15 October 1990 – 15 December 1994
18. Mahmoodur Rahman 1 May 1995 – 1 May 2000
19. Mohammad Hamid Ansari 28 May 2000 - 31 March 2002
20. Naseem Ahmad
21. Zameerud-din Shah PVSM, SM, VSM 12 May 2012

AMU centres

The AMU has established centres at Malappuram, (Kerala) and Murshidabad, (West Bengal) while the Kishanganj, (Bihar) centre has been allotted land, and a site has been identified for Aurangabad, (Maharashtra) centre.

The AMU Centre Malappuram began functioning in February 2011 with the commencement of MBA and BA LLB classes from rented premises.

The foundation stone of the Murshidabad Centre was laid on 20 November 2010.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of notable Aligarh Muslim University alumnies

Further reading

• Hasan, Mushirul. "Nationalist and Separatist Trends in Aligarh, 1915–47," Indian Economic and Social History Review, (Jan 1985), Vol. 22 Issue 1, pp 1–33
• Minault, Gail, and David Lelyveld, "The Campaign for a Muslim University 1898–1920," Modern Asian Studies, (March 1974) 8#2 pp 145–189

External links

• Aligarh Muslim University official website
• Aligarh Movement