Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

Aligarh Muslim University,Aligarh

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The university grew out of the work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the great Muslim reformer and statesman, 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 at Moradabad (1858) and Ghazipur (1863).His purpose for the establishment of the Scientific Society in 1864, in Aligarh was to translate Western works into Indian languages as a prelude to prepare the community to accept Western education and to inculcate scientific temperament among the Muslims. The intense desire to ameliorate the social conditions of Indian Muslims led Sir Syed to publish the periodical, 'Tehzibul Akhlaq' in 1870.

In 1877, 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, who was an alumnus of Cambridge prepared 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. Syed Mahmood continued to work along with his father in founding the college.

It was one of the first purely residential educational institutions 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 subsequently got affiliated with the university of Allahabad in 1885. Near the turn of the century, the college 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 academic programs added to the curriculum of the college. A school for girls was established in 1907. By 1920 the college was transformed into the Aligarh Muslim University.

Sir Syed breathed his last on March 27, 1898 and was buried in the premises of the university mosque in the Sir Syed Hall, AMU.

Fact

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) occupies a unique position amongst universities and institutions of higher learning in the country. It was established in 1920, and evolved out of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO College) which was set up in 1877 by the great visionary and social reformer, Sir Syed Ahmad khan. From its very inception, it has kept its door open to the members of all communities and from all corners of the country and the world. The Aligarh Muslim University is the realization of a vision which was broad, far- reaching and realistic

Spread over 467.6 hectares in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 300 courses in the traditional and modern branches of education. It draws students from all states in India and from different countries, especially Africa, West Asia and Southeast Asia. In some courses, seats 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.

In spite of the establishment of a numbers of universities and institutions of higher learning all over the country, this university has been maintaining its national and international character as an institution of excellence. It has more than 28,000, students, 1,342 teachers and some 5,610 non-teaching staff on its rolls. The university now has 12 faculties comprising 98 teaching departments, 3 academies and 15 centres and institution. A special feature of the university is its residential character with most of the staff and students residing on the campus. There are 19 halls of residence for students with 80 hostels.

Apart from the conventional Under graduate and Post graduate courses in Social Sciences, Sciences and Humanities, the university keeps pace with the nations growth by offering facilities for specialized learning in areas of technical, vocational and inter- disciplinary studies. It has the 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, Department of West Asian Studies, Centre of Wildlife, Centre for South African & Brazilian Studies, Department of Islamic Studies, Academic Staff College, Women's College, Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, University Polytechnic –separately for boys and girls and Computer Centre etc.

The university has opened two new centres of study outside Aligarh w.e.f. 2011 at Murshidabad, West Bengal and Mallapurum at Kerala state. At present teaching facility of MBA and Integrated Law course is available in these two centres. It is projected that in ten years down the time line both the centres will have more than 10,000 students each in advance study and research.

The university maintains one primary, seven High schools (including one for the Visually Challenged), and two Senior Secondary schools for boys and girls. The University also offers courses in Indian, Oriental and Western Languages. The medium of instruction in the university is primarily English.

Games and sports have been a distinctive feature of the AMU. The Cricket, football, hockey, Tennis, Basketball, Skating and Horse Riding teams have excelled at the inter-University level. Perhaps this is the only university with a Horse Riding Club.

The General Education centre is the nucleus of most of the extra-curricular activities and caters to the cultural environment. This centre organizes these activities through its various clubs viz., the AMU Drama, the Hindustani and western Music Club, the Literary Club and the Hobbies Workshop etc.

It is proudly Islamic and proudly Indian institution: a living symbol of composite culture of India and a bulwark of its secular principles.

FACULTIES

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) draws students from all corners of the country as well as foreign countries, especially Africa, West Asia and Southeast Asia. In some courses, seats are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth Countries.

The University has 12 Faculties viz. Agricultural Sciences, Arts, Commerce, Engineering & Technology, Law, Life Sciences, Medicine, Management Studies & Research, Science, Social Sciences, Theology, Unani Medicine, each comprising of several Departments of Studies.

The University also maintains a number of Colleges, Institutes, Centres and Schools. Notably among them are Women's College, Centre of Professional Courses, Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Zakir Hussain College of Engineering & Technology, Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmad Dental College, Institute of Ophthalmology, Centre for Advanced Studies in History, Centre for Women Studies, Centre for Nehru Studies, University Polytechnic University, Women's Polytechnic, K.A. Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies, Schools including one for the visually challenged.