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Aligarh Muslim University

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Aligarh Muslim University
Motto(Arabic)علم الانسان ما لم يعلم ‘Allamal insaana maa lam ya’Ålam
(English translation) Taught man what he did not know. (Qur'an 96:5)
TypePublic
Established1875
ChancellorJustice (Retd.) A. M. Ahmadi
Vice-ChancellorProf. P. K. Abdul Aziz
Academic staff
2,000
Students40,000
Location
Aligarh
,
Uttar Pradesh
,
India
CampusAligarh
AffiliationsUGC
Websitehttp://www.amu.ac.in/
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
Victoria gate, a prominent building at the university
Maulana Azad Library (as viewed from Kennedy Lawns)
Kennedy House, AMU. Museum (left); Auditorium (right)
Bab-e-syed, the Gateway to AMU
File:University Canteen.jpg
University Canteen, AMU
Strachey Hall & SS Mosque

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is a Residential Academic Institution located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and in 1920 it was granted a status of Central University by an Act of Indian Parliament. It is known for being the birth place of the Pakistan movement and the intelligentsia associated with the university played a pioneering role in the creation of the Islamic state of Pakistan.[1][2]

Aligarh is situated at a distance of 130 km, South-East of Delhi on Delhi-Kolkata Railway and Grand Trunk Road. Modelled on the University of Cambridge, it was among the first institutions of higher learning set up during the British Raj. Originally it was Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which was founded by a Muslim social reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Many prominent Muslim leaders, and Urdu writers and scholars of the subcontinent have graduated from the University.

Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 250 Courses in traditional and modern branch of Education. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a great social reformer of his age felt the need for modern education and started a school in 1875 which later became the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College and finally Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. This is a premier Central University with several faculties and maintained institutions and draws students from all corners of the world, especially Africa, West Asia and South East 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.

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 modern education and become involved in the public life and Government Services in India at that time. Raja Jai Kishan helped Sir Syed a lot in establishing this university. The British decision to replace the use of the knowledge of Persian in the 1830s for Government employment and as the language of Courts of Law caused deep anxiety among Muslims of the sub-continent. Sir Syed then clearly foresaw the imperative need for the 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 the road map for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools. In 1864, the Scientific Society of Aligarh was set up to disseminate 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 in terms collecting funds and providing 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, and who would serve as a catalyst for change among not only the Muslim population of India, but of the entire subcontinent. 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".[3]

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 stand on its own. To achieve this goal, many expansions were made with more and more programs added to the curriculum. A school for girls was established in 1907. By 1921(exact year 1920), the College was transformed into a university, and it was named Muslim University. Its growth continued. 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 also developed its 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, and brought good name to the University.

Maulana Azad Library The Library complex of the University consists of a Central Library and over 80 college/departmental libraries. Libraries of the colleges, institutes and departments, cater to the needs of postgraduates and students of professional courses.

The University has established Book Banks for the benefit of students of certain professional courses. The Central Library was set up in 1875, when this institution was established as Madarsatul Uloom. In 1877, the Madarsa became Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College. Lord Lytton, the viceroy of India, laid the foundation stone, and the library was named after him as Lytton Library. Eminent scholars like Gardner Brown, Arnold, Releigh, Horowitz, Storey and Auchtelpone functioned as honorary librarians in addition to their teaching responsibilities.

In 1960, it was named as Maulana Azad Library when the first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, inaugurated its present building. The Seven storied building is surrounded by 4.75 acres (19,200 m2) of land in the form of beautiful lawns and gardens. It is the most beautiful building of the University and one of the few very attractive libraries in the country. The Library has about 9,00,000 books

The collection consists of books, periodicals, pamphlets, manuscripts, paintings and photographs. M.A. Library performs the functions of a National Library so far as its collection of Oriental manuscripts are concerned. It is because of these rich collections of immense research value that this Library is reckoned among major libraries of the world. The oldest manuscript owned by the library is more than fourteen hundred years old. It is a fragment of the Qur'an transcribed by Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam and is written on parchment in Kufi script. Another rare collection is the Halnama of Beyazid Ansari, no copy of which is available anywhere else in the world

The Library has a sizeable collection of early printed books in various languages. The most outstanding among them is the Latin translation of the celebrated Arabic work on optics, opticam prafatis, by Ibn-al-Haitham (965-1039) published in 1572

There are several firmans (decrees) of the Mughal kings like Babur, Akbar, Shahjahan, Shah Alam, Shah Alamgir, Aurangzeb etc. Another prized possession of the library is a "Shirt" on which the whole Qur'an is inscribed in khafi script. This shirt is believed to have been worn by a warrior of Mughal army

Among the large collection of Mughal paintings is the painting of Red Blossom, which is magnum opus of Mansoor Naqqash, the celebrated court artist of Emperor Jahangir. Some valuable Sanskrit works translated into Persian have also been preserved in the library. Other possessions worth mentioning is the Ayurved in Telugu and the Bhasa's in Malayalam script written on palm leaves. Abul Faiz Faizi, an eminent scholar of Akbar's court translated several Sanskrit works into Persian, such as Mahapurana, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharat and Lilavati, these are also available.

More than 5,000 students, teachers and other members of the university daily visit the library and utilize its services.

Movement of Aligarh University

The Aga Khan believed that the root cause of Muslim backwardness in India was illiteracy, and therefore, education was the panacea for their ills. He thought that education should be a medium of service to others and a tool for modernization. He also considered the aim of education to be character building. According to Islamuddin in 'The Aga Khan III' (Islamabad, 1978, p. 22), 'It was he, who, translated the dream of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan into reality, by raising the status of Aligarh College into a great Muslim University.' Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah states in 'The Prince Aga Khan' (London, 1933, p. 65) that, 'It was Sir Syed Ahmed who founded Aligarh College, but it was the Aga Khan, an ardent enthusiastic promoter of the ideal of education, who has been mainly responsible for the raising of its status to that of a University.' After the death of Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan in 1316/1898, the Aga Khan III advised Mohsin al-Mulk (1837–1907), the Secretary of Aligarh College, to tour India to procure public opinion for the cause of Muslim University. His interest in the Aligarh College dates from the time when he was called upon to preside at an Educational Conference held at Delhi at the time of Lord Curzon's proclamation Durbar in 1319/1902. He used the platform of Muslim Educational Conference to bring home to the Muslims, the importance of education, and Muslim University at Aligarh. In his Presidential address to the Muslim Educational Conference, the Aga Khan said: 'If, then, we are really in earnest in deploring the fallen condition of our people, we must unite in an effort for their redemption and, first and foremost of all, an effort must now be made for the foundation of a University where Muslim youths can get, in addition to modern sciences, a knowledge of their glorious past and religion and where the whole atmosphere of the place, it being a residential University, nay, like Oxford, give more attention to character than to mere examinations. Muslims of India have legitimate interests in the intellectual development of their co-religionists in Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and the best way of helping them is by making Aligarh a Muslim Oxford .... We are sure that by founding this University we can arrest the decadence of Islam, and if we are not willing to make sacrifices for such an end, must I not conclude that we do not really care whether the faith of Islam is dead or not? .... We want Aligarh to be such a home of learning as to command the same respect of scholars as Berlin or Oxford, Leipzig or Paris. And we want those branches of Muslim learning, which are too fast passing into decay, to be added by Muslim scholars to the stock of the world's knowledge.' (vide 'Khutbat-i Aliyah', Aligarh, 1927, Part I, p. 206).

Addressing the annual session of Muslim Educational Conference in 1904 at Bombay, the Aga Khan III said: 'The farsighted among the Muslims of India desire a University, where the standard of learning should be the highest and where with the scientific training, there shall be that moral education, that indirect but constant reminder of the eternal difference between right and wrong, which is the soul of education .... I earnestly beg of you that the cause of such a University should not be forgotten in the shouts of the market place that daily rise amongst us.'

The plan for the Muslim University had by 1910 taken on the complexion and force of a national movement. The session of the All India Muslim Educational Conference at Nagpur in December, 1910 gave the signal for a concreted, nation-wide effort to raise the necessary funds for the projected University. In moving the resolution on the University, the Aga Khan III made a stirring speech. He said, 'This is a unique occasion as His Majesty the King-Emperor is coming out to India. This is a great opportunity for us and such as is never to arise again during the lifetime of the present generation, and the Muslims should on no account miss it...We must make up and make serious, earnest and sincere efforts to carry into effect the one great essential movement which above all has a large claim on our enegery and resources...If we show that we are able to help ourselves and that we are earnest in our endeavours and ready to make personal sacrifices, I have no doubt whatever that our sympathetic government, which only requires proper guarantees of our earnestness, will come forward to grant us the charter. `Now or never' seems to be the inevitable situation.'

To make a concerted drive for the collection of funds, a Central Foundation Committee with the Aga Khan III as Chairman with Maulana Shaukat Ali (1873–1938) as his Secretary; and prominent Muslims from all walks of life as members was formed at Aligarh on January 10, 1911. The Aga Khan III accompanied by Maulana Shaukat Ali, who was still in government service and had taken a year's furlough, toured throughout the country to raise funds, visiting Calcutta, Allahabad, Lucknow, Cawnpore, Lahore, Bombay and other places. According to Willi Frischauer in 'The Aga Khans' (London, 1970, p. 76), 'His campaign for the Aligarh University required a final big heave and, as Chairman of the fund raising committee, he went on a collecting tour through India's main Muslim areas: `As a mendicant', he announced, `I am now going out to beg from house to house and from street to street for the children of Indian Muslims.' It was a triumphal tour. Wherever he went, people unharnessed the horses of his carriage and pulled it themselves for miles.'

The response to the touching appeal of the Aga Khan III was spontaneous. On his arrival at Lahore, the daily 'Peace' of Punjab editorially commented and called upon the Muslims 'to wake up, as the greatest personality and benefactor of Islam was in their city.' The paper recalled a remark of Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan prophesying the rise of a hand from the unseen world to accomplish his mission. 'That persoanlity' the paper said, 'was of the Aga Khan III.' On that day, the 'London Times' commenting upon the visit, regarded him as a great recognised leader of Muslims. The significant aspect of the Aga Khan's fund collection drive was not the enthusiastic welcome accorded to him, but the house to house collection drive. Qayyum A. Malick writes in 'Prince Aga Khan' (Karachi, 1954, p. 64) that once the Aga Khan on his way to Bombay to collect funds for the university, the Aga Khan stopped his car at the office of a person, who was known to be his bitterest critic. The man stood up bewildered and asked, 'Whom do you want Sir?' 'I have come for your contribution to the Muslim university fund,' said the Aga Khan. The man drew up a cheque for Rs. 5000/-. After pocketing the cheque, the Aga Khan took off his hat and said, 'Now as a beggar, I beg from you something for the children of Islam. Put something in the bowl of this mendicant.' The man wrote another cheque for Rs. 15000/- with moist eyes, and said, 'Your Highness, now it is my turn to beg. I beg of you in the name of the most merciful God to forgive me for anything that I may have said against you. I never knew you were so great.' The Aga Khan said, 'Don't worry! It is my nature to forgive and forget in the cause of Islam and the Muslims.' The drive received further great fillip from the announcement of a big donation by Her Highness Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum of Bhopal. The Aga Khan III was so moved by her munificence that in thanking her, he spoke the following words: Dil'e banda ra zinda kardi, dil'e Islam ra zinda kardi, dil'e qaum ra zinda kardi, Khuda'i ta'ala ba tufail'e Rasul ajarash be dahadmeans, 'You put life in the heart of this servant; you put life in the heart of Islam; you put life in the heart of the nation. May God reward you for the sake of the Prophet!' In sum, the Aga Khan collected twenty-six lacs of rupees by July, 1912 in the drive and his personal contribution amounted to one lac rupees.

On October 20, 1920, the Aligarh University was granted its official Charter. In spite of several obstacles, the Aga Khan continued his ceaseless efforts for the Muslim University, and further announced his annual grant of Rs. 10,000/- for Aligarh University, which was subsequently raised. The Ismaili individuals also made their generous contributions to Aligarh University. For instance, Mr. Kassim Ali Jairajbhoy gave Rs. 1,25,000 to found chairs of Philosophy and Science in the Aligarh in memory of his father. The Aligarh Muslim University was officially inaugurated and commenced operations on Friday, December 17, 1920.[4] Raja Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan of Mahmudabad was the first vice-chancellor of the university.[4]

It must be noted on this juncture that in January, 1857, Lord Canning (1856–1862) had passed the Acts of Incorporation in India which provided for the establishment of universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The fourth university was then established in 1882 by a Special Act of Incorporation in Pujnab and the fifth was that of Allahabad University in 1887. Thus, by the end of 1902 there were five universities in India, and Aligarh University was the sixth one.

It will remain as a historical reminder of the fact that the Aga Khan gave continuity to the traditions of his ancestors as pioneers of education in Egypt and elsewhere - traditions associated with the foundation of Al-Azhar, the oldest existing university in the world, which to this day is crowded with students from all parts of the globe. The Aga Khan III instituted the Aga Khan Foreign Scholarship programme for the promising students. It is worth mentioning here that Dr. Ziauddin was one of the students of the Aga Khan in the sense that the Aga Khan paid for his years of study at Cambridge. Among other great Muslim scholars, who benefited from the munificent help were Dr. L.K. Hyder, the well known economist, Mr. Wali Muhammad, a great physicist, Dr.Syed Zafarul Hasan, a learned theologian and philosopher, and Dr. Zaki etc. 'The Movement of establishing a Muslim University' writes Mumtaz Moin in his 'The Aligarh Movement' (Karachi, 1976, p. 184), 'is an important chapter of our history. Initiated by Waqar al-Mulk it soon became a live issue under the patronage of the Aga Khan.' Islamuddin writes in 'Aga Khan III' (Islamabad, 1978, p. 27) that, 'Thus it would not be an exaggeration to say that without Aga Khan, there would have been no Aligarh University, and without Aligarh, Pakistan would have been a near impossibility.' The Aga Khan himself said in his 'Memoirs' (London, 1954, p. 36) that: 'We may claim with pride that Aligarh was the product of our own efforts and of no outside benevolence and surely it may also be claimed that the independent sovereign nation of Pakistan was born in the Muslim University of Aligarh.'

The Aga Khan III paid another visit of Europe in 1904, and for the second time, he went to see his followers in East Africa in the following year.

In 1324/1906, the Aga Khan III liquidated the traditional jurisprudent committee, known as justi in the community. In replacement thereof, he founded the Council in Bombay, and appointed the Mukhis and Kamadias and other 20 persons as members. In 1327/1910, the Aga Khan III promulgated a legally drafted Constitution for the Shia Imami Council and ordained it under his personal seal. Ibrahim Muhammad Rawji had been appointed as its first president.

The Aga Khan III highly abhorred injustice and fought actively for both human and civil rights at a time when it was hardly a fashionable pursuit. He resigned from the exclusive St. Cloud Golf Club near Paris when some members objected to Sugar Ray Robinson, the black boxer playing on the links. In Aix-les-Bains, one day, he rubuffed the pompous head waiter of the Hotel Splendide who refused to seat a large group of Senegalese students and promptly invited them to a three-star lunch. The Aga Khan III was also deeply shocked by the ruthless and arrogant discrimination practised by whites in United States, India and China. During his brief visit to China in 1906, he remarked: 'Within the foreign settlements the general attitude towards the Chinese was little short of outrageous. All the better hotels refused them entry. From European clubs they were totally excluded. We hear a great deal about the colour bar in South Africa today. In China, in the early years of this century, the colour bar was rigidly imposed - not least offensively in discrimination against officials of the very government whose guests, under international law, all foreigners, were supposed to be. Is it any wonder that the China intelligencia long retained bitter memories of this attitude?'

The University today

Aligarh Muslim University is a residential academic institution offering more than 280 Courses in traditional and modern branches of Education [citation needed].

Currently the University has almost thirty thousand students, and over two thousand faculty members with over eighty departments of study. It continues to function as a premiere educational institution in India, and draws students from a number of countries, especially countries in Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. In some courses, seats are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries [citation needed].

It has currently composed of 12 Faculties viz.

  • Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
  • Faculty of Arts
  • Faculty of Commerce
  • Faculty of Engineering & Technology
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Life Sciences
  • Faculty of Management Studies & Research
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Social Sciences
  • Faculty of Theology
  • Faculty of Unani Medicine


The university also maintains some interdepartmental research centres such as:

  • Interdisciplinary unit of Biotechnology
  • Centre of Excellence in Material Science/Nanotechnology
  • Centre for Comparative Study of Indian Languages & Culture
  • Centre of West Asian Studies
  • Centre of Woman Studies
  • Centre of Nehru Studies

Schools

  • Abdullah Nursery School
  • A.B.K. Union High School(BOYS)
  • A.B.K. Union High School(GIRLS)
  • City High School for boys
  • City High School for girls
  • S.T.S. High School (MINTO CIRCLE)
  • Senior Secondary School (Boys)
  • Senior Secondary School (Girls)
  • Ahmadi school for the visually challanged

Halls of residence

There are 16 Halls of residence comprising 69 hostels – as under

  • Abdullah Hall (for women)
  • Aftab Hall
  • Allama Iqbal Hall
  • Hadi Hasan Hall
  • Indira Gandhi Hall (for women)
  • Mohsinul Mulk Hall
  • Mohammad Habib Hall
  • Nadeem Tarin Hall
  • Ross Masood Hall
  • Sir Syed Hall (North)
  • Sir Syed Hall (South)
  • Sir Sulaiman Hall
  • Sir Ziauddin Hall
  • Sarojini Naidu Hall (for Women)
  • Viqarul Mulk Hall
  • Sherwani Hall
  • Sultan Jahan Begum Hall (for women)
  • Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Hall

In addition, there is a Non-Resident Students' Centre (NRSC) which caters non-resident students academic and extracurricular activities.[5]

Current ventures

Aligarh Muslim University is planning to set up five regional centres in the country which are Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), Murshidabad (West Bengal), Malappuram (Kerala) and Kishanganj (Bihar)."Aligarh Muslim University on expansion mode". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-10-20.

The University held its 58th annual convocation on June 18, 2008. Its chief guest was the former president of India, APJ Abdul Kalam and business tycoon Azim Hashim Premji, the chairman of Wipro Technologies Limited. Both of them were conferred with an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. Former chief justice of India, Justice AM Ahmadi, besides many other high profile guests were also present. On the occasion 55 gold and 135 silver medals were awarded and more than 4500 degrees were conferred.

Alumni Meetings

International AMU Alumni Meeting

An International AMU Alumni Meeting was held on 17 October 1992. Delegates from all over the world participated especially from Pakistan. The vice chancellor, Professor MN Farooqui organised and welcomed the delegates.

AMU World Alumni Summit

AMU World Alumni Summit was organised on 18–19 October 2008. Alumni from 26 countries participated in the programme. It was a fiesta for all Aligarians who met their old friends, classmates and teachers. The vice chancellor, Professor PK Abdul Azis welcomed the alumni and proposed 'AMU Alumni Endowment Fund' for the various activities of Alumni in the University.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ Mohajir's Pakistan - Google Books. Books.google.co.in. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  2. ^ India's partition: the story of ... - Google Books. Books.google.co.in. 1998-07-30. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  3. ^ Curzon in India. Being a Selection from his Speeches as Viceroy amp ... By Sir Thomas Raleigh, pg474
  4. ^ a b Shan Muhammad, Education and politics: from Sir Syed to the present day : the Aligarh School, APH Publishing, 2002, ISBN 9788176482752, ... The Aligarh Muslim University was inaugurated on Friday, December 17, 1920 in the Stratchey Hall with Raja Sir Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan of Mahmudabad as its first Vice Chancellor and Begum of Bhopal and the Aga Khan, as Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor respectively ...
  5. ^ History of Non Resident Students’ Centre (1910–2000), Aligarh Muslim University. Ed. Syed Ziaur Rahman, Ibn Sina Academy, Aligarh, 2000
  6. ^ Awards, The Milli Gazette, Vol. 3 No. 4
  7. ^ Lucknow University!!!
  8. ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/4381857
  9. ^ http://www.bod.de/index.php?id=3435&objk_id=164751
  10. ^ Zarina Hashmi Profile on http://www.saffronart.com
  11. ^ Bloomberg News
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