Mazhar Asif (born 2 January 1971) is an Indian academic administrator and scholar, with a focus on Indian mediaeval history and

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

. He has been serving as the

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

since 24 October 2024. An alumnus of

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

, he has formerly served as a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at his alma mater, and as a member of the drafting committee for

National Education Policy 2020 The National Education Policy of India 2020 (NEP 2020), which was started by the Union Cabinet of India on 29 July 2020, outlines the vision of new education system of India. The new policy replaces the previous National Policy on Education, ...

Early life and education

Asif was born on January 2, 1971, in Lahasaniya village, located within the Patahi police station area in the

East Champaran district East Champaran or Purvi Champaran is an administrative district in the Tirhut division of the state of Bihar in India. The district headquarter is located at Motihari. Prior to 1971, there was a single Champaran District. On 1 December 1971, it ...

. He received his post-graduation and doctoral degrees from

(JNU). During his time as a student at JNU, he was a member of the

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is a student organization in India, registered as a Non-governmental organization (NGO) in 1949. It's a significant student union with over 5 million members, making it one of the largest student or ...

(ABVP), an organization affiliated with the

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. His studies focused on Indian mediaeval history and

Career

Asif taught at

Gauhati University Gauhati University also known as GU, is a collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly and is the oldest un ...

between 1996 and 2017, and then joined the JNU's Centre of Persian and Central Asian (CPCA) Studies. He served as the dean of School of Language Literature and Culture Studies from 2021 to 2023. In 2017, the JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) challenged his appointment to JNU in the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( Hindustani: दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालय; ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') is the high court in Delhi, India. It was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966. ...

. He later became a member of JNU Teachers' Federation which formed in 2019 against JNUTA. At JNU, he served for the university's School of Arts and Aesthetics in the capacity of an acting dean in 2018, and as the dean of CPCA in 2020. In 2020, the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union or JNUSU is a students' union at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The JNUSU follows the student drafted JNUSU constitution. The Students' Union has four central panel positions. These are ...

(JNUSU), accused him and several other faculty members of inciting violence in the university campus; the violence left over 30 students injured. Asif is a member of

National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a public autonomous body of the government of India that assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. It is funded by the University Grants Commission and hea ...

's peer-review team, and associated with the National Monitoring Committee for Education. He served as a member of the drafting committee, and as a chairman of the implementation committee for the

. On 24 October 2024, the President of India

Droupadi Murmu Droupadi Murmu (born Durgi Biranchi Tudu; 20 June 1958) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the president of India since 2022. She won the 2022 Indian presidential election, 2022 presidential election as the Bharatiya Janata Party ...

, appointed him the vice-chancellor of

for a period of five years. At the time of his appointment to Jamia, he served as a professor at Centre for Persian & Central Asian Studies, at JNU. He has been a member of the executive council of both his alma mater, JNU, and the

Maulana Azad National Urdu University Maulana Azad National Urdu University is a Central University located in the city of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana. It was named after Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India's first Minister of Education, a freedom fighter in India's str ...

, and contributed to

National Institute of Open Schooling The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) (), formerly National Open School is a national level board of education in India, controlled and managed by the Government of India. It was established by the Ministry of Education (erstwhile Mi ...

and the

National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (, NCPUL) is an autonomous regulatory body in the Government of India.

in leadership positions.

Publications

Asif has compiled a comprehensive Persian-Assamese-English dictionary. He has a total of nine books in Assamese, English and Persian languages, to his credit, including: * '' Aitihasic Patabhumit Asomor Aitijyamandita Islamdharmi Sakal'' () * ''Tarikh-e-Aasham'' * ''Literature, culture, and language education : with special reference to North-East India''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazhar, Asif 1971 births Living people Jamia Millia Islamia people Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Indian educators People from East Champaran district