Aligarh Muslim University is a collegiate, central, and

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

located in

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, which was originally established by

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898), also spelled Sayyid Ahmad Khan, was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu–Muslim unity, he ...

as the

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (, lit. "Science School for the Muslims of India") was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of turning it to a college level institution. It was inspired by t ...

in 1875. Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920, following the Aligarh Muslim University Act. The university offers more than 300 courses in traditional and modern branches of education. It is an

Institute of National Importance In India, an Institution of National Importance (INI) refers to a premier public higher education institution granted special status by an act of the Parliament of India. Such institutions are recognized for their pivotal role in developing high ...

and is listed in the

Union List The Union List, also known as List-I, is a list of 97 numbered items (after 101st Constitutional amendment act 2016, entry 92 and 92c removed) given in Seventh Schedule in the Constitution of India on which Parliament has exclusive power to legis ...

under the Seventh Schedule of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

History

Funding

The university was established as the

in 1875 by

. It began to function on 24 May 1875. The movement associated with Syed Ahmad Khan and the college came to be known as the Aligarh Movement, which pushed to realise the need for establishing a modern education system for the Indian Muslim populace. He considered competence in English and Western sciences necessary skills for maintaining Muslims' political influence. Khan's vision for the college was based on his visit to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and he wanted to establish an education system similar to the British model. A committee was formed by the name of foundation of Muslim College and asked people to fund generously. Then Viceroy and Governor General of India Thomas Baring gave a donation of 10,000 while the Lt. Governor of the North Western Provinces contributed 1,000, and by March 1874 funds for the college stood at 1,53,920 and 8

annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; , ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High Priest of the newly form ...

. Maharaja Mahindra Singh Saab Bahadur of Patiala contributed 58,000 while Raja Shambhu Narayan of Benaras donated 60,000. Donations also came in from the Maharaja of

Vizianagaram Vizianagaram, also known as Vijayanagaram, is a city and the headquarters of the Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapa ...

as well. The college was initially affiliated to the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

for the matriculate examination but became an affiliate of

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

in 1885. The seventh

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, HEH

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 – 24 February 1967) was the last Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad State, the largest state in the erstwhile Indian Empire. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and rule ...

made a remarkable donation of 5,00,000 to this institution in the year 1918.

Establishment as university

, Muslim University Association was formed to spearhead efforts to transform the college into a university. The Government of India informed the association that a sum of rupees thirty lakhs should be collected to establish the university. Therefore, a Muslim University Foundation Committee was started and it collected the necessary funds. The contributions were made by Muslims as well as non-Muslims.

Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan Maharaja Bahadur, Maharaja Sir Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan, Khan Bahadur, Order of the Star of India, KCSI, Order of the Indian Empire, KCIE (4 June 1878 – 23 March 1931) was the Raja of Mahmudabad, India, Mahmudabad from 28 June 1903 to ...

and

Aga Khan III Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), known as Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imam of the Nizari Isma'ili, Ism'aili branch of Shia Islam. He was one of the founders and the first permanent president of ...

had helped in realising the idea by collecting funds for building the Aligarh Muslim University. With the MAO College as a nucleus, the Aligarh Muslim University was then established by the Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920. In 1927, the Ahmadi School for the Visually Challenged, Aligarh Muslim University was established and in the following year, a medical school was attached to the university. The college of

unani medicine Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The term '' Yūnānī'' means 'Greek', re ...

, Ajmal Khan Tibbya College was established in 1927 with the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College Hospital being established later in 1932. The

Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College And Hospital Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur is a government-recognized medical college and hospital in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India. The college was established in 1971 by the Government of Bihar and is affiliated to Bihar University ...

was established later in 1962 as a part of the university. In 1935, the Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology was also established as a constituent of the university. Before 1939, faculty members and students supported an all-India nationalist movement but after 1939, political sentiment shifted towards support for a Muslim separatist movement. Students and faculty members supported

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

and the university came to be a center of the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

Women's education

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was the founding leader and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Confer ...

("Papa Mian") is the founder of the women's college of Aligarh Muslim University and had pressed for women's education, writing articles while also publishing a monthly women's magazine, ''Khatoon''. To start the college for women, he had led a delegation to the Lt. Governor of the United Provinces while also writing a proposal to Sultan Jahan, Begum of Bhopal. Begum Jahan had allocated a grant of 100 per month for the education of women. On 19 October 1906, he successfully started a school for girls with five students and one teacher at a rented property in Aligarh. The foundation stone for the girls' hostel was laid by him and his wife, Waheed Jahan Begum ("Ala Bi") after struggles on 7 November 1911. Later, a high school was established in 1921, gaining the status of an intermediate college in 1922, finally becoming a constituent of the Aligarh Muslim University as an undergraduate college in 1937. Later, Abdullah's daughters also served as principals of the women's college. One of his daughters was Mumtaz Jahan Haider, during whose tenure as principal, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad had visited the university and offered a grant of 9,00,000. She was involved in the establishment of the Women's College, organised various extracurricular events, and reasserted the importance of education for Muslim women. The professional courses are run with a co-educational system. Female students are accommodated in well established six Halls of residence where they have all facilities of living and studies. The hostels inside these halls are equipped with reading rooms, common rooms, sports facilities, and dining hall.

Minority institution status

Aligarh Muslim University is considered to be an institution of national importance, under the seventh schedule of the

. In 1967, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court had held that the university is not a minority educational institution protected under the Indian constitution; the verdict had been given in case to which the university was not a party. In 1981, an amendment was made to the Aligarh Muslim University Act, following which in 2006 the

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established o ...

struck down the provision of the act which accorded the university minority educational institution status. In April 2016, the Indian government stated that it would not appeal against the decision. In February 2019, the issue was referred by the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

to a constitution bench of seven judges. In November 2024, seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court, by a 4:3 majority, overruled a previous 1967 judgement in the case of S. Azeez Basha vs. Union of India. The 1967 ruling had stated that an institution established by a statute, such as the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), could not claim minority status. The Supreme Court verdict overturned this precedent, paving the way for AMU to potentially assert its rights as a minority institution. However, the final determination of AMU's minority status will be decided by a separate bench, which will examine the specific provisions of the AMU Act.

Main campus

The campus of Aligarh Muslim University is spread over 467.6 hectares in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The nearest railway station is the Aligarh Junction. It is a residential university, with most of the staff and students residing on the campus. There are 19 halls of residence for students (13 for boys and 6 for girls) with 80 hostels. The halls are administered by a provost and a number of teacher wardens who look after different hostels. Each hall maintains a dining hall, a common room with facilities for indoor games, a reading room, Library, sports clubs and a literary and cultural society. The halls are named after people associated with the Aligarh Movement and the university. Sir Syed Hall is the oldest hall of the university. It houses many heritage buildings, such as Strachey Hall, Mushtaq Manzil, Asman Manzil, Nizam Museum and Lytton Library, Victoria Gate, and

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

. The campus also maintains a cricket ground, Willingdon Pavilion, a synthetic hockey ground and a park, Gulastan-e-Syed. Other notable buildings in the campus includes the Maulana Azad Library, Moinuddin Ahmad Art Gallery, Kennedy Auditorium, Musa Dakri Museum, the Cultural Education Centre, Siddons Debating Union Hall and Sir Syed House. The main university gate is called Bab-e-Syed. In 2020 a new gate called Centenary Gate was built to celebrate the centenary year of the university.

Organisation and administration

Governance

The university's formal head is the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, though this is a titular figure, and is not involved with the day-to-day running of the university. The chancellor is elected by the members of the

University Court A university court is an administrative body of a university in the United Kingdom and other countries. In most older universities of England and Wales, the court is part of the governance structure and acts as a forum for local stakeholders from ...

. The university's chief executive is 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 ...

, appointed by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

on the recommendation of the court. The court is the supreme governing body of the university and exercises all the powers of the university, not otherwise provided for by the Aligarh Muslim University Act, and the statutes, ordinances and regulations of the university. In 2018,

Mufaddal Saifuddin Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin () is the spiritual leader, the 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq of more than one million Dawoodi Bohras, a subgroup of the Tayyibi, Musta'li, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam. He is the second son of the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq, M ...

was elected chancellor and Ibne Saeed Khan, the former Nawab of Chhatari was elected the pro-Chancellor. Syed Zillur Rahman was elected honorary treasurer. On 17 May 2017, Tariq Mansoor assumed office as the 39th vice-chancellor of the university.

Faculties

Aligarh Muslim University's academic departments are divided into 13 faculties. * Faculty of Agricultural Sciences * Faculty of Arts * Faculty of Commerce * Faculty of Engineering and Technology * Faculty of Law * Faculty of Life Sciences * Faculty of Medicine * Faculty of Management Studies and Research * Faculty of Science * Faculty of Social Sciences * Faculty of Theology * Faculty of International Studies * Faculty of Unani Medicine

Colleges

Aligarh Muslim University maintains 7 colleges. * Academic Staff College * Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College * Community College * Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College * Women's College * Zakir Hussain College of Engineering & Technology * Ziauddin Ahmad Dental College The university also maintains 15 centres, 3 institutes, and 10 schools including Minto Circle and the Ahmadi School for the Visually Challenged. The university's Faculty of Theology has two departments, one for the

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

school of thought and another for the

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

school of thought.

Centres

Aligarh Muslim University has established three centres at

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...

(

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

(

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

) and

Kishanganj Kishanganj is a city and district headquarters of Kishanganj district in Purnia division of Bihar state in India. History Kishanganj, which was previously part of Purnia district, is part of the Mithila region. Mithila first gained prominen ...

(

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

), while a site has been identified for

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

, (

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

) centre. * Aligarh Muslim University Malappuram Centre, Kerala * Aligarh Muslim University: Murshidabad Centre, West Bengal * Aligarh Muslim University: Kishanganj Centre, Bihar

Academics

Courses

Aligarh Muslim University offers over 300 degrees and is organised around 12 faculties offering courses in a range of technical and vocational subjects, as well as interdisciplinary subjects. In 2011, it opened two new centres in West Bengal and Kerala for the study of MBAs and Integrated Law. The university has around 28,000 students and a faculty of almost 1,500 teaching staff. Students are drawn from all states in India and several different countries, with most of its international students coming from Africa, West Asia and Southeast Asia. Admission into the university is entrance based.

Rankings

Internationally, AMU was ranked 1001–1200 in the ''

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

'' of 2023 and 271–280 in Asia. It was ranked 801–1000 in the world by the ''

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

'' of 2023, 201–250 in Asia in 2022 and 251–300 among emerging economies. AMU was also ranked 901–1000 in the ''

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

'' of 2022. In India, AMU was ranked 16th overall by the

National Institutional Ranking Framework National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking methodology released annually by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The framework was approved by the former Ministr ...

(NIRF) in 2024 and 8th among universities. Among government engineering colleges, the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, the engineering college of the university, was ranked 33rd by the ''National Institutional Ranking Framework'' among engineering colleges in 2024. The Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, the medical school of the university, has been ranked 28th by ''National Institutional Ranking Framework'' in 2023.

Libraries

The Maulana Azad Library is the primary library of the university, consisting of a central library and over 100 departmental and college libraries. It houses royal decrees of

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

emperors such as Babur, Akbar and Shah Jahan. The foundation of the library was laid in 1877 at the time of establishment of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College by

Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, (8 November 1831 – 24 November 1891), was an English statesman, Conservative politician and poet who used the pseudonym Owen Meredith. During his tenure as Viceroy of India between 1876 ...

, then viceroy of India and it was named after him as Lytton Library. The present seven-storied building was inaugurated by

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, the first prime Minister of independent India, in 1960 and the library was named after

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (11 November 188822 February 1958), better known as Maulana Azad and sometimes referred as Abul Kalam Azad, was an Indian politician, writer and activist of the Indian independence movement. A senior leader of t ...

, popularly known as Maulana Azad, the first education minister of the independent India. The social science cyber library was inaugurated by

Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...

, then President of India, on 27 December 2013. In 2015, it was accredited with the

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. M ...

certification.

Satellite Project

The AMU Robo Club in November 2021 started working on the university's first satellite project. The project "SS AMU SAT" named after the university's founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, was submitted to Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) for its approval in January 2023. IN-SPACe approved the project on 28 October 2023.

Student life

AMU Journal

AMU Journal is an independent student and alumni-run educational community and media organisation, it was started in the year 2016 by Hashim Azmi to raise campus issues and to provide News and information about Happening Events inside the university but later it became an educational community and media organisation. On 17 October 2021 AMU Journal website was re-launched by

Public relations officer A public relations officer (PRO) or chief communications officer (CCO) or corporate communications officer is a C-suite level officer responsible for communications, public relations, and/or public affairs in an organization. Typically, the CCO o ...

, Proctor and Deputy Proctor, Aligarh Muslim University in collaboration with the Training and Placement Office, AMU. In another important step, the AMU Journal launched Monthly Newsletter on the occasion of 206th birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan that coincided with 17 October 2023.

Traditions

Sherwani A sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat, it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style col ...

is worn by male students of the university and is a traditional attire of the university. It is required to be worn during official programs The university provides sherwanis at a subsidised price. In early 2013, Zameer Uddin Shah, the then Vice-Chancellor of the university, insisted that male students have to wear sherwani if they wanted to meet him. Eid Milad un Nabi Celebrations are conducted regularly by the University under the Seerat Committee which organizs various literary competitions and speeches on the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Mawlid is traditional festival observed since the time of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. University building are lighted and decorated and students are served special fests on the occasion. special processions are brought to mark the day. The AMU Tarana or anthem was composed by poet and university student Majaz. It is an abridged version of Majaz's 1933 poem "Narz-e-Aligarh". In 1955, Khan Ishtiaq Mohammad, a university student, composed the song and it was adopted as the official anthem of the university. The song is played during every function at the university along with the National Anthem.

Students' Union

Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union (AMUSU) is the university-wide representative body for students at the university. It is an elected body.

Clubs and societies

The university has sports and cultural clubs functioning under its aegis. The Siddons Union Club is the debating club of the university. It was established in the year 1884 and was named after

Henry George Impey Siddons Henry George Impey Siddons (c. 1851 – 18 September 1936) was an Indian educationist. He was born in Indore, India and died on 18 September 1936 at Bath, Somerset, England. Career Siddons was educated at the Oxford University and then he retur ...

, the first principal of the MAO college. It has hosted politicians, writers, Nobel laureates, players, and journalists, including the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

Jawahar Lal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...

. Sporting clubs include the Cricket Club, Aligarh Muslim University and the Muslim University Riding Club. Cultural Education Centre of the University hosts clubs run by teachers and students jointly for imparting various skills in the students. Drama club, Literary Club, Club for Short Evening Courses, Film Club, Music Club and Fine Arts Club etc. The Raleigh Literary Society of the university hosts competitive events, plays, and performances, including performances of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's plays. The society is named after

critic

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

, who had served as the English professor at the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College from 1885 to 1887. The Law Society of Dept of Law, was founded in 1894 as a non-profit student organisation. The society publishes law reviews and organises events, both academic and social, from annual fest to freshers social and farewell party for final year students.

Cultural festivals

Every year the various clubs of the university organise their own cultural festivals. Two notable fests are the University Film Club's Filmsaaz and the Literary Club's AMU Literary Festival.

Old Boys' Association

Old Boys' Association is the alumni network of the university. It was established in the year 1898 and has been statutory recognition under AMU, Act 1920.

Notable alumni and faculty

Following is a list of alumni of the university. * Alumni from the field of literature and cinema include Hakim Ahmad Shuja,

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, , , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mainly in Urdu, he produc ...

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the ( Golden Palm Gr ...

Syed Mujtaba Ali Syed Mujtaba Ali (, ; 13 September 1904 – 11 February 1974) was a Bengali writer, journalist, travel enthusiast, academic, scholar and linguist. He lived in Bangladesh, India, Germany, Afghanistan and Egypt. Early life and education Syed Mujt ...

Anubhav Sinha Anubhav Sinha (born 22 June 1965) is an Indian film director, producer and writer known for his work in Hindi film industry. His films include ''Tum Bin'' (2001), ''Dus'' (2005) and ''Ra.One'' (2011) He also directed a series of socio-political ...

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

Hasrat Mohani Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan (1 January 1875 – 13 May 1951), known by his Takhallus, pen-name Hasrat Mohani, was an List of Indian independence activists, Indian independence activist and a poet in Urdu. .Together with Swami Kumaranand, he is regarded ...

, Ahmed Ali and Wadeh Rashid Hasani Nadwi. * Alumni from the field of politics include

Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan '' Khan Bahadur'' Major Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written Sikandar Hyat-Khan or Sikandar Hyat Khan, was an Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab who served as the Premier of the Punjab, among ...

KBE, first Muslim Premier of the Punjab; Maulvi Syed Tufail Ahmad Manglori, Indian independence activist and historian; Sir

Khwaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964), also spelled Khwaja Nazimuddin, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the second Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951, and later as the second Prime Minister ...

, second governor-general and second prime minister of Pakistan;

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

, second president of Pakistan; Mian Fahim Ud-Din, First Military Accountant General of Pakistan;

Malik Ghulam Muhammad Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammad (20 April 1895 – 29 August 1956) was a Pakistani politician and economist who served as the third governor-general of Pakistan from 1951 to 1955. Educated at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), he joined the India ...

, First finance minister of Pakistan and Governor General of Pakistan (1951–56) he was co-owner of Mahindra and Mohammed, now called Mahindra & Mahindra,

Liaqat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 1947 until Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, his assassinati ...

, First Prime Minister of Pakistan,

Mohamed Amin Didi Sumuvvul Ameer Mohamed Amin Dhoshimeynaa Kilegefaanu (; 20 July 1910 – 19 January 1954), popularly known as Mohamed Amin Didi, was a Maldives, Maldivian politician who served as the first president of the Maldives and as the head of governmen ...

, first president of

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

; Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani, Commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Forces during the 1971

Bangladesh War of Independence The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

;

Muhammad Mansur Ali Muhammad Mansur Ali (16 January 1917 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidant of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of the Awami League, Mansur also served briefly as the ...

, third prime minister of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

;

Zakir Husain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. Born in H ...

, third president of India;

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan () was a Pathan activist and formerly an Indian independence activist from the North-West Frontier Province, and founder of the Khudai K ...

, an Indian independence activist;

Mohammad Hamid Ansari Mohammad Hamid Ansari (; born 1 April 1937) is an Indian bureaucrat and retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer who was the vice president of India from 2007 to 2017. Ansari joined the IFS in 1961. In a diplomatic career spanning 38 year ...

, twelfth vice-president of India;

Arif Mohammad Khan Arif Mohammad Khan (born 18 November 1951) is an Indian politician currently serving as Governor of Bihar since 2025. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and previously served as Governor of Kerala from 2022 to 2025, and as a ...

, twenty-second governor of Kerala;

Anwara Taimur Syeda Anwara Taimur (24 November 1936 – 28 September 2020) was an Indian politician, who was the chief minister of the Indian state of Assam from 6 December 1980 to 30 June 1981. She died in Australia on 28 September 2020. She was a leader of ...

the first and yet only female chief minister of the Indian state of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

;

and

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (12 January 19367 January 2016; Urdu: مفتی محمد سید) was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir twice from November 2002 to November 2005 and from March 2015 until his death ...

, respectively third and sixth chief minister of the Indian state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

; and Sahib Singh Verma, fourth chief minister of the Indian union territory of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Member of Parliament from

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

has also studied at Aligarh Muslim University. * Alumni from the field of law include Justice Baharul Islam, Justice Ram Prakash Sethi, Justice Saiyed Saghir Ahmad, Justice

Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali (20 December 1920 – 20 August 1985) judge of the Supreme Court of India and Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Early life He was born in an aristocratic Shia Muslim family to Khan Bahadur Sir Sayyid Fa ...

(all judges of Supreme Court of India), Haji Farah Omar, N. R. Madhava Menon and Faizan Mustafa. * Alumni from the field of science include Syed Ziaur Rahman and Bushra Ateeq. * Alumni from the field of sports include

Dhyan Chand Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player. He is widely regarded as the greatest field hockey player in history. He was known for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in add ...

Lala Amarnath Lala Amarnath Bhardwaj (11 September 1911 – 5 August 2000) was an Indian cricketer. He is considered to be the father figure of Indian cricket. He scored the first ever century for India in Test Cricket in 1933. He was independent India's fir ...

and Zafar Iqbal and Iranian footballers

Majid Bishkar Majid Beshkar (; born ) is a retired Iranian professional footballer. He is best known for his contributions towards the Indian football clubs East Bengal and Mohammedan, both based in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal. He was popularly known as ...

and Jamshid Nassiri. * Alumni from the field of business and entrepreneurship include Frank F Islam. * Other notable alumni include Indian historian Mohammad Habib, French mathematician

André Weil André Weil (; ; 6 May 1906 – 6 August 1998) was a French mathematician, known for his foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry. He was one of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century. His influence is du ...

, and

, the co-founder of

Mahindra & Mahindra Mahindra & Mahindra is an Indian automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in 1945 as Mahindra & Mohammed and later renamed Mahindra & Mahindra. Part of the Mahindra Group, M&M is one of the lar ...

. * Yasin Mazhar Siddiqi - Muslim scholar and historian who served as director of the Institute of Islamic Studies *

Bijan Abdolkarimi Bijan Abdolkarimi (; born 1963) is an Iranian philosopher, thinker, translator, and editor. His main interests are ontology, political philosophy and the critique of religious and intellectual traditions. He claims to challenge the dominant ...

- Iranian philosopher * Naseem uz Zafar Baquiri - medical practitioner, poet * Tika Lal Taploo - lawyer * Hajee Mohammad Danesh (1900 – 28 June 1986) - Bangladeshi politician and communist activist, leader of

Tebhaga movement The Tebhaga movement (1946–1947) was significant peasant agitation, initiated in Bengal by the All India Kisan Sabha of peasant front of the Communist Party of India. History At that time, landlords required tenant farmers and sharecroppe ...

Kafeel Ahmad Qasmi Sayed Kafeel Ahmad Qasmi (born 25 December 1951) is an Indian Islamic scholar, academician, and litterateur of Arabic and Urdu. He has also served in several positions in the Arabic Department of Aligarh Muslim University for 45 years. Early l ...

- former chairman of the department of Arabic and former dean of the faculty of arts, AMU

In popular culture

* The 1963 film ''

Mere Mehboob ''Mere Mehboob'' ("My Beloved") is a 1963 Indian film directed by Harnam Singh Rawail and starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sadhana, Nimmi, Pran, Johnny Walker and Ameeta. The film became a blockbuster and took the number one positi ...

'', directed by H. S. Rawail starring Rajendra Kumar, Sadhana, and Ashok Kumar, was shot on the campus. * The 1966 film '' Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal'' was also filmed on the campus. * The 2015 film ''

'' portrays the struggles faced by

Ramchandra Siras Ramchandra Srinivas Siras (1948 – 7 April 2010) was an Indian linguist and author. He was a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University specializing in Marathi literature and head of the Department of Modern Indian Languages. The film ''Aliga ...

, a homosexual professor from the university.

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges established in 1875 Central universities in Uttar Pradesh Islamic universities and colleges in India Pakistan Movement 1875 establishments in British India Universities and colleges in Aligarh Universities in Uttar Pradesh Aligarh Movement