| Jamia Millia Islamia | |
|---|---|
| جامعہ ملیہ اسلامیہ | |
| Motto | Allammal Insaana Maalam Yalam (Taught man that which he knew not) |
| Established | 1920 |
| Type | Central University |
| Vice-Chancellor | Najeeb Jung |
| Academic staff | 614 |
| Admin. staff | 997 |
| Students | 15400 |
| Location | New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Campus | Urban |
| Nickname | Jamia |
| Affiliations | University Grants Commission (India) |
| Website | http://jmi.ac.in/ |
Jamia Millia Islamia (Urdu: جامعہ ملیہ اسلامیہ, Hindi: जामिया मिलिया इस्लामिया, translation: National Islamic University ) is an Indian Central University located in Delhi. It was established at Aligarh in United Provinces, India in 1920. It became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988. In Urdu and Arabic, Jamia means University, and Millia means National.
The university was established by nationalist Muslim leaders in 1920 prior to partition.[1] Its campus is located in South Delhi. The university provides undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate courses.
The Foundation Committee met on 29 October 1920. Its members were:
On 22 November 1920, Hakim Ajmal Khan was elected the first chancellor of Jamia. Mohamed Ali Jauhar became Jamia’s first Vice Chancellor, as Allama Iqbal could not accept the offer made through Mohandas K. Gandhi. It also elected a syndicate and created a syllabus subcommittee.The known freedom fighter and Muslim theologian, Maulana Mehmud Hasan, laid the foundation stone of Jamia Millia Islamia at Aligarh on Friday, 29 October 1920.
The first teachers of Jamia were:
Under the the British rule, two trends contributed to the birth of Jamia. One was anti-colonial activism and the other was the pro-independence aspiration of the politically radical section of western educated Indian Muslim intelligentsia. In the political climate of 1920, the two trends gravitated together with Mahatma Gandhi as a catalyst. The idea was to project Indian Muslims as nationalist and anti British. The anti-colonial activism signified by the Khilafat and the pro-independence aspirations symbolized by the Non-Cooperation Movement of the Indian National Congress helped to harness creative energies and the subsequent making of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Responding to Gandhi’s call to boycott all educational institutions supported or run by the colonial regime, a group of nationalist teachers and students quit Aligarh Muslim University, protesting against its pro-British inclinations. The freedom fighter and Muslim theologian, Maulana Mehmud Hasan, laid the foundation stone of Jamia Millia Islamia at Aligarh on Friday, October 29, 1920, during the meeting of the Foundation Committee of Jamia Millia Islamia.
On November 22, 1920, Hakim Ajmal Khan was elected the first chancellor of Jamia. Mohamed Ali Jauhar became Jamia’s first Vice Chancellor.
Born out of political crisis and as a political affront to the British, it seemed for a while, Jamia would not survive the heat of the intense political struggle for the independence of India. It participated in the Bardoli resolution and sent volunteers across the country to motivate people to fight for the freedom of the country. The colonial British government soon imprisoned many of its teachers and students. In 1922, Gandhi called off the non-cooperation movement. Even as its teachers and students were being released, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk declared the end of the Khilafat in 1924.
Jamia saw itself in a great crisis. Some thought it had achieved its mission, as others believed that the institution had lost its raison d’etre with the end of the non-cooperation and the Khilafat movements. Even the little financial assistance, that the Khilafat had been giving it, dried up. Jamia’s collapse became a possibility.
As the crisis loomed, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari and Abdul Majeed Khwaja — the first trio—supported by Gandhi shifted Jamia from Aligarh to Karol Bagh, in New Delhi in 1925. Although Gandhi’s contacts helped to secure financial help for Jamia, the risk of helping a Congress-backed institution under the British Raj dissuaded many benefactors. Some Muslims viewed Jamia as a threat to Aligarh Muslim University. During those difficult days, it was Hakim Ajmal Khan who met most of Jamia’s expenses from his own pocket. Dr. M.A. Ansari and Abdul Majeed Khwaja toured India and abroad, explaining the importance of Jamia and collecting funds for the enterprise. Their intervention averted a collapse.
In 1925 a group of three friends studying in Germany — Dr. Zakir Hussain, Dr. Abid Husain and Dr. Mohammed Mujeeb — decided to serve Jamia. In 1928 when Hakim Ajmal Khan died it was the beginning of the second financial crisis, as it was Hakim Sahib himself who had been meeting most of Jamia’s financial needs. The leadership of Jamia then moved into the hands of Dr. Zakir Husain, who became its Vice Chancellor in 1928.
To resolve Jamia of its financial problems, a group of young Jamia teachers, led by Dr. Zakir Hussain, took a pledge to serve Jamia for the next twenty years on a salary not more than Rs. 150. This group was called the Life Members of Jamia. (This was repeated in 1942 when a second group of Jamia teachers took a similar pledge).
Jamia’s department of Printing and Publications split in 1928 with the newly established Jamia Press at Darya Ganj, Urdu Academy, and Maktaba Jamia under the charge of Prof. Mohammed Mujeeb, Dr. Abid Husain and Mr. Hamid Ali respectively.
On March 1, 1935, the foundation stone for a school building was laid at Okhla, then a village on the southern outskirts of Delhi. In 1936, all institutions of Jamia, except Jamia Press, the Maktaba and the library, were shifted to the new campus. The emphasis of Jamia was on evolving education methods. This led to the establishment of a teacher’s college (Ustadon ka Madrasa) in 1938. In 1936, Dr. M.A. Ansari died. On June 4, 1939, Jamia Millia Islamia was registered as a society.
The fame of Jamia as an education movement spread and dignitaries from foreign countries began visiting Jamia. Husein Raouf Bey (1933), Dr. Behadjet Wahbi of Cairo (1934), and Ms. Halide Edib of Turkey (1936) were some of them. Foreigners, impressed by Jamia, began working in Jamia. A German lady Ms. Gerda Philipsborn (popularly nicknamed in Jamia as Aapa Jaan) served Jamia for many years and is buried in Jamia. In 1939, Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi (1872–1944), a theologian and freedom fighter, came to stay in Jamia on the invitation of Dr. Zakir Husain. He started a school of Islamic Studies in Jamia, called Baitul Hikmah, propagating the ideology of Shah Waliullah.
In 1946, during Jamia’s silver jubilee celebration, one could see the crisis that India had to face in the following year: Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and Liaquat Ali Khan were on one side of Dr. Zakir Husain, the vice chancellor, on the dias; Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Asaf Ali and Sir Rajagopalachari were on the other side.
The riots following partition that shook the northern India did affect Jamia, but not its campus. Gandhiji observed that its campus remained “an oasis of peace in the Sahara” of communal violence.
After the attainment of Independence, Jamia continued to grow. Foreign dignitaries visited Jamia Millia Islamia during their visits to New Delhi. Visitors included Marshal Josip Broz Tito of Yuoglavia(1954), King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan (1955), Crown Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia, King Reza Shah Pehlavi of Iran (1956) and Prince Mukarram Jah (1960).
In 1962, the University Grants Commission declared the Jamia a ‘Deemed to be University’. The School of Social Work was established in 1967. In 1971, Jamia started the Zakir Husain Institute of Islamic Studies, to honour Dr. Zakir Husain, who had died in 1969. BE course in Civil Engineering commenced in 1978; in 1981, the faculties of Humanities and Languages, Natural Sciences, Social Science, and the State Resource Centre were founded.
In 1983, it started the Mass Communication Research Centre and the Centre for Coaching and Career Planning. In 1985, it established the Faculty of Engineering and Technology and the University Computer Centre. Academic Staff College and the Academy of Third World Studies followed in 1987 and 1988.
Jamia was accorded the status of a Central University by act of the parliament in December 1988.[1]
In 2006 the King of Saudi Arabia paid a visit to the university and donated a record $30 million for construction of a library.[2] Its scenic cricket ground (popularly known as the Bhopal Ground ) has hosted Ranji Trophy matches and a women's cricket test match. Besides its seven faculties, the Jamia has centres of learning and research, like the Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC), and the Academy of Third World Studies (ATWS). The Jamia offers undergraduate and postgraduate information and technology courses.
Jamia Millia Islamia offers academic and extension programs through the following faculties:
The faculty was established in 1985 by Professor Iqbal H Khan, the founding Dean of Engineering, and offers courses and programmes related to engineering. Its undergraduate programmes include B.Tech. (Bachelor of Technology) in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, and Computer Engineering; B.Arch. (Bachelor of Architecture); and as continuing programmes for in-service engineers, it offers BE (Bachelor of Engineering) in Computer Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electronics and Communication Engineering.
It offers postgraduate programmes, M.Tech. (Master of Technology) (Electrical Power Systems Management), M.Tech. (Environmental Science and Engineering), M.Sc. (Master of Science) (Electronics). The polytechnic offers day and evening courses for the Diploma in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electronics and Communication Engineering. A Ph.D. programme is offered.
Its parent institution, the Teachers Training College was established by educator and patron Dr. Zakir Hussain in 1938.
This faculty, besides offering B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education), M.Ed. (Master of Education) and M.A. (Master of Art) courses with specializations, conducts undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Fine Arts. It offers a diploma in elementary teacher education programme besides conducting research.
The faculty has eight departments — Arabic, English and Modern European Languages, Tourism and Hospitality, Hindi, History and Culture, Islamic Studies, Persian, and Urdu — offering programmes in Ph.D., M.Phil. (pre-Ph.D.), postgraduate, undergraduate, diploma and certificate courses.
The Faculty of Law, Jamia Millia Islamia was established in 1989. In addition to the LLB five year integrated BA, LLB course, the faculty runs an LLM four semester course in three streams: Personal Law, Corporate Law and Criminal Law and a Ph.D. programme.
The faculty offers diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programmes. Its undergraduate programmes include B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science)/B.Sc. (Honours), B.Sc. (Vocational), B.A. (Honours). At the postgraduate level, the faculty offers postgraduate diplomas, M.Tech in Nanotechnology, M.Sc.(Physics/ Mathematics/ Chemistry/ Biosciences/ Biotechnology/ Biochemistry/ Bioinformatics/ Geography), M.A., Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications (P.G.D.C.A.), Master of Computer Applications (M.C.A.), M.Sc.(Maths with Computer Science), a three-year M.Sc.Tech. (Industrial Mathematics with Computer Applications) courses, Advanced Diploma in Remote Sensing and GIS, and Advanced Diploma course in Computer Assisted Cartography.
The faculty offers Bachelor programmes in Economics, Sociology, Social Work, Political Science, Psychology, Commerce and Computer Applications, and programmes leading to a masters degree. Diploma and Ph.D. courses are also offered.
It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in architecture and ekistics besides a Ph.D. programme.
The Faculty of Dentistry was established in 2009. Students are offered a Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme.
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences (CIRBAS) is a research centre in Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. It is on the Jamia's Main Campus and is funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Fakhruddin T. Khorakiwala Centre for Information Technology (FTK-CIT) is a centre of Jamia providing IT services and facilities to all its staff members and students. The centre has shifted to a new building near Ansari Auditorium.
The Computer Centre was established in 1984 with the installation of a minicomputer and some terminals, with the aim to provide computer facility to researchers and computer training to the university staff.
In 1995-1996, the University Grants Commission upgraded the centre to Level-B and provided some technical staff as well as a grant for establishing a Local Area Network. A network with 10 Mbit/s optical fiber backbone with 50 nodes was established, connecting some of the departments and offices through fiber network switch. An e-mail facility through ERNET, India was started using a dial-up "uucp" connection. Three Alpha servers were purchased by the centre and a computer lab was developed for faculty members and research scholars for computational work as well as for e-mail.
In 1996, the Computer Centre was given the responsibility of teaching undergraduate and postgraduate computer courses: Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA), Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA), and Master of Software Systems (MSS). After the creation of the Department of Computer Science in 1999, the courses were transferred to the department. This provided the Computer Centre a better opportunity for carrying out its main activities that include increasing computer awareness in the university, extending the campus-wide network, and computerization of offices.
The campus is interconnected with internet and intranet, with a leased line connection. A computer lab that provides computing facilities consisting of the latest configured machines linked to a wide range of software communication and print services. It consists of P-IV machines and a leased line internet connection. The labs can serve as conference halls with step-up seating to facilitate discussions. A conference hall with a capacity of 150 seats at the centre provides a platform for staff, researchers, and students to express themselves. A software library, audio/visual, and photo archives are available. An internet facility is available for the faculty members, staff, research scholars, and students. For more information see http://jmi.ac.in/cit/cit.htm.
The Mass Communication Research Centre was established in 1982 by Anwar Jamal Kidwai, then vice-chancellor (later chancellor) of Jamia Millia Islamia. Jamia is today known primarily for these mass communication courses.[2] In recognition of AJK’s contribution in giving Jamia a premium centre of learning the Centre was renamed the Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre.
After its founding, the MCRC was recognised as an autonomous unit of the university, with its own managing board. It has separate facilities and relations with other institutions, including a collaboration with York University in Toronto and the Canadian International Development Agency. York provided the first generation of documentary teachers, led by James Beveridge.
From 2004-2006 the centre was renovated with funding from the HRD Ministry and the Ford Foundation, adding two new buildings and seven classrooms and labs and expanding its scope to cover television, radio, photography, animation and film production.
Besides these faculties, there are twenty centres of learning and research. Notable among these is the M.A. in Mass Communication offered by the AJK Mass Communication and Research Center.
In a historic order, the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) on 2 February 2011, granted minority institution status to Jamia Milia Islamia University. This allows Jamia to reserve up to 50 per cent seats for Muslims.
“We have no hesitation in holding that Jamia was founded by the Muslims for the benefit of the Muslims and it never lost its identity as a Muslim minority educational institution,” said the order signed by Justice M.S.A. Siddiqui, chairperson of the Commission.
Grant of minority status would mean that Jamia Millia Islamia will no longer have to give reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students. The petition had been moved before the quasi-judicial body by Jamia Students' Union, Jamia Old Boys' Association, and Jamia Teachers' Association in 2006.
The Union Human Resource Development Ministry opposed the move on the ground that a petition challenging the minority status of the Aligarh Muslim University was pending in the Supreme Court and its judgment would have a bearing on the Jamia case.
The order can only be challenged in the High Court through a writ petition or in the Supreme Court.
“We find and hold that Jamia Milia Islamia is a minority educational institution covered under Article 30 (1) of the Constitution of India with section 2(G) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act,” the order said, adding that the university existed even before the Constitution was in place.
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