Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a public university located in
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
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* The city has a syncretic t ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Established in 10 February 1921 as Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed, it is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar Pradesh. It got University status in 1974 as
Deemed to be University and
State University
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country.
State univers ...
status in 2009 by The Uttar Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Act, 2008 (act no. 6 of 2009). The university has more than 400+ affiliated colleges spread over six districts. It is one of the largest
state universities
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country.
State univers ...
in Uttar Pradesh, with hundreds of thousands of students, both rural and urban. It offers a range of professional and academic courses in arts, science, commerce, agriculture science, law, computing and management.
Foundation
Babu
Shiv Prasad Gupta
Shiv Prasad Gupta hi, शिव प्रसाद गुप्त (28 June 1883 – 24 April 1944) was a visionary, philanthropist, a leader of the Indian Freedom Movement and the founder of the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth. Though be ...
and
Bhagwan Das
Bhagwan Das (12 January 1869 – 18 September 1958) was an Indian Theosophist and public figure. For a time he served in the Central Legislative Assembly of British India. He became allied with the Hindustani Culture Society and was active in ...
established the university in Varanasi, on 10 February 1921, during the
non-cooperation movement
The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance. of the freedom struggle. Originally named Kashi Vidyapith, the university was renamed Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith in 1995. It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi.
Kashi Vidyapith was the action field of the Indian National Movement & a pilgrimage for the Socialists.
Inspired by Gandhi's call for self-reliance and ''
swaraj
Swarāj ( sa, स्वराज, translit=Svarāja '' sva-'' "self", '' raj'' "rule") can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". It was first used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to attain self rule from the Mughal Empire and the Adil ...
'' (''self-rule''), the Kashi Vidyapith was the first modern university organised by Indians in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. The university, along with contemporaries such as the
Jamia Millia Islamia
Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...
and the
Gujarat Vidyapith
Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, and deemed a university in 1963.
Etymology
"Vidyapith," in many languages of ...
, were outside the control and support of British authorities, supported and managed entirely by
Indian nationalists
Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, ...
and educationalists. Attracting young Indians from across the country, its faculty included prominent nationalists and scholars such as
Acharya Narendra Dev
Acharya Narendra Deva (; also Dev; 30 October 1889 – 19 February 1956) was one of the leading theorists of the Congress Socialist Party in India. His democratic socialism renounced violent means as a matter of principle and embraced the '' sa ...
,
Rajendra Prasad
Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...
,
Jivatram Kripalani
Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (11 November 1888 – 19 March 1982), popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in 1 ...
,
Shriprakash and
Sampurnanand
Sampurnanand (1 January 1891 – 10 January 1969) was a teacher and politician in Uttar Pradesh, India. He served as the second Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1954 to 1960. If single tenures in the office of the Uttar Pradesh Chief M ...
. Gandhi and Indian nationalists encouraged Indians to boycott British-run institutions in favour of institutions managed entirely by Indians. Many prominent Indian industrialists and politicians provided financial and administrative support to the university.
Bhagwan Das
Bhagwan Das (12 January 1869 – 18 September 1958) was an Indian Theosophist and public figure. For a time he served in the Central Legislative Assembly of British India. He became allied with the Hindustani Culture Society and was active in ...
was the first vice-chancellor. Others associated with the first board of management included
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
,
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...
, Jamuna Lal Bajaj,
Jawahar Lal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
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*
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* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
,
Shiv Prasad Gupta
Shiv Prasad Gupta hi, शिव प्रसाद गुप्त (28 June 1883 – 24 April 1944) was a visionary, philanthropist, a leader of the Indian Freedom Movement and the founder of the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth. Though be ...
,
Acharya Narendra Dev
Acharya Narendra Deva (; also Dev; 30 October 1889 – 19 February 1956) was one of the leading theorists of the Congress Socialist Party in India. His democratic socialism renounced violent means as a matter of principle and embraced the '' sa ...
, Krishna Kant Malviya, and
Purushottam Das Tandon
Purushottam Das Tandon (; 1 August 1882 – 1 July 1962) was a freedom fighter from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is widely remembered for his opposition to the partition of India, as well as efforts in achieving the ''Official Languag ...
. The founding ceremony of the Vidyapith reverberated with the recital of
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
mantras
A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...
as well as excerpts from the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
in the presence of educationists, learned persons and nationalists such as Pandit Motilal Nehru, Maulana Mohammed Ali and Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Husseini, Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian Indian independence movement, independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the ...
.
Established with the resolution to keep the institution away from government recognition and grants, the Vidyapith was accorded the status of "Deemed University" by the
UGC in 1963. This epoch-making event started a new chapter for the institution. Babu Sampurnanand was appointed as the chancellor and Acharya
Birbal Singh
Birbal Singh was an Indian freedom fighter from Raisinghnagar, India. He died in firing by police of Bikaner princely state in 1946.
Shahid Birbal singh dhaliya jeengar religion community
Early life
His full name was Birbal Singh Dhalia. Hi ...
as vice-chancellor. As the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
Pt. Kamlapati Tripathi Kamalapati Tripathi (3 September 1905 – 8 October 1990) was an Indian politician, writer, journalist, and freedom fighter. He was a senior Indian National Congress leader from Varanasi constituency. He served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as ...
initiated a state government resolution to have his ''alma mater'' acknowledged as a statutory university; this would occur on 15 January 1974. At this point, Professor
Raghukul Tilak was vice-chancellor and the Governor of Uttar Pradesh and would become the chancellor in accordance with the U.P. University Act. At present, the M.G. Kashi Vidyapith is flourishing under the able leadership of its current vice-chancellor, Prof. Anand K. Tyagi
Cultural and political background
Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith owes its birth to the educational, cultural and political aspirations of
pre-independence India. The early period of this institution pulsated with the
national freedom struggle. The teaching provided original dimensions to the concept and movement of
Indian socialism. After seeing an educational institution in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
during a visit in 1913–14, Prasad Gupt was inspired to establish an institution in India, free from government aid or interference. The
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
of government-aided educational institutions during the
Non-Cooperation Movement
The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance. coupled with Mahatma Gandhi's programme of National Education exerted a great deal of influence on Prasad Gupt. As a consequence, the Vidyapith came into being. Students joining Mahatma Gandhi's boycott call took admission in the Vidyapith.
Shiv Prasad Gupta
Shiv Prasad Gupta hi, शिव प्रसाद गुप्त (28 June 1883 – 24 April 1944) was a visionary, philanthropist, a leader of the Indian Freedom Movement and the founder of the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth. Though be ...
established the Har Prasad Smarak Nidhi in memory of his deceased brother, for the operation of the Vidyapith, which subsequently proved to be a fertile nursery for national freedom movement activities.
Administration
The chancellor, the vice chancellor and the members of the executive council, the court and the academic council of the university, constitute a body corporate: Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith Varanasi. The university has a perpetual succession and a common seal. It can sue and be sued by its name.
The university is open to all persons irrespective of class or creed, but nothing may require the university to admit, to any course of study, a larger number of students than determined by the ordinances. Similarly nothing can prevent the university from meeting special provisions for admission of students belonging to Scheduled castes or Scheduled Tribes.
The vice-chancellor is a full-time salaried officer who is appointed by the chancellor (the governor of U.P.) from the names submitted to him by a committee constituted in accordance with the provisions of the U.P. State Universities Act 1973.
The departments are under the direct supervision of their appointed directors; each sub-department has a head.
The former head of the Department of Commerce, Prof. Sudhir Kumar Shukla, is a recipient of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National Award. He was co-author of a book written by Anurag Chaube, deputy librarian. The award was presented by the Hon'ble President of India for ''Computer Evam Suchna Prabandh''. Prof. Shukla has been felicitated by the Uttar Pradesh Government on account of Hindi Diwas with the coveted university-level prize for his contribution towards the promotion of Hindi as a primary language.
The college declare the result of all courses like BA BSC BCOM MA B.Mus, Bed, LL.B./B.B.A./B.C.A. B.P.Ed./M.P.Ed. M.B.A. M.Lib. MSc every year on its official website.
Dr. Bhagwandas Central Library
Formerly known as Bhagwandas Swadhyaypith, the library was established in 1921 and later renamed the Dr. Bhagwandas Central Library. He was a renowned philosopher and the first vice chancellor of the university. Many stalwarts of the national movement, including
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
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*
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* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
, Jamunalal Bajaj, Acharya J.B. Kripalani, Puroshottamdas Tandon, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Sampurnanand,
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...
, and Pandit Kamalapati Tripathi were closely associated with this library. It has a total collection of 2,34,701 volumes of books in humanities, social sciences, and science, and is developing as a centre of modern learning.
Hostels
* Dr. Sampurnanand Research Hostel
* Acharya Narendradev Hostel
* Lal Bahadur Shastri Hostel
* J.K. Women's Hostel
Bharat Mata Mandir
![Varanasi 256 - Bharat Mata temple (33982674090)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Varanasi_256_-_Bharat_Mata_temple_%2833982674090%29.jpg)
It is a temple situated in university campus, of Bharat Mata. It is heritage place of Kashi. It is attraction of tourists. Temple is made up of marble.
Other campuses
* Dr
Vibhuti Narayan Singh
Maharaja Vibhuti Narayan Singh (5 November 1927 – 25 December 2000) was the king of Benares, a city considered holy, located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the last Bhumihar king of the Kingdom of Kashi.
Childhood
Vibhuti Naraya ...
Rural Medical Institute, Gangapur Campus, Varanasi
* Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, NTPC Campus, Shaktinagar Sonebhadra
* Bhairav Talab Campus, Birhanpur, Rajatalab, Mgkvp, Birhanpur, Varanasi.
Alumni
Alumni of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith include:
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Naheed Abidi,
scholar and writer
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Chandra Shekhar Azad
Chandra Shekhar Tiwari ( (23 July 1906 – 27 February 1931), popularly known as Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican ...
, Indian freedom fighter
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Ramakrishna Hegde
Ramakrishna Mahabaleshwar Hegde (29 August 1926 – 12 January 2004) was an Indian politician who served as the tenth Chief Minister of Karnataka for three terms between 1983 and 1988. He was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1 ...
, former chief minister of Karnataka
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B. V. Keskar, former Union Minister of India
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Kalraj Mishra
Kalraj Mishra (born 1 July 1941) is an Indian politician, serving as the Governor of Rajasthan. He is the former Governor of Himachal Pradesh and Cabinet Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the BJP-led NDA government of Prime ...
, former governor of Rajasthan
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Rajaram, former national vice-president of BSP
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Anant Maral Shastri
Anant Maral Shastri (1912–1999) was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, literary figure, poet, Sanskrit scholar, linguist and bureaucrat. At a very young age, he left Ambikapur, now in Chhattisgarh, and joined Kashi Vidyapeeth, a nationali ...
, freedom fighter, writer and scholar
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Bhola Paswan Shastri
Bhola Paswan Shastri (21 September 1914 - 10 September 1984) was an Indian freedom fighter and on three occasions between 1968-71 was former Chief Minister of Bihar state in India.
He was born in Paswan Community in Bairgacchi village of Purn ...
, former chief minister of Bihar
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Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...
, former prime minister of India
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Tribhuvan Narain Singh
Tribhuvan Narain Singh (8 August 1904 – 3 August 1982) was an Indian politician and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He remained Chief Minister from 18 October 1970 till 4 April 1971. Singh later served as Governor of West Bengal from the la ...
, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh
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Kamlapati Tripathi Kamalapati Tripathi (3 September 1905 – 8 October 1990) was an Indian politician, writer, journalist, and freedom fighter. He was a senior Indian National Congress leader from Varanasi constituency. He served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as ...
, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh
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Nivaan Sen
Nivaan Sen, also known as Naveen Sen, is an Indian actor and producer. His production house name is 'Urban Boat Films'. He is known for his role in the Indian daily soaps ''Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii'', ''Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Py ...
, Indian Actor And Producer
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Gopi Sonkar
Gopi Sonkar (born 10 April 2000), also known as Gopi Kumar, is an Indian field hockey player and a member of Indian field hockey team. He represented India in 2018 Sultan of Johor Cup held at Malaysia.
He also participated in 9th Hockey In ...
, Indian field hockey player
See also
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Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
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Gujarat Vidyapith
Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, and deemed a university in 1963.
Etymology
"Vidyapith," in many languages of ...
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Rajasthan Vidyapeeth
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Sardar Patel University
Sardar Patel University (SPU) is a public state university in Vallabh Vidyanagar, a town Gujarat, India. It is named after the iron man of India Vallabhbhai Patel, and was founded in October 1955 by an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the then ...
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List of educational institutions in Varanasi
The following is a list of educational institutions in Varanasi. Varanasi (known earlier as Benares) is a city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is approximately 800 kilometres (497 mi) sout ...
References
External links
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{{Coord missing, Uttar Pradesh
Universities in Uttar Pradesh
Universities and colleges in Varanasi
Indian independence movement in Uttar Pradesh
Educational institutions established in 1921
1921 establishments in India