Aliah University (AU; , ) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

state university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

in New Town, West Bengal, India. Previously known as Mohammedan College of Calcutta, it was elevated to university in 2008.

History

The Aliah University (AU) is one of the oldest modern-style educational institutes in Asia, and first in India. It was set up in October 1780 by

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...

, the British Governor general of

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

near Sealdah in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. A number of titles were used for it, such as Islamic College of Calcutta, Calcutta Madrasah, Calcutta Mohammedan College and Madrasah-e-Aliah. Of these, Calcutta Mohammedan College was that used by Warren Hastings. The original building was completed in 1782 at Bow Bazaar (near Sealdah). The college moved to its campus on Wellesley Square in the 1820s. Initially it taught

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, theology and

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, grammar,

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

arithmetic Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of roots, and taking logarithms. ...

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

, rhetoric and oratory. The Calcutta Madrasa followed different models for different subjects, like Dars-i Nizami of Firingi Mahal for Persian and Arabic, and the old Peripatetic School Model for the Logic and Philosophy.

Campus

Aliah University has three campuses for different types of curriculum located at

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

, Park Circus and Taltala. Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

laid the foundation stone of Aliah University

Campus on 15 December 2011. Later on 11 November 2014

inaugurated the finished campus. New Town campus contains 156 class rooms with a capacity of 12,000 students and houses

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

Technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

students only. The campus also has separate boy's and girl's hostel. New Town campus also has three annexure buildings dedicated to various laboratories and a central library.

Academics

Admission

Admission to most undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Aliah University is granted through written entrance examinations and for B.Tech. programs through WBJEE. Admission to

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

programmes is based on a written test and a personal interview. Admission to undergraduate programmes is based on merit rank of the "Aliah University Admission Test" (''AUAT''), which consists of a written examination of "Multiple Choice Type Questions" (''MCQ''), clearing of which leads to an interview and final selection of the candidate. Candidates who qualify for admission through AUAT can apply for admission to LLM. ( '' Masters of Law '' ), B.Tech. (''

Bachelor of Technology A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Univ ...

''), Integrated MBA (''

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

''), MCA (''

Master of Computer Applications A Master of Science in Information Technology (abbreviated M.Sc.IT, MScIT or MSIT) is a master's degree in the field of information technology awarded by universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiar ...

''), M.Sc. (''

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

'') and M.A (''

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

'') courses in different Engineering, Business, Science and Arts subjects. Aliah University has also M.Tech. ('' Master of Technology'') program.

Accreditation

The University Grants Commission (U.G.C.) accorded recognition to the university in terms of Section 12B of the U.G.C. Act, in 2019. Aliah University has been awarded a B+ grade by NAAC.

Controversy and criticism

In 2016, a series of protests by the students of the

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 ...

took place on the main campus (

) against the disordering principle of the then vice chancellor, Abu Taleb Khan; because students were experiencing lack of books in library, lack of faculty, bad condition of lab etc. from the beginning of the university. The protest began on 8 November 2016. On 18 November 2016, students insulted their VC Abu Taleb Khan giving a black rose to him. They blockaded the main gates of the university and the students made a loud slogan. With the help of police and security guards of the

, the VC entered in his office. Students were requested by the EC members, Fact Finding Committee and also the Minority and Madrasah Education Minister Giasuddin Molla to stop the protest and class boycotts. But students said they will continue to boycott classes until the vice chancellor resigns.

Notable people

* Abu Nasr Waheed, Islamic scholar * Nawsad Siddique, Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly *

Quamrul Hassan Quamrul Hassan (; 2 December 1921– 2 February 1988) was a Bangladeshi artist. Quamrul Hassan is referred to in Bangladesh as Potua, a word usually associated with folk artists, due to his down to earth style yet very modern in nature as he ...

, Bangladeshi artist * Nawab Abdul Latif, Bengali aristocrat, educator and social worker

References

External links

* {{authority control Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance Universities in Kolkata 1780 establishments in British India Educational institutions established in 1780 Islamic universities and colleges in India