BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY (BHU)

About BHU

Banaras Hindu University has been persistently ranked amongst the top five universities of India both in academic and research output. There are two campuses of BHU – The BHU main campus spread over 1,300 acres and the Rajiv Gandhi South Campus spread over an area of 2,700 acres.

BHU has always believed in maintaining equilibrium between teaching and research, giving equal weightage to both the factors of education. BHU guarantees a perfect ambience conducive to learning through innovation and creativity. It promises best international practices and foreign collaborations beneficial for scholars and students alike.

The university conducts common entrance test at different levels on a yearly basis. Thousands of students enroll every year to attain higher education and over 2,500 researchers converge from different parts of the country to explore something new in their respective domain. The University also reserves around 650 seats for foreign students coming from over 30 countries including U.S.A, the countries of Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa etc. BHU has always promoted ethics based value systems including equality of opportunities, participative democracy, students from backward regions etc.

Founder of BHU

PANDIT MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA

The Man, The Spirit, The Vision                                     

Banaras Hindu University was founded in the year 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. BHU was established under the Parliamentary legislation – B.H.U. Act 1915. Malaviya was born to an orthodox and learned Hindu family at Prayag (Allahabad) in the year 1861.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was a versatile and multitalented personality. He envisioned a prosperous and literate India from a very pragmatic perspective. Besides being a great educationist, Malaviya was also a journalist, social reformer, low-profiled lawyer, a statesman and a parliamentarian. During his lifetime, he succeeded in making BHU an epitome of knowledge and integrity. At the time of its establishment, the University was known as Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya which later became famous as Banaras Hindu University. Banaras being the heritage of knowledge, wisdom and spirituality was chosen as the centre of learning by Malaviya. He envisaged an institution embracing the ancient centers of learning Takshashila and Nalanda, alongside keeping pace with the modern scientific methods.

His mission was freeing India from the shackles of foreign invaders with the power of education and righteousness. Many eminent personalities joined hands with him in his quest for knowledge including Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Annie Besant, and Shyama Charan De. Annie Besant viewed BHU as the University of India.

Malaviya passed away in 1946 and left behind him Banaras Hindu University as his legacy. His vision is still alive here where knowledge, in its best form and conduct, is imparted from generation to generation.

University and its Units 

The University has four major institutes. These are

• Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi
• Institute of Agricultural Sciences
• Institute of Medical Sciences
• Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development

In total, there are 16 major faculties comprising 140 departments; 4 advanced centers and 4 interdisciplinary schools. The University is continuously making progress in various mainstream subjects including Science, Medicine, Technology, Agriculture, Social Science etc.

The main campus is connected to well-maintained roads and is a real architectural delight complimented with greenery on every side. The Air Field of the campus was initially launched for military training for flying during the WWII.

The University has also preserved its old memories in the Bharat Kala Bhavan museum – a treasure trove of rare collections. All modern amenities are available in the 927 bed hospital of the University. The University also promotes sports and hobbies for the students. It is also equipped with large playgrounds, a big auditorium and a flying club as part of its refreshment activities. Other auxiliary services and units at the University include Employment and Information Bureau, Printing Press, Publication Cell, Subsidized Canteens, Fruit Preservation Center, etc. The diversified culture of the University is an answer to our current polarized society as around 15000 students belonging to all streams of life, races, castes and religions meet here with one mission of gaining knowledge. The staff includes 1700 teachers, and around 8000 non-teaching staff.

BHU has constructed the Rajiv Gandhi South Campus at Barkachha about 75 km southwest of Varanasi. The first academic session in the new campus commenced from 2006-07 with six programs which has now reached 25 in the current session. This campus is a budding hub for imparting education and practical training to women and marginalized sections of society in the remote region of Mirzapur and bordering districts of Uttar Pradesh, Northern Madhya Pradesh and Western Bihar. The campus is headed towards its vision of imparting education which essentially will generate a human resource base who would be job creators, rather than job seekers.

Contact

Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi-221005,
U.P.
India.