Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is a public central university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, in 1875 which later became Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO College). It was designed to train Muslims for government service in India and prepare them for advanced training in British universities. The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.

The establishment of MAO College in 1875 marked a key event in the education and social history of Muslims in the subcontinent. It was the first significant response of the Indian Muslims to the challenges of post Indian Mutiny of 1857 era and It became the principal Muslim institution in India. In a larger sense support for the school, that is the Aligarh Movement‎ brought together Muslim elites across India and led to the formations of the All-India Muslim League.

In the early 20th century, this institution exploded into political activity. Before 1939, faculty and students supported an all-India nationalist movement. After 1939, political sentiment shifted toward support for a Muslim separatist movement. Students and faculty mobilised behind Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League hence became an epicentre of Pakistan Movement.

Spread over 467.6 hectares in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 300 courses in the traditional and modern branches of education. It draws students from all corners of the world, especially Africa, West Asia and Southeast Asia. In some courses, places are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries. The university is open to all irrespective of caste, creed, religion or gender. It ranks 8th among the top 20 research universities in India. Alumna of the university are popularly known as Aligarians. (The more generic Aligarhiya is used to refer to inhabitants of Aligarh who have not studied at AMU.)

It has more than 30,000, students, about 1,400 teachers and some 6,000 non-teaching staff on its rolls, with 12 faculties in 95 departments, 5 institution and 13 centres. There are 18 halls of residence with 73 hostels. It has the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Dr. Ziauddin Dental College, Institute of Ophthalmology, Food Craft Institute, Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Centre of Advance Study in History, Centre of West Asian Studies, Centre of Wildlife, Academic Staff College, Women's College, Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, University Polytechnic for boys and girls, separately and Computer Centre. The languages taught here include English, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Kashmiri, French, Turkish, German and Russian. The medium of instruction is primarily English. It has as many as five high schools including one for the visually handicapped, and two senior secondary schools for boys and girls.