Jamia Millia Islamia

Jamia Millia Islamia, an institution originally established at Aligarh in United Provinces, India in 1920 became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988. In Urdu language, Jamia means ‘University’, and Millia means ‘National’.

The story of its growth from a small institution in the pre-independence India to a central university located in New Delhi—offering integrated education from nursery to research in specialized areas—is a saga of dedication, conviction and vision of a people who worked against all odds and saw it growing step by step. They “built up the Jamia Millia stone by stone and sacrifice by sacrifice,” said Sarojini Naidu, the nightingale of India.

Under the colonial British rule, two dominant trends joined hands and contributed towards in the birth of Jamia. One was the anti-colonial Islamic 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 anti-colonial activism signified by the Khilafat and the pro-independence aspirations symbolised by the non-cooperation movement of the Indian National Congress helped to harness creative energies and the subsequent making of Jamia Millia Islamia. Rabindranath Tagore called it “one of the most progressive educational institutions of India”.

Responding to Gandhiji’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 prominent members of this movement were Maulana Mehmud Hasan, Maulana Mohamed Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, and Abdul Majid Khwaja

The saying, ‘when going gets tough the tough gets going’ cannot be truer about Jamia. As the crisis loomed large, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari and Abdul Majeed Khwaja—the first trio—supported by Gandhiji shifted Jamia from Aligarh to Karol Bagh, in New Delhi in 1925. Gandhiji boosted the morale of Jamia, saying, “The Jamia has to run. If you are worried about its finances, I will go about with a begging bowl”. Jamia followed Gandhiji’s constructive programme for self-reliance while it took to Charkha and Takli as favoured vocations.
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 willing benefactors. Orthodox Muslims also viewed Jamia as a threat to Aligarh Muslim University, the ‘Muslim Oxford’. 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 this noble enterprise. Their collective intervention did avert a collapse that was almost certain.

Engineering

This Faculty was established in 1985 with the departments of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering departments. It has added the departments of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Department of Applied Science and Humanities (1996) and has five engineering departments— Applied Sciences & Humanities, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics & Communications, Mechanical Engineering—and a University Polytechnic. These departments also conduct many projects sponsored various agencies. The faculty offers regular courses and continuing programmes

Its undergraduate programmes include B.Tech. in Civil engineering, Electrical engineering, Mechanical engineering, Electronics and Communication engineering, and Computer engineering; B Arch; and as continuing programmes for in-service engineers, it offers BE in Civil engineering, Electrical engineering, Mechanical engineering, and Electronics & Communication engineering. It also offers postgraduate programmes, M.Tech (Electrical Power Systems Management), M.Tech (Environmental Science and Engineering), M.Sc (Electronics) and MBA (for details of MBA Program click here). The Polytechnic offers day and Evening course for Diploma in Civil engineering, Electrical engineering, Mechanical engineering, and Electronics & Communication engineering

It has laboratories for Applied Chemistry, Applied Physics, Basic Electronics, Computer Programming, Microprocessor, Electronic Devices, Optoelectronics, Communication and Digital Processing. The Faculty plans to introduce postgraduate courses in Geotechnology, Structures, Water Resources, Energy Management, Industrial Automation, Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Industrial Engineering Ergonomics and Digital Systems in the near future

The Faculty has the following departments:

Civil Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electronics and Communication Engineering
Applied Sciences and Humanities
Computer Engineering
Jamia Polytechnic