Overview

Banaras Hindu University () (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, which had been founded by theosophist and future Indian Home Rule leader Annie Besant in 1898. By 1911 Besant was marginalised on the governing board of the College by Madan Mohan Malviya who preferred a more traditional Hinduism with its hereditary caste system to Besant's more theosophical one. Five years later Malaviya established the university with the support of the maharaja of Darbhanga Rameshwar Singh, the maharaja of Benares Prabhu Narayan Singh, and the lawyer Sunder Lal. With over 30,000 students, and 18,000 residing on campus, BHU is the largest residential university in Asia. The university is one of the eight public institutions declared as an Institute of Eminence by the Government of India. It is also one of the 12 institutions from India in BRICS Universities League, a consortium of leading research universities from BRICS countries. The university's main campus spread over 1,370 acres (5.5 km2), was built on land donated by Prabhu Narayan Singh, the hereditary ruler of Benares State. The south campus, spread over 2,700 acres (11 km2) is built on land donated later by Aditya Narayan Singh in Sunderpur, hosts the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Agriculture Science Centre) and is located in Barkachha in Mirzapur district, about 60 km (37 mi) from Varanasi. BHU is organized into six institutes, 14 faculties (streams) and about 140 departments. As of 2020, the total student enrolment at the university is 30,698 coming from 48 countries. It has over 65 hostels for resident students. Several of its faculties and institutes include Arts, Social Sciences, Commerce, Management Studies, Science, Performing Arts, Law, Agricultural Science, Medical Science, and Environment and Sustainable Development along with departments of Linguistics, Journalism & Mass Communication, among others. The university's engineering institute was designated as an Indian Institute of Technology in June 2012, and henceforth is Indian Institute of Technology (BHU). Centralised in 1916 through the Banaras Hindu University Act, Banaras Hindu University is India's first central university. BHU celebrated its centenary year in 2015–2016. == History == The Banaras Hindu University was jointly established by Madan Mohan Malaviya, Annie Besant, Maharaja Rameshwar Singh of Darbhanga Raj and Prabhu Narayan Singh and Aditya Narayan Singh of Narayan dynasty, while the university is the brainchild of Malviya. At the 21st Conference of the Indian National Congress in Benares in December 1905, Malaviya publicly announced his intent to establish a university in Banaras. Malaviya continued to develop his vision for the university with inputs from other Indian nationalists and educationists. He published his plan in 1911. The focus of his arguments was the prevailing poverty in India and the decline in income of Indians compared to Europeans. The plan called for the focus on technology and science, besides the study of India's religion and culture: "The millions mired in poverty here can only get rid (of it) when science is used in their interest. Such maximum application of science is only possible when scientific knowledge is available to Indians in their own country." -- Madan Mohan Malviya Malaviya's plan evaluated whether to seek government recognition for the university or operate without its control. He decided in favour of the former for various reasons. Malaviya also considered the question of medium of instruction and decided to start with English given the prevalent environment, and gradually add Hindi and other Indian languages. A distinguishing characteristic of Malaviya's vision was the preference for a residential university. All other Indian universities of the period, such as the universities in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, etc., were affiliating universities which only conducted examinations and awarded degrees to students of their affiliated colleges. Malaviya had supported Annie Besant's cause and in 1903, he had raised 250,000 Rupees in donations to finance the construction of the school's hostel. In 1907 Besant had applied for a royal charter to establish a university. However, there was no response from the British government. Following the publication of Malviya's plan, Besant met Malviya and in April 1911 they agreed to unite their forces to build the university in Varanasi. Malaviya soon left his legal practice to focus exclusively on developing the university and his independence activities. On 22 November 1911, he registered the Hindu University Society to gather support and raise funds for building the university. He spent the next four years gathering support and raising funds for the university. Malaviya sought and received early support from the Kashi Naresh Prabhu Narayan Singh and Rameshwar Singh Bahadur of Raj Darbhanga. Thakur Jadunath Singh of Arkha along with other noble houses of United Provinces contributed for the development of the university. On 22 March 1915, then Education Minister Harcourt Butler introduced the Benares Hindu University Bill in the Imperial Legislative Council. In his speech, he remarked about the university:My Lord, this is no ordinary occasion. We are watching to-day the birth of a new and, many hope, a better type of University in India. The main features of this University, which distinguish it from existing Universities, will be, first, that it will be a teaching and residential University; secondly, that while it will be open to all castes and creeds, it will insist upon religious instructions for Hindus, and thirdly, that it will be conducted and managed by the Hindu community and almost entirely by non-officials.The Benares Hindu University Bill was passed on 1 October 1915 and assented by the Viceroy and Governor-General of India on the same day. BHU was finally established in 1916, the first university in India that was the result of people's efforts. The foundation for the main campus of the university was laid by Lord Hardinge, the then Viceroy of India, on Vasant Panchami 4 February 1916. To promote the university's expansion, Malviya invited eminent guest speakers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jagadish Chandra Bose, C. V. Raman, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Sam Higginbottom, Patrick Geddes, and Besant to deliver a series of what are now called The University Extension Lectures between 5–8 February 1916. Gandhi's lecture on the occasion was his first public address in India. Sunder Lal was appointed the first vice-chancellor, and the university began its academic session the same month with classes initially held at the Central Hindu School in the Kamachha area, while the campus was being built on over 1,300 acres (5.3 km2) of land donated by the Kashi Naresh on the outskirts of the city. The Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar, Mir Osman Ali Khan, also made a donation for the university. The university's anthem, called Kulgeet, was composed by university professor and eminent scientist Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar. == Campus == === Main campus === Banaras Hindu University's main campus is located on the southern edge of Varanasi, near the banks of the river Ganges. Development of the main campus, spread over 1,370 acres (5.5 km2), started in 1916 on land donated by the then Kashi Naresh Prabhu Narayan Singh. The campus layout approximates a semicircle, with intersecting roads laid out along the radii or in arcs. Buildings built in the first half of the 20th century are fine examples of Indo-Gothic architecture. The campus has over 65 hostels offering residential accommodation for over 12,000 students. On-campus housing is also available to a majority of the full-time faculty. The main entrance gate and boundary wall was built on the donation made by Maharaja of Balrampur, Maharaja Pateshvari Prashad Singh, and is named after him as the Singh Dwar (transl. Singh Gate). The Sayaji Rao Gaekwad Library is the main library on campus and houses over 1.3 million volumes as of 2011. Completed in 1941, its construction was financed by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda. In addition to the main library, there are three institute libraries, eight faculty libraries and over 25 departmental libraries available to students and staff. Sir Sunderlal Hospital on the campus is a teaching hospital for the Institute of Medical Sciences. Established in 1926 with 96 beds, it has since been expanded to over 900 beds and is the largest tertiary referral hospital in the region. The most prominent landmark is the Shri Vishwanath Mandir, located in the centre of the campus. The foundation for this 252 feet (77 m) high complex of seven temples was laid in March 1931, and took almost three decades to complete. Established in 1920, Bharat Kala Bhavan is the university museum of the Banaras Hindu University. It is situated inside the main campus of the university with over 100,000 holdings which include artifacts, paintings, philately, textiles, costumes, etc. === Rajiv Gandhi South Campus === The south campus is located in Barkachha in Mirzapur district, about 60 km (37 mi) southwest of the main campus. Spread over an area of over 2,700 acres (11 km2), it was transferred as a lease in perpetuity to BHU by the Bharat Mandal Trust in 1979. It hosts the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Agricultural Science Centre), with focus on research in agricultural techniques, agro-forestry and bio-diversity appropriate to the Vindhya Range region. The South Campus features a lecture complex, library, student hostels and faculty housing, besides administrative offices. === Halls of residence === BHU is a fully residential university with a total of 66 hostels - 41 hostels for male, 21 hostels for female students, and 4 hostels for International students. Hostels in the university are divided among different faculties, institutes, campuses, and colleges catering to their specific demands. Out of the four separate hostels for international students, two are for boys and the other two for girls. Hostels of the university are named after several historically important figures such as Raja Baldev Das Jugal Kishore Birla, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rani Laxmibai and M. Visvesvaraya. Some hostels are named after important rivers of India; 'Triveni' for instance was initially a cluster of three girls' hostels named after rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and Sarasvati; thereby the cluster being called after Triveni Sangam. Later, hostels named after river Godavari and Kaveri were also added to the 'Triveni' block. BHU also provides on-campus residence to a substantial number of teaching and non-teaching staff. There are 654 quarters for teaching staff, 688 quarters for non-teaching staff. == Organisation and administration == === Governance === The President of India (as of December 2022, Droupadi Murmu) is the visitor of the Banaras Hindu University. The university's formal head is the chancellor (currently vacant), though this is a titular figure, and is not involved with the day-to-day running of the university. The chancellor is elected by the members of the University Court. The university's chief executive is the Vice-chancellor (as of April 2025, Sanjay Kumar), appointed by the President of India on the recommendations of Ministry of Education which, in turn, is based on an open application process. All permanent administrative offices of the university are located in the Central Office. The university is governed as per the procedures laid out in the Banaras Hindu University Act of 1915 (BHU Act), and statutes of the university. The executive council is the supreme executive governing body of the university and exercises all the powers on management and administration of the revenue, property, and administrative affairs of the university. The University Court is the supreme advisory body to the Visitor for all matters not otherwise provided for by the Banaras Hindu University Act, and the statutes. The Academic Council is the highest academic body of the university and is responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination within the university. It has the right to advise the executive council on all academic matters. The finance committee is responsible for recommending financial policies, goals, and budgets. The BHU Act has clearly laid out procedure and functions of different administrative bodies of the university. All officers of the university draw their power and responsibilities from the BHU Act of 1915, and statues of the university. === University Temple === The university has a university temple called