History

A Brief History

2009

The ‘Uttar Pradesh Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University’ was established on 1st October, 2009 under U.P State Universities (Amendment) Act.

2010

2010 (Notification No.294/79-V-1-10-1(Ka)-5-2010 dated 5th March, 2010).

2011

It was renamed ‘Shri Kanshiramji Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University on 4th April. 2011.

2012

In 2012, the university was re-christened ‘Khwaja Moinuddin Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University, under U.P. State Universities (Amendment), Act 2012 (Notification No.597/79-V-1-12-2(Ka)-6-2012 dated 16th August 2012). Dr.Anis Ansari, IAS(Retd), took over as the Founder Vice Chancellor on 23rd April 2010.

“Our Guiding Light and Inspiration”- Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer”

The University was named after Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer who is known all over the world, for his benevolence and magnanimity. Khwaja Moinuddin was born in 1141 CE in Chishti in Herat, Afghanistan. Also known as ‘Gharib Nawaaz’ and ‘Benefactor of the poor’, he is the most famous saint of the Chishti order of Sufism in the Indian Subcontinent.

After a brief stay at Lahore, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti headed towards Delhi, which was, at that time, considered to be a city of political and religious disharmony. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti began delivering his sermons in his characteristic soft-spoken demeanor. As a result of his kindness and forbearance, millions of Hindus and Muslims were inspired to move towards the path of truth and unity. The great Wali was revered and loved by followers of all religions, a trend which was to be the hallmark of Sufism in India.
Thereafter, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti left Delhi and headed towards the remote city of Ajmer, where he resided with the one of most powerful princes of Northern India, Raj Prithviraj. Through his humble approach and modest existence, not only did the Sufi Saint mould the character of the people, but he also led them to more prosperous ways of living, and cultivated in them the qualities of humanity and truth. Followers from all religions emulated and symbolized his dictum of “Sulh-i-Kul” (Peace with all). Thus, he brought the message of universal love and peace. He fulfilled the objectives of bringing together the various castes, communities and races, elevating humanity from the swamp of materialistic concerns, which is leading mankind towards destruction today.

Against this backdrop, it was most apt that Lucknow, which is famous for its “Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb” (culture) be chosen as the location for a university named after the great Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who was the paragon of Hindu-Muslim unity.

Objectives of Khwaja Moinuddin Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University

The objectives of the establishment of Khwaja Moinuddin Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University were :

To promote learning of Urdu, Arabic and Persian Languages in order to understand the essence of their culture.
To impart education and training in vocational and technical subjects so that the students are better equipped for job-oriented courses.

Conception

The Executive Council of the university was constituted on 14th July 2010 under Govt. Notification No.2377/Seventy-1-2010-16(62)O9 TC. The Academic Council was constituted on 14th July 2011 under Govt. Notification No. 582/Seventy-1-2011-16(62)/2009 TC. The Finance Committee came into existence under Govt. Notification No.131/Seventy-1-2011 dated 11th March 2011.Under section 7-B, U.P. State universities have been mandated to assist affiliate and facilitate the minority educational institutions providing higher education throughout the state of U.P.

Funding

The construction of the University will be completed in three phases and the total estimated cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 100 Crores, which would be spent on acquiring of additional land. Rs 150 Crores will be used in the establishment of Unani and Ayurvedic Colleges. Till now, the University has spent approximately Rs 189 Crores on infrastructure development.

Location of Campus

The university is presently located on 28 acres of land on Sitapur-Hardoi Bypass road, adjacent to Indian Institute of Management(IIM), Lucknow. The Govt. of U.P. has decided to acquire additional 15 acres of land for the University. Another proposal of purchasing additional 120 acres of land from Lucknow Development Authority(LDA) is also being considered by Govt. of U.P.

Library

The library houses a rich collection of 11,000 books, relating to different subjects. Of these, 2339 rare titles published by Munshi Naval Kishore Press, 1500 books by the wife of Late. Mr. Ramesh Chandra IAS(Retd.), 1200 books by Mr. Mohsin Khan of Urdu Academy, 200 books by Dr.Anis Ansari IAS (Retd.), 74 books and 500 copies of Holy Quran by Ministry of Endowment and Islamic Affairs and Qatar Islamic Culture centre have been gifted to the University.

Subjects

The first academic session of the University started from August 2013 with 413 students being enrolled in Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate courses with the subjects – Urdu, Arabic, Persian, English, Hindi, Geography, History, Economics, Home-Science, Physical Education, Political Science, Education, Commerce, Computer Application, Business Administration and Journalism and Mass Communication.

Semester System

The University follows a semester system at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. In the first semester examinations, Mohammad Haroon, student of B.A. secured the highest percentage of marks (86.57%) among all the faculties. The pass percentage in the first semester examination was 90%.

Faculty

The sanctioned strength of University teachers including Professors, associate Professors and assistant Professors is 74, while the strength of the non-teaching staff is 52.

Future Plans

In the next stage, the following subjects shall be added to the university curriculum: Sanskrit, Sociology, Psychology, Public Administration, Distance Education and E-learning, Vocational Training & Research, Tourism & Hospitality, Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, Botany, Mathematics, Bio chemistry, Bio technology, Environmental science, Library science, Nano Technology, Geology, Statistics and Unani & Ayurvedic Medical Education.

Academic & Cultural Activities

Since its inception, the University has witnessed a plethora of academic and cultural events. The annual Amir Khusro and Kabir Extension lecture was organized on 25th March 2011 where Professor Mujeeb Rizvi of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi delivered a lecture entitled ‘A Comparative study of Amir Khusro and Kabir’. Further the University organized a two-day National Seminar on Contribution of Amir Khusro and Kabir in Promotion of Humanity on 19th and 20th November 2011.

The University also organized the inaugural ceremony of a five-day workshop on the encyclopedia of Urdu poets in Collaboration with Urdu Teaching and Research Centre (Central Institute of Indian languages) from 25th to 29th September 2012. Shri Mata Prasad Panday, Hon’ble speaker legislative Assembly of U.P. was the chief guest.

A National Seminar on the topic of “Concept of National Integration in Indian literature” was organized by the university on 19th November 2013. It was presided by Shekhar Dutt Hon’ble Governor, Chhattisgarh. The seminar was preceded by an extension lecture delivered by Prof. Sageer Afrahim, AMU, Aligarh on the topic of “Trends of Composite Culture in Indian Literature.

A three-day National seminar on the topic of “Women Empowerment toward Gender Equality” was held in the University Campus, from 5th -7th March 2014. Dr. Gurdeep Singh, Vice Chancellor, RML National Law University, Lucknow was the chief guest of the Seminar.

In its pursuit of excellence, the University held another two-day National Seminar entitled “Role of Media in Promoting Right to Education” on 11th -12th March 2014. Renowned Shia Scholar Dr. Kalbe Sadiq presided the seminar.

The University also released three books written and compiled by its faculty members namely “Amir Khusro aur Kabir ki Asri Manwait,” edited by Department of Urdu and Persian, “Menace of Drugs amongst Students” (written by Dr. Chandana Dey, Department of Education) and “Prem Chand ke Nomainda Dalit Afsaney” (written by Dr. Wasi Azam Ansari, Department of Urdu).

Apart from these activities, several lectures, cultural and academic events were organized during the first academic session of the university in order to develop the overall personality of its students.

Academic Activities of Faculty

During the last academic year, faculty members of the university were involved in several academic and research activities, contributing extensively to various national and international journals of repute. Among them, Prof. Masood Alam Falahi participated in international symposium organised by Rabetat-o-Talanuze-e-Qarzawi, Qatar  was invited by the Research institute of Extenics and Innovation method, Guangdong university of Technology, Guangzhou, China to attend the 5th International scholar on Extenics.

Steps Taken for Promotion of Vocational Courses

The University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on 23rd May 2011 for mutual benefit of the two universities in promotion of vocational courses. Proposals of entering into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AL-Mustafa International University, Iran, NCPUL, New Delhi and Tata Consultancy Services are also under consideration.