Banaras Hindu University , Hindi: काशी हिन्दु विश्वविद्यालय, (commonly referred to as BHU) is a Public University located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 12,000 students living on its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary legislation, 'B.H.U. Act 1915'.
The campus spread over 1350 acre (5.5 km²) was built on land donated by the Kashi Naresh, the hereditary ruler of Banaras . Apart from the main campus, the Rajiv Gandhi South Campus covering 2,760-acre (11.2 km) is located at Barkatcha near the city of Mirzapur , about 80 kilometers from Banaras. It has 140 teaching departments and more than 55 hostels for boys and girls. The total enrollment in the University stands at just over 15000, including students from all over India and abroad. Several of its colleges, including engineering (IT-BHU), science, linguistics, journalism & mass communication, law and medicine (IMS-BHU), Faculty of Management Studies, are ranked amongst the best in India., out of these IT-BHU is set to become India's 16th IIT, IIT-BHU from the academic session 2010. Also, the University is well known for its Department of French studies which offers various degree and diploma courses. BHU is ranked as the second best university in the field of research in India after Delhi University. It is also ranked as the best overall university of India on all parameters as per the India Today magazine dated 2 June 2010.
History
The Founding of BHU
A "Hindu" University
Though the name of the university includes the word "Hindu," the university has always been accepting of the various religions of its members, including students and faculty. A message on its website reads the words of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya as:
"India is not a country of the Hindus only. It is a country of the Muslims, the Christians and the Parsees too. The country can gain strength and develop itself only when the people of the different communities in India live in mutual goodwill and harmony. It is my earnest hope and prayer that this centre of life and light which is coming into existence, will produce students who will not only be intellectually equal to the best of their fellow students in other parts of the world, but will also live a noble life, love their country and be loyal to the Supreme ruler".
Organisation
Being a vast university and under various phases of development, Banaras Hindu University has two main types of academic subunits, namely (i) Institute and (ii) Faculty [2]. Overall the university comprises 4 Institutes, viz.
The Women's College (Mahila Mahavidyalaya) and 4 Costituent colleges
Apart from specialized centers directly funded by DBT, DST,ICAR and ISRO, large number of departments under the faculty of sciences, Engineering, Technology and Social Sciences are supported by DST-FIST ( total 22 Departments/Schools), and UGC CAS/SAP/DRS (14 Departments/Schools).[5]
Admissions
Banaras Hindu University conducts national level Undergraduate (UET) and Postgraduate (PET) entrance tests usually during May–June for admission to various courses. Admissions are done according to merit in the Entrance Tests, subject to fulfilling of other eligibility requirements. Admissions to B.Tech./B.Pharm., M.Tech./M.Pharm. are done through JEE and GATE respectively. Admission to MBA and MIBA are done through IIM-CAT score. Admissions for PhD. are done on the basis of either qualification of National Eligibility Test (NET) by the candidates or through the scores of CRET (common research entrance test). In addition, admissions in IMS are done through PMT exam. In addition to Indian students, BHU attracts a number of foreign learners in its premises. Foreign students are admitted through the application submitted to the Indian Mission in his/her country or by his/her country's Mission in India.
Department of Library and Information Science
Department of Library and Information Science was established in 1941 and is among the oldest Library and Information Science Schools in India and provides an education for librarianship in India. The department has established a national and international reputation in its field. It started as a two month long course of Librarianship which lead to a six months' Certificate course in Librarianship later that year. The Department initiated Diploma Course in Librarianship, second of its kind in India after Madras University in 1942. In 1961, Diploma course was converted to Bachelor Degree Course with necessary modifications in course content. The course has been discontinued from 2005 onward. Department introduced One year Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) Programme in the 1965 second after University of Delhi in order to train specialist librarians for specialized libraries. From 2005 onwards Department has introduced Two years integrated Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) programme as per guidelines of Curriculum Development Committee (CDC) of the University Grant Commission (UGC). Ph.D. course was initiated in the Department in 1980. Nineteen Doctoral dissertations so far have been successfully defended at Department for the award of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). Department has recently started a special course of study M.A. (Manuscriptology) which aims to provide education and training of handling Manuscripts - its storage, preservation, conservation, study and use.
Admission to MLIS Course at Department of Library and Information Science, BHU is based on the merit acquired by a candidate in Entrance Test conducted by B.H.U administration annually. A graduate degree under 10+2+3 Pattern from any Indian University/Institution recognized by U.G.C with at least 50% marks in aggregate (at least 45% for SC/ST candidates). A candidate appearing at the qualifying examination and expecting to fulfill the eligibility requirements as above may also apply. Programs include masters degrees in Library and Information Science and , and a PhD research program.
Vice-Chancellors
The Central Library
The Banaras Hindu University Library system was established from a collection donated by Prof. P.K. Telang in the memory of his father Justice Kashinath Trimbak Telang in 1917. The collection was housed in the Telang Hall of the Central Hindu College, Kamachha. In 1921 the library was moved to the Central Hall of the Arts College (now Faculty of Arts) and then in 1941 to its present building. The library was established with the donation from Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda, on the pattern of the library British Museum in London on the suggestion of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of university. It is also a designated 'Manuscript Conservation Centre' (MCC) under the National Mission for Manuscripts established in 2003.
The library had a collection of around 60,000 volumes in 1931, through donations from various sources. The trend of donation of personal and family collection to the library continued as late as forties with the result that it has unique pieces of rarities of books and journals dating back to 18th century.
Presently the Banaras Hindu University Library System consists of Central Library at apex and 3 Institute Libraries, 8 Faculty Libraries, 25 Departmental Libraries, with a total collection of over 13 lakh volumes to serve the students, faculty members, researchers, technical staff of fourteen faculties consisting of 126 subject departments of the university.
Notable faculty and graduates
Affiliated Schools and College
See also
References
External links
Books
- ^ , A Hindu Education: Early Years Of The Banaras Hindu University (Oxford University Press).
Coordinates: 25°15′52″N 82°59′42″E / 25.264413°N 82.995014°E
Retrieved from :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banaras_Hindu_University#Department_of_Library_Science
