Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

About College:

The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) was established in Varanasi back in 1916. Right from its origins, this university was infused with patriotic feelings. It was founded by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya who was one of the foremost leaders in India’s freedom movement. Scores of his students also joined in at various stages. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was also conferred with the Bharat Ratna later on. At present, the BHU is the largest residential university in all of Asia. It is also one of the largest in terms of size, covering a total of 1300 acres of land. A new campus is coming up in the Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh (UP) itself, covering an even greater area of 2700 acres as proposed. The BHU anthem or Kulgeet is itself filled with patriotic fervour and a call to action. 

Being such a large university, also leads to a huge variety of courses being offered here right from the undergrad level till doctoral and even post- doctoral researches. Some research programmes have also been doctored for scholars and industry participants. The entire academics is divided into nine major faculties. These faculties are for – Arts, Commerce, Ayurveda, Education, Law, Performing Arts, Social Sciences and for Visual Arts. The ninth one is the Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan Sankaya. In addition, there are six semi- autonomous institutes that are operated by the BHU. These are institutes for – Science, Agricultural Sciences, Medical Sciences, Management Studies and Environment & Sustainable Development. The sixth one is for technology, which has now been upgraded to IIT status. The CAT exam results are valid for selection to the management programme. New faculties for Social Sciences and Visual Arts have also been opened up. Some external colleges are also affiliated to the BHU. These are- the DAV Degree College, Arya Mahila PG College, Vasant College for Women and the Vasant Kanya Mahavidyalaya. Some schools are also operated by the BHU which are – Ranvir Sanskrit Vidyalaya, Central Boys School and the Central Girls School. Due to the equal focus on girls’ education right from inception, a separate Mahila Maha Vidyalaya was created for girls. 

Due to the immense focus on applied research, specific centres have been crated where expertise from different areas is combined to develop actionable solutions. One such centre is the School of Biotechnology. There is another Centre for Food Science and Technology. Another two centres area collaboration with respective government departments. They are the DBT (Department of Biotechnology)- BHU Interdisciplinary School of Life Sciences and the DST (Department of Science and Technology) Centre for Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences. There are other centres for Hydrogen Energy and Nano Science & Technology as well. This focus on academics and research, as well as other social initiatives have brought in extremely high rankings across all rating platforms. The NIRF (National Institutional Rankings Framework) has placed the BHU as the 3rd best all over India among universities and 9th overall. In the highly acclaimed QS World University Rankings, BHU finds itself placed at the 801-1000 band, 225th in Asia and 143rd among the BRICS nations. 

The BHU has forever stayed committed to the idea of technology usage in education. That is why the ICT infrastructure is one of the best here. In addition, BHU is also a signatory of the NKN (National Knowledge Network). The library is named as the Sayaji Rao Gaekwad Library. It is so named due to the immense contribution of the then ruler of the Princely State of Baroda. More than thirty- thousand books are now available within the library. In addition, access to more than two- thousand journals is available through the digital alignment. The library is also a signatory of the National Manuscripts Mission to work towards the conservation of old manuscripts. 

The halls of residence also have tremendous history. At present, there are 41 such residential hostels for boys and 21 of them for girls. There also exist four hostels specially for international students, out of which, one is dedicated to foreign female students only. Some of the great luminaries from varied fields have studied here at BHU over the years. The list includes the likes of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Manick Sorkar, Bhupen Hazarika, Robert M. Pirsig and Koenraad Elst. Shri Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was once one of the administrators here, before becoming the President of India later on. Among its great faculty members, one name stands out, that of Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, on whose name is given one of the highest academic honours in the country. 

Besides academics and research, students here are trained towards a holistic approach. There is a University Mountaineering Centre. Students are also proactive members of the NCC (National Cadet Corps) and the NSS (National Service Scheme). There is substantial sports facility, where all kinds of outdoors and indoors sports may be pursued. There are clubs as well for all kinds of socio- cultural activities. A Cultural Feat is organized annually which is the amalgamation of all such activities.