About Us
Who We Are
Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a Public University located in Varanasi or Benaras, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established in 1921 as Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed, it is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar Pradesh. The university has more than 350+ affiliated colleges spread over five Districts(Varanasi, Chandauli, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra). It is one of the largest State Universities in Uttar Pradesh, with hundreds of thousands of students, both rural and urban. It offers a range of Professional and Academic courses in Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Computing and Management. Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidypeeth has earned B+ status from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
Foundation
Babu Shiv Prasad Gupt
and Bhagwan Das established the university in Varanasi, on 10 February 1921, during the
non -cooperation movement of the freedom struggle. Originally named Kashi Vidyapith, the
university was renamed Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidya pith in 1995. It was inaugurated by
Mahatma Gandhi.
Inspired by Gandhi's call for self-reliance and swaraj (self-rule), the Kashi Vidyapith
was the first modern university organised by Indians in British India. The university,
along with contemporaries such as the Jamia Millia Islamia and the Gujarat Vidyapith,
were outside the control and support of British authorities, supported and managed
entirely by Indian nationalists and educationalists. Attracting young Indians from
across the country, its faculty included prominent nationalists and scholars such as
Acharya Narendra Dev, Jivatram Kripalani, Shriprakash and Sampurnanand. Gandhi and
Indian nationalists encouraged Indians to boycott British-run institutions in favour of
institutions managed entirely by Indians. Many prominent Indian industrialists and
politicians provided financial and administrative support to the university.
Bhagwan Das was the first vice-chancellor. Others associated with the first board of
management included Mahatma Gandhi, Lala Lajpat Rai, Jamuna Lal Bajaj, Jawahar Lal
Nehru, Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta, Acharya Narendra Dev, Krishna Kant Malviya, and
Purushottam Das Tandon. The founding ceremony of the Vidyapith reverberated with the
recital of Vedic mantras as well as excerpts from the Quran in the presence of
educationists, learned persons and nationalists such as Pandit Motilal Nehru, Maulana
Mohammed Ali and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Bhagwan Das was the first vice-chancellor.
Others associated with the first board of management included Mahatma Gandhi, Lala
Lajpat Rai, Jamuna Lal Bajaj, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta, Acharya
Narendra Dev, Krishna Kant Malviya, and Purushottam Das Tandon. The founding ceremony of
the Vidyapith reverberated with the recital of Vedic mantras as well as excerpts from
the Quran in the presence of educationists, learned persons and nationalists such as
Pandit Motilal Nehru, Maulana Mohammed Ali and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
Established with the resolution to keep the institution away from government recognition
and grants the Vidyapith was accorded the status of "Deemed University" by the UGC in
1963. This epoch-making event started a new chapter for the institution. Babu
Sampurnanand was appointed as the chancellor and Acharya Birbal Singh as
vice-chancellor. As the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), Pt.Kamlapati Tripathi
initiated a state government resolution to make his alma mater a statutory university;
this happened on 15 January 1974. At this point, Prof. Raghukul Tilak was the
vice-chancellor and the Governor of U.P. became the chancellor in accordance with the
U.P. University Act. At present, the M.G. Kashi Vidyapith is flourishing under the able
leadership of Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Anand K. Tyagi.
Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith owes its birth to the educational, cultural and political aspirations of pre-independence India. The early period of this institution pulsated with the national freedom struggle. The teaching provided original dimensions to the concept and movement of Indian socialism. After seeing an educational institution in Japan during a visit in 1913-14, Prasad Gupt was inspired to establish an institution in India, free from government aid or interference. The boycott of government-aided educational institutions during the non-cooperation movement coupled with Mahatma Gandhi's programme of National Education exerted a great deal of influence on Prasad Gupt. As a consequence, the Vidyapith came into being. Students joining Mahatma Gandhi's boycott call took admission in the Vidyapith.Shiv Prasad Gupta established the "Har Prasad Smarak Nidhi" in memory of his deceased brother, for the operation of the Vidyapith, which subsequently proved to be a fertile nursery of National Freedom movement activities.
Commitment to democracy,equality of all religions, staunch support to nationalism and to Indian socialism & enrichment of Hindi as a national language has been throughout a praiseworthy tradition of the Vidyapith. As per the declaration contained in the founding resolution of the Vidyapith, the objectives of this national educational institution are as follows: To strive to enhance and propagate:
The chancellor, the vice chancellor and the current members of the executive
council, the court and the academic council of the university, constitute a
body corporate: Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith Varanasi. The university has
a perpetual succession and a common seal and can sue and be sued by its
name. The university is open to all persons irrespective of class or creed,
but nothing may require the university to admit, to any course of study, a
larger number of students than determined by the ordinances. Similarly
nothing can prevent the university from meeting special provisions for
admission of students belonging to the Scheduled caste or Scheduled
Tribes.
The vice-chancellor is a full-time salaried officer of the university and is
appointed by the chancellor (the governor of U.P.) from the names submitted
to him by a committee constituted in accordance with the provisions of the
U.P. State Universities Act 1973.
The departments are under the direct supervision of their appointed
directors, and each sub-department has a head. Prof. Sudhir Kumar
Shukla,department of Commerce is a recipient of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi
National Award being second author of the book mainly written by Anurag
Chaube, Deputy Librarian for original book writing awarded by the Hon'ble
President of India for their book entitled "Computer Evam Suchna Prabandh".
He has also been felicitated by the Uttar Pradesh Government on account of
Hindi Diwas with University level Prize for his contribution towards the
promotion of Hindi as a primary language.
Formerly known as Bhagwandas Swadhyaypith, the library was established in 1921 and later renamed the Dr. Bhagwandas Central Library. He was a renowned philosopher and the first vice chancellor of the university. Many stalwarts of the national movement, including Pandit Jawahar lal Nehru, Jamunalal Bajaj, Acharya J.B. Kripalani, Puroshottamdas Tandon, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Sampurnanand, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Pandit Kamalapati Tripathi were closely associated with this library. It has a collection of books in humanities, social sciences, and science, and is developing as a centre of modern learning.
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri | 2nd Prime Minister of India Alumni of Kashi Vidyapith include Chandra Shekhar Azad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Kamlapati Tripathi, Raja Ram Shastri, B V Keskar, A.R. Shastri, Manamath Nath Gupt, Pranavesh Chatterjee, Tribhuvan Narain Singh, Harinath Shastri, Bhola Paswan Shastri, Anant Maral Shastri, Ramakrishna Hegde and Dr. Naheed Abidi.