AMU got its first Muslim woman V-C after over a century
Two Muslims among 78 V-Cs of Central Universities
The University of Calcutta had seen two Muslim V-Cs
The University of Bombay had a Muslim among its 31 VCs
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Sixty-two out of 1,017 Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) of 56 Central universities have been Muslims and there were 219 Muslims among 8,633 V-Cs of state universities since their establishment, several of them from the pre-Independence period, according to data shared in a new book, Muslims in India 1947-2024 -Fake Narratives versus Ground Realities.
The number of Muslim V-Cs (about 2.71 per cent) in the country is a far cry from the population ratio of the Muslim community. There are currently two Muslim Vice-Chancellors among the 78 heads of Central universities across the country – Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir in Jammu and Kashmir, and Prof Naima Khatoon, Vice Chancellor at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). As many as 46 Central Universities are being funded by University Grants Commission (UGC). Only two among them have Muslim VCs — Prof Syed Ainul Hassan at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and Mazhar Asif of Jamia Millia Islamia JMI). The 46 universities also have registrars, and five of the 46 Finance Officers are Muslims. Prof Faizan Mustafa, a former Vice Chancellor NALSAR University Hyderabad, is now the Vice-Chancellor of Patna’s Chanakya National Law University Patna.
Among the 41 V-Cs as per seniority as of December 2021, two are Muslims – Prof Talat Ahmad, and Prof Faizan Mustafa. In the North Zone which had a total of 57 V-Cs, three are Muslims – Mazhar Asif, Tariq Mansoor, and Prof Talat Ahmad. There are no Muslims among 35 in the East Zone and West Zone which has 56. The South Zone has 57 including two Muslims – Dr A Peer Mohamed and BS Abdur Rahman. The Central Zone has two Muslims among 41 V-Cs – Prof Syed Ainul Hasan and Prof Faizan Mustafa. Only two of the 46 Central Universities funded by the UGC have Muslim V-Cs — Prof Syed Ainul Hassan at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and Mazhar Asif of Jamia Millia Islamia The 46 universities also have registrars, and five of the 46 Finance Officers are Muslims.
The Senate of Serampore College (University), founded in 1818 through a Royal Charter and Bengal Act in West Bengal, is run by a 17-member council which includes the Master and Principal. It obtained the status of a university in 1829, making it the first among the 10 oldest universities in India. The council is vested with all powers, including that of management of the college.
After the University Grants Commission Act of 1956 came into being, the UGC was allowed to confer degrees in 1958 as it was functioning as a university in the Faculty of Divinity under a Bengal Legislation of 1918 and also allowed it to award theological degrees. It has no Muslim among its 93 presidents and conveners till now, and its 13 registrars since 1919 include no Muslim. Among its 30 officials presently includes one Muslim. Its 17-member senate has no Muslim.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee came up in 1847 first as the College of Civil Engineering during the rule of East India Company and functioned between 1847 and 1854 as the Roorkee Civil Engineering College. From 1854 to 1947, it was Thomason College of Civil Engineering. From Independence until 2001, it was known as the University of Roorkee, the first engineering university of India, and after that the IIT Roorkee. In 1949, it became India’s first engineering university.
Five of its most illustrious alumni from the 19th century include 1876’s batch student, Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa, a famous Urdu poet and writer whose work includes Umrao Jaan Ada, first published in 1905. He is credited with the invention of shorthand in Urdu along with the Urdu keyboard of the typewriter. A polyglot, he wrote a globally famous Urdu couplet – Eik Tum Hi Nahi Tanha Ulfat Mein Meri Ruswa, Is Shaher Mein Tum Jaise Deewane Hazaaron Hain. Now having 23 academic departments covering engineering, architecture and planning, sciences, humanities & social sciences, and management programmes, IIT Roorkee celebrated its sesquicentennial in October 1996 and celebrated it 175 years in 2022.
The Autonomous Technical Research University had its Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1946 and the first batch of Mechanical Engineers graduated in 1949. It was renamed as Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering on its silver jubilee in 1974 when an undergraduate programme in industrial Engineering started. At present it offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various facets of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. A Muslim now heads it – Prof Andalib Tariq.
Among its 543-member Faculty as of 2024 are 10 Muslims, three in Civil Engineering, two in Chemical Engineering, and one each in Architecture & Planning, and Computer Science & Engineering. Its Department of Electrical Engineering had seen 21 heads of whom one had been a Muslim – Professor ZU Ahmed way back in 1949. No Muslim has been among 23 heads of Chemical Engineering since 1966. There are no Muslims among its 73 Directors, Deans, Associate Deans, Liaison officers, Registrars, and Officers.
The University of Calcutta, which started in January 1857 – the year when India witnessed the two-year-long First War of Independence against British rule – and brought for the first time in India the modern university system, is the oldest multidisciplinary university of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asian Region. Since its inception, it has seen 54 Vice-Chancellors including two Muslims – Hassan Suhrawardy (1930-1934), and Sir Azizul Huque (1938-1942), who also served as the High Commissioner of India to the UK.
The University of Bombay, which started in June 1857, had seen 31 V-Cs including one Muslim, Mirza Akbar Khan for a year in 1930. The University of Madras, also set up in 1857, had seen 43 V-Cs including one Muslim – Sir Mohamed Usman (1940-1942). Currently, its 40-member administration team includes two Muslims – Dr H Fazl Unnisa, Dean of Alumni Affairs and Assistant Professor at the Department of Library & Information Science, and HA Rahman, Assistant Registrar for PG Examinations. No Muslim is among the 17 faculty members at the Department of Physics (Autonomous).
IIT Roorkee, established in 1847, the second oldest university in India, strives for global excellence in education and sustainable societal impact through innovative science and technology research. Renowned for setting trends in engineering, science, and technology, it provides Bachelor’s Degrees in 10 disciplines and architecture, along with Postgraduate Degrees in 55 engineering disciplines.
The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), which completed 100 years in September 2020, has seen 21 Muslim V-CS out of the total 24. At its start in 1920, Begum Sultan Jahan was appointed as the AMU chancellor. She continues to be the only woman to have held the post till now in the country’s history. In April 2024, the varsity got its first woman V-C in over a century – Naima Khatoon, a PhD holder in psychology from AMU who joined it as a lecturer in 1988.
The Jamia Millia Islamia, set up in 1920, saw 15 V-Cs including the first woman, Prof Najma Akhtar who worked for three years from 2020. Among its 199 teaching and non-teaching staff are 137 Muslims. Its 12 Deans include eight Muslims. It has 133 Associate Professors, of whom 47 are non-Muslims. The Assistant Professors number 240 of whom 61 are non-Muslims.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) had no Muslim among its 14 V-Cs since its start in April 1969. Ranked second among all universities in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2017, it has, as of 2024, two Muslims among its 43 officials from Rectors downward – Prof Ubaid Ur Rahman, Proctor, and Prof Mohammed Qutbuddin, Deputy Director (Security). Its Executive Council has one Muslim among 13 members – Prof Zahid Raza. The Academic Council includes eight Muslims among 148 members.
The University Court has 119 members including eight Muslims of whom three are women. Among its 26 Advisors and Coordinators are no Muslim. Five Muslims are among the 39 chairpersons of three of JNU’s academic centres. One of the 13 Deans of the Schools is a Muslim – Prof Zahid Raza of the School of Computer and Systems Sciences.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) came up in 1909 through a visionary partnership between industrialist JN Tata, Mysore’s Royal family and the Union government. The first institute to be granted deemed university status was the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in May 1958. Nine of its current trustees have no Muslims while 23 senior management members also have no Muslims on board. As many as 80 of the retired faculty have no Muslims. Its 835 pensioners including 14 Muslims.
Nalanda University had a prime place in India’s history as it predates Oxford University by at least 500 years. Situated beside the Rajgir Hills in Bihar’s Nalanda district, it was the first residential university of the world founded in 427 CE and it sustained over 800 years till the end of the 12th century. In March 2006, the President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam proposed its revival. The Parliament passed an Act in 2010 and September 2014 witnessed the first batch of students getting enrolled.
Currently, its three officers including the V-C include no Muslim. The previous six V-Cs also had no Muslims. The School of Ecology and Environment Studies (SEES), one of the first schools at Nalanda University that commenced its academic programme in August 2014, has five staff members with no Muslims. Faculties of the other four schools number 52 of which three are Muslims – Dr Kashaf Ghani, Assistant Professor, School of Historical Studies; Dr Mir Islam, Assistant Professor; and Dr Muneer Magry, Teaching Fellow at the School of Management Studies.
Functioning since 1882, the Panjab University in Chandigarh has seen 26 V-Cs since February 1945. At least nine out of 12 V-Cs post-independence have been associated with the university. Currently, Prof V Renu Cheema works as the V-C, the first woman to hold this position in the varsity’s 141-year history. No Muslim figures on its V-Cs list. There is only one Muslim out of 107 officials in its Administration and Registrar’s Office. Its 114 PIOs/APIOs include two Muslims – Ali Abbas, Chairperson of the Departments of Urdu and Russian, and Mohammed Saifur Rehman, Chairperson of the Department of Community Education and Disability Studies.
Formed in 1887, the University of Allahabad has seen 52 V-Cs of whom one Muslim served twice as in-charge V-C – Prof NR Farooqi, from November 2010 to January 2011 and again from July 2014 to August 2015. Currently, the varsity has fewer Muslims in its academic domains. Among its 31 Deans is a Muslim – Prof SI Rizvi, for Research and Development. Among its 32 heads of the departments are four Muslims – Prof Syed Ibrahim Rizvi (Biochemistry), Prof TJ Siddiqui (Electronics & Communication), Prof Mohammad Shahid (Political Science), and Prof Shabnam Hamid Ansari (Urdu). Among the 36 Directors/Coordinators are two Muslims – Prof Syed Ibrahim Rizvi, Director of the Institute of Inter-Disciplinary Studies (IIDS), and Prof AR Siddiqui, Nodal Officer, AISHE Portal, NIRF (National Institution Ranking Framework) and National Knowledge Commission. One of the principals at its 11 affiliated colleges is a Muslim – Prof Nasiha Usmani.
The Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formed in Varanasi in 1916, had seen 28 V-Cs with no Muslims. The University of Madras, established in September 1857, has seen 42 V-Cs of whom only one had been a Muslim – Sir Mohamed Usman, from 1940 to 1942. The University of Mysore, set up in July 1916 as a public state university during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M Visvesvaraya – it was the first university outside of British-administered Indian provinces, the sixth in the Indian subcontinent as a whole, and the first in Karnataka. It was deemed autonomous within the republic in March 1956 when it gained recognition from the UGC. Among its 32 V-Cs were two Muslims – M. Sultan Mohiyuddin (1946), and Aisha Mohammed Sheriff, in 2018.
In Andhra Pradesh, the three Central Universities had seen a total of 12 V-Cs, of whom none was Muslim. Its 24 State Universities had seen 175 V-Cs of whom four were Muslims – two at Dr Abdul Haq Urdu University, one each at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) Anantapur, and Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University. None of the 20 V-Cs at Deemed Universities included a Muslim. Eight V-Cs at five private universities included a Muslim. None of the seven Vice-Chancellors had been a Muslim at Rayalaseema University which came into existence in Kurnool in 2008. None of its 11 officials in its administration including the registrar and rector is a Muslim. Seven of its directorates and other departments have no Muslims. The Rayalaseema region has a 13.10 per cent concentration of Muslim population as per Census 2011. Muslims are particularly concentrated in the region’s four districts – Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur, and Chittoor.
In Telangana, among the 274 top management members of universities including V-Cs, Registrars, and Rectors, are 27 Muslims while 70 are Muslims among 1,053 in Academics and 24 in administrative domain which had 644 staff. Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, set up in December 1985 in Hyderabad by merging the Sahitya, Sangeet, Nataka, Nritya Academy, Lalita Kala Academy, International Telugu Institute, and Telugu Bhasha Samiti and boasting five campuses, currently has 65 officials including the V-C on its rolls.
It has seven Muslims including Khader Mohiuddin, Finance Officer, Dr M Atiq Sultan Ghori Joint Director, Directorate of Academic Audit Cell, and Prof Qaisar Mohammed, Dean of College Development Council. In October 2024, Telangana universities got V-Cs for nine out of 12 State Universities after the In-charge V-Cs were at their helm after the term of regular V-Cs ended in May-end for all varsities except Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) where the post had been lying vacant since January 2022.
Vice-Chancellors were appointed to Osmania University, Kakatiya University, Satavahana University, Telugu University, Palamuru University, Mahatma Gandhi University; Telangana University, PJTSAU Hyderabad, and Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticultural University (SKLTSHU). Of the nine, one was a Muslim – Altaf Hussain at Mahatma Gandhi University. V-Cs for the Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University, Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, and Dr BR Ambedkar Open University were appointed later with; all with no Muslims.
Vice-Chancellors of 20 State Universities in Tamil Nadu which include the 1857-established University of Madras, and 1929-established Annamalai University, have no Muslim. Assam has 16 State Universities whose Vice-Chancellors include not a single Muslim. Also, no Muslims are there among the V-Cs for nine private universities in the state where Muslims account for over 34.22 per cent of the population. In Arunachal Pradesh’s only Central University, its 17 V-Cs included no Muslims. Of the eight State Universities, only one had a Muslim V-C – Prof Dr Mohammed Basha Mohiuddin at Apex Professional University. None of the 13 V-Cs that Assam’s two universities had included a Muslim. The same had been the case at 18 State Universities which had 70 V-Cs in total, the highest of 17 at Guwahati University. Not a Muslim figured in nine V-Cs at the state’s only deemed university. Six private universities too had no Muslim among the total of 12 VCs.
Nine V-Cs in Bihar’s four Central Universities had not seen any Muslims. Among the 218 V-Cs that 20 State Universities had in their history, 17 have been Muslims – the highest of six at Maulana Mazharul Haque Arabic and Persian University, five at Patna University (which had a total of 53), four at Magadh University, and one each at BN Mandal University and Jai Pradesh University. No Muslim is among the four V-Cs at the state’s only deemed university. The same was the situation at six private universities which had seen eight V-Cs. In Bihar, one of the 17 State Universities has a Muslim Vice-Chancellor – Mohammed Alamgeer of MMH Arabic and Persian University. Similarly, one of the 17 Registrars is a Muslim – Bihar Agricultural University’s Dr Mohammed Mizan Ul Haque.
Jharkhand’s only Central University had no Muslim among its three V-Cs. Its 10 State Universities had 81 V-Cs of whom one had been a Muslim at Ranchi University from among 41 – Dr AA Khan, from 2006 to 2011. Also, three Muslims had been its Acting V-Cs. No Muslim became a V-C at 14 private universities. In Jharkhand’s Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU), which in May 2007 was granted recognition by the UGC, has seen 15 V-Cs in its history including two Muslims – Prof M. Basheer Ahmed Khan from 2010 to 2013, and Prof Qamar Ahsan from 2014 to 2017.
Currently, there are no Muslims among V-Cs at Uttarakhand’s 11 State Universities. The Ranchi University had 43 V-Cs of whom one had been a Muslim – Dr M Razi Uddin in 2015, and Dr SS Hussain (In-charge V-C twice). In Chhattisgarh, 10 V-Cs of its only Central University had a Muslim. None of the 16 State Universities had a Muslim V-C in their histories. The same had been the case with 12 private varsities the state had till now. Goa’s only university had seen nine V-Cs without a Muslim. Gujarat’s two Central Universities had seen 23 V-Cs of whom one had been a Muslim – Prof SA Bari, from 2014 to 2019 at the Central University of Gujarat (CUG). No Muslim is among 248 V-Cs at 20 State Universities in their histories. In Himachal Pradesh, its only Central University had four V-Cs of whom one had been a Muslim – Prof Furqan Qamar. Its five state universities had a total of 58 V-Cs without a Muslim. Seventeen private universities had no Muslims among their V-Cs.
In Rajasthan’s 31 State Universities, none has a Muslim as Vice-Chancellor now. In the past, one had been a Muslim among the 43 V-Cs at the University of Rajasthan – Prof Furqan Qamar, from 2009 to 2010. In Karnataka’s only Central University, one of the five V-Cs had been a Muslim – Prof AM Pathan, from 2009 to 2012. Thirty State Universities had as many as 100 V-Cs of whom one had been a Muslim. Thirteen deemed varsities had a total of 45 V-Cs of whom none was a Muslim. Seventeen private universities had a total of 35 V-Cs of whom two were Muslims at Khaja Banda Nawaz University.
In West Bengal, only two are Muslims among 24 Vice-Chancellors in State Universities – Aliah University’s Prof Abu Taleb Khan, and Jane Alam at Murshidabad University. In Uttar Pradesh’s 34 State Universities, there is not a single Muslim V-C, including at the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Urdu, Arabi & Farsi University. Odisha’s Rajendra University had seen three V-Cs of whom none was a Muslim. The Central University of Odisha, formed in 2009 in Koraput district as one of the 15 new Central Universities by the Union government to increase the access to quality higher education by people in less educationally developed districts that have a Graduate Enrollment Ratio of less than the national average of 11 percent, has 21 officials including the V-C, but no Muslim is included on the list. Of the 13 State Universities, one had been headed by a Muslim in 2014 – Mohammed Mian at Central University in Koraput.
The Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, set up in 1969, had seen 19 V-Cs of whom one was a Muslim. Formed in 1943, the Utkal University in Odisha had seen 37 V-Cs of whom one had been a Muslim – PS Habeed Mohammed, from September 1987 to March 1989. No Muslim is among its 16 officials including Registrar. Nine officials including the V-C at the Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (formerly North Orrisa University) that was carved out of the Utkal University and became operational since 1999. Its jurisdiction covers 56 colleges including two autonomous colleges, one medical college, and one teachers’ education. Fakir Mohan University had seen 13 V-Cs but no Muslim since 1996. Its 23 registrars till now too had not seen a Muslim. Its 59 senior officials included a Muslim – Dr Shadab Alam, Coordinator of Passport Seva Programme. Its 177 non-teaching staff include only one Muslim, a woman.
In Madhya Pradesh, Dr Hari Singh Gour Vishwavidyalaya Sagar, a Central University that was set up in July 1946, is the 18th University of India and the oldest and the biggest varsity in the state. It has seen 36 V-Cs and six Rectors of whom none had been a Muslim.
Madhya Pradesh has two Central universities, 16 State universities, three deemed universities, 20 private universities, an IIT, AIIMS, an NIT and two National Law Universities. Currently, none of the 21 varsities have a Muslim V-C as of 2024 where the Governor is the Chancellor. The same is the situation at 32 private universities which has no Muslim as a V-C. No Muslim figures among 25 V-Cs at Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya in Jabalpur. Its Registrar’s office has 67 officials including two Muslims. Thirty officials in the Controller’s office include no Muslims. The same is the situation at the V-C’s office which had 12 officials. Its 16-member board too had no Muslim.
King George’s Medical University, started in 1906 as a medical college after the Maharaja of Vijanagaram floated the idea in Lucknow. However, it was in 1905, during the visit of King George V, then Prince of Wales, it was established to commemorate the occasion as proposed by Sir Tassad uq Rasul Khan and finally supported by the landlords of Agra and Oudh. Its foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales in 1906. Interestingly, the King George’s Medical College had seen 24 principals since 1911 while 12 had been the Vice-Chancellors of King’s George Medical University since 2001. Two Muslims have been its head – Prof SS Khan (1923-25), and Prof MAH Siddiqui (1937-38). One of its 23 Registrars had been a Muslim – Colonel FU Ahmed (Acting) for a month in 2006. It operates 62 faculties consisting of 413 members including 17 Muslims.
The Indian Agricultural Universities Association (IAUA), set up in November 1967 with nine agricultural universities as its members, today counts as its members four Central universities, seven State Horticultural universities, 18 State Veterinary/Animal Sciences and Fisheries Universities, and five deemed universities. It has 54 Presidents since 1967 including two Muslims – Dr Anwar Alam, Vice-Chancellor, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology (2009), and Prof Ala Uddin Ahmad, also V-C of the same university for a year in 1988.
The Indian Maritime University (IMU), a Central University established in Chennai in 2008 to provide education and training in various areas of maritime studies, including navigation, marine engineering, maritime law, and marine management, has seen seven V-Cs of whom none is a Muslim. There are no Muslims among its 15 Registrars, Finance Controllers and Deans. Its seven School Boards have only two Muslims among 50 – Muhammed Shaji E, and Captain SI Abul Kalam Azad.
The Association of Indian Universities (AIU), established in March 1925 as an apex coordinating organisation for all the universities and increasing cooperation as recommended by the Sadler Commission in 1919, has seen 125 chiefs including the first head Dr Akbar Hydari of Osmania University Hyderabad from 1925 to 1927. The next to head the AIU was Prof ABA Haleem, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for a year from 1942. Dr Zakir Husain, Vice-Chancellor of AMU, became the third Muslim to head it for a year in 1954. The fourth Muslim to head it was Prof Allaudin Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Hamdard, in 1999. In March 2009, Prof AM Pathan, Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, took over as its President in March 2009. It had not seen any Muslim heading it since 2010. Among its current 38 staff members is a Muslim – Nazneen Begum, an Undersecretary.
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