Gauhati University

Last updated

Gauhati University
গুৱাহাটী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয
Gauhati University Logo.jpeg
Motto
Vidyayo Sadhayeta
Motto in English
Achievement through Learning/Knowledge
Type Public state university
Established26 January 1948;76 years ago (26 January 1948)
Founders
Accreditation NAAC
Academic affiliations
Chancellor Gulab Chand Kataria (Governor of Assam)
Vice-Chancellor Pratap Jyoti Handique
Academic staff
341 (2018) [1]
Administrative staff
1167 (2018) [1]
Students5411 (2018) [1]
Undergraduates 1290 (2018) [2]
Postgraduates 3721 (2018) [2]
398 (2018) [2]
Location, ,
26°09′13″N91°39′48″E / 26.1537°N 91.6634°E / 26.1537; 91.6634
Campus Urban, total 508 acres (2.06 km2) [1]
AcronymGU
Website www.gauhati.ac.in

Gauhati University also known as GU, is a collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly and is the oldest university in Northeast India.

Contents

It is accredited grade "A" by National Assessment and Accreditation Council. [3] Starting with 18 affiliated colleges and 8 Post Graduate Departments in 1948, Gauhati University, today, has 39 Post Graduate Departments, besides IDOL (Institute of Distance and Open Learning), a constituent Law and Engineering College. It has 341 affiliated colleges offering undergraduate and post graduate courses in the faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Medicine, Engineering and Technology. Gauhati University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. [4]

History

Vice-Chancellors

Vice-Chancellor K.K Handique at the 1st Convocation of Gauhati University with S Radhakrishnan, the 1st Vice -President of India in 1949 KK Handique and S Radhakrishnan at the 1st Convocation of Gauhati University.jpg
Vice-Chancellor K.K Handique at the 1st Convocation of Gauhati University with S Radhakrishnan, the 1st Vice -President of India in 1949

The first public demand was made at the annual session of the Assam Association held at Sivasagar in 1917. In 1940, the Government appointed S. K. Bhuyan as Special Officer with the task of collecting relevant information on the selection of site and related matters. [5] The university was established by an act of the State Legislature: the Gauhati University Act 1947 (Assam Act, XVI of 1947) of the government of Assam in 1948. The first court meeting of the university was held on 26 January 1948, which is considered the foundation day, at the old Sudmerson Hall of Cotton College, Guwahati. [6]

Gauhati University started functioning as an affiliating, teaching and residential university in a few temporary buildings in Guwahati, with K.K Handique as the first vice-chancellor, Phanidhar Dutta, Sailandhar Rajkhowa and Sarat Kumar Dutta were selected as the registrar, treasurer and secretary of university classes, respectively. The emblem of the university, selected from among many submitted, was designed by T. Mukherjee, a textile designer of Ahmedabad. Two Sanskrit words inscribed on it – Vidyaya Sadhayeta (meaning achievement through learning) – indicate the motto of the university. [4] It had 17 affiliated colleges and eight Post Graduate Departments on its establishment. [5] The university which started functioning from the city center was shifted to the present campus in 1955–56.

Campus

Gauhati University Institute of Science and Technology GUIST, Gauhati University.jpg
Gauhati University Institute of Science and Technology
Entrance to Dr. H.K Baruah Regional Botanical Resource Centre Dr. H.K. Baruah Regional Botanical Resource Centre, Gauhati University.jpg
Entrance to Dr. H.K Baruah Regional Botanical Resource Centre

The university is in Jalukbari in the Guwahati city area. The campus has a hillock on the southern side and the Brahmaputra river flows on the northern side. The campus area has been developed into a small township, now known as 'Gopinath Bardoloi Nagar'. It has about 6000 population including 3700 students residing in the hostels.

Apart from the residential quarters of teachers, officers and employees, there are 22 halls of residence for students. The necessary civic amenities such as health service, water supply, street lighting, internal roads, guest house, post and telegraph office, a branch of the State Bank of India, United Bank Of India, canteens, a market, parks, playgrounds, auditorium, indoor stadium, etc. are on campus.

The university is 10 km from the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport on National Highway No. 37; 5 km from Kamakhya Railway Station; and 10 km from Guwahati Railway Station as well as from the bus stop near the Cachari (D.C. court) at the heart of Guwahati City. The capital complex of Assam at Dispur is 22  km from the university. The university is easily accessible from the Guwahati city; Guwahati has road, rail and air links from all parts of the country. A large number of bus services from parts of Assam have their station at Adabari bus stand which is 2 km from the campus.

To automate their internal processes, Gauhati University has chosen Kalingasoft's flagship Education ERP solution, Greycells. This implementation has resulted in the complete automation of the university's academic, administrative and financial processes.

Library and regional center

Krishna Kanta Handique Library KK Handique Library, Gauhati University 2.jpg
Krishna Kanta Handique Library

The North Eastern Regional Centre (NERC) of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is in the Gauhati University Central Library Extension Building. Along with Bangalore ICHR Regional Centre, this is the only regional centre in GU so far.

The university's Krishna Kanta Handique Library is a designated 'Manuscript Conservation Centre' (MCC) under the National Mission for Manuscripts established in 2003. [7]

The library is the largest in Assam, holding about 850,000 books, magazines, and journals in its collection. It also hosts about 5,000 valuable priceless manuscripts, some more than 300 years old. [8]

Organisation and administration

Governance

Administrative Building Administrative Building, Gauhati University.jpg
Administrative Building

The G.U. Court, the Executive Council and the Academic Council are the authorities of the university. [9]

In 2019, Professor Pratap Jyoti Handique was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of the university. [10]

Faculties

New Academic Building New academic building, Gauhati university.jpg
New Academic Building
Arts Building Gauhati University Arts Building (2).jpg
Arts Building

Academic faculties

The institution is divided into following academic units: [11]

Post Graduate Students' Union

The Post Graduate Students' Union is the apex student representative body of Gauhati University. The first body of PGSU was formed in the year 1949. The first General Secretary was Biren Goswami. Gauhati University being the epicenter of student politics, the PGSU gets high recognition in the state. There are many General Secretaries as well as other office bearers of PGSU who have been involved in the active politics. The present General Secretary of PGSU is Parshwa Patgiri. [13]

Colleges

Its jurisdiction extends over 15 districts - Bajali district, Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Darrang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kamrup district, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, South Salmara district.

Academics

Rankings

University rankings
General – international
QS (Asia) (2023) [14] 601–650
General – India
NIRF (Overall) (2022) [15] 64
NIRF (Universities) (2022) [16] 36

Internationally, the QS World University Rankings ranked Gauhati University in the 601–650 band in Asia in 2023. [14]

In India, the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked Gauhati University 64 overall in 2022 [17] and 36 among universities. [18]

Notable people

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madurai Kamaraj University</span> Public state university in Tamil Nadu, India

Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in the Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, that was established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence status, which was awarded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India. In 2021, the university was awarded an 'A++' grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in its 4th cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assamese literature</span> Literature in Assamese language

Assamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes the literary works in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contemporary form and its cultural heritage and tradition. The literary heritage of the Assamese language can be traced back to the c. 9–10th century in the Charyapada, where the earliest elements of the language can be discerned.

Bhabendra Nath Saikia was a novelist, short-story writer, editor and film director from Assam, India. Dr. Saikia received his doctorate in physics from the University of London. He began his career as a reader in the Department of Physics, University of Guwahati. He later played an important role in the publication of college level textbooks in the Assamese language during his tenure as the Secretary of the Co-ordination Committee for production of textbooks in regional languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krishna Kanta Handique</span> Sanskrit scholar, Indologist and philanthropist (1898–1982)

Krishna Kanta Handique was a Sanskrit scholar, an Indologist and philanthropist from Assam. He was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya</span> Indian writer

Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya was an Indian writer. He was one of the pioneers of modern Assamese literature. He was the first ever Assamese writer to receive the Jnanpith Award, which was awarded to him in the year 1979 for his novel Mrityunjay (Immortal), followed by Indira Goswami in 2001. He was also a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese in 1961 for his Assamese novel Iyaruingam, which is considered a masterpiece of Indian literature. In 2005, a translation of the work published by Katha Books with the title Love in the Time of Insurgency was released. Another famous novel written by Bhattacharya is Aai (Mother).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Literature of North East India</span>

Literature from North East India (Assamese: উত্তৰ-পূৱ ভাৰতৰ সাহিত্য is literature in the languages of North East India and the body of work by English-language writers from this region. North East India is an under-represented region in many ways. The troubled political climate, the beautiful landscape and the confluence of various ethnic groups perhaps have given rise to a body of writing that is completely different from Indian English literature. North-East India was a colonial construct and continues to be one by virtue of having a historically difficult relationship with the Indian nation state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahim Bora</span> Indian writer and educationist

Mahim Bora was an Indian writer and educationist from Assam. He was elected as a president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha held in 1989 at Doomdooma. He was awarded most notably the Padma Shri in 2011, the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2001 and the Assam Valley Literary Award in 1998. Assam Sahitya Sabha conferred its highest honorary title Sahityacharyya on him in 2007.He also participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942 held in Kaliabor town in the Nagaon district of Assam.

Mahendranath Dekaphukan (1903–1974) or Monai Boiragi in full Mahendra Nath Moi Heng Dang Deka Phukan was an artist, poet, journalist and craftsman of Assam. He was the elder son of Lakshminath Phukan of Guwahati. After schooling from Cotton Collegiate High School, he took adminission at Cotton College. He left from home in mid of study and wandered many places. He was assistant editor of Rangoon Mail, published from Rangoon. He came to attach The London Art Co., when he was in Myanmar, and made some experimental films, but he couldn't store for future. After that he joined Assam Bengal Press of Kolkata as manager. He was never staying many days one place. After few years working he came to Assam and married a Christian woman Miss Claris, he named her Jyotirmoi Devi. His attire was like a general village folk of Assam.

Saurabh Kumar Chaliha is the pen name of a famous Assamese short story writer. His real name was Surendra Nath Medhi. His short story collection Ghulam won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1974. Chaliha did not go to receive the award himself and it was later sent to him by the Akademi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birendra Nath Datta</span> Indian academician and musician (1935–2023)

Birendranath Datta was an Indian academician, linguist, author, researcher of folklore, singer, and lyricist. During his career, he worked mainly as a professor in a variety of Assam colleges. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for Literature and Education, and in 2010 he received the Jagaddhatri-Harmohan Das Literary award. Datta was elected as the president of Asom Sahitya Sabha for the 2003 North Lakhimpur Session, and the 2004 Hojai Session.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandraprabha Saikiani</span> Indian social reformer, writer and freedom fighter (1901–1972)

Chandraprabha Saikiani or Chandraprava Saikiani was an Assamese freedom fighter, activist, writer and social reformer considered to be the pioneer of the feminist movement in Assam. She was the founder of The All Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti, a non governmental organization working for the welfare of the women of Assam and was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri for the year 1972 from the Government of India. Three decades later, the Indian government issued a commemorative stamp on Saikiani under the series, Social Reformers, in 2002.

Rai Bahadur Surya Kumar Bhuyan MBE (1892–1964) was a writer, historian, educator, social activist, storyteller, essayist, professor and a poet from Assam. He has written many books on ancient history, stories, essays, biographies, etc. in the world of Assamese literature. He presided over the Asam Sahitya Sabha (1953) held at Shillong. He was the elected member of Rajya Sabha during 1952–53, and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorhat</span> City in Assam, India

Jorhat is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotton University</span> University in Guwahati, India

Cotton University is a public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established in 2017 by the provisions of an Act from the Assam Legislative Assembly which merged Cotton College State University and Cotton College. The University has progressed to become one of the top 200 institutions of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinesh Chandra Goswami</span> Assamese writer

Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami is an Assamese writer and winner of the Sahitya Akademi's Bal Sahitya Puraskar for 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jatin Goswami</span> Indian Sattriya dancer and choreographer

Jatin Goswami is an Indian dancer and choreographer, known as one of the prominent exponents of the classical dance form of Sattriya. He is the founder director of Sattriya Akademi, Guwahati, a sitting member of its Advisory Committee, and a former member of the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He is also the founder of Alok Shilpi Sangha, a dance academy and Pragjyoti Kala Parishad, a cultural organization, and is a recipient of the 2004 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to Sattriya dance.

Nowgong College is an autonomous college affiliated to Gauhati University. Established in 1944, it is one of the oldest co-educational colleges of Assam, situated in the city of Nagaon. It was initially established with the permission of the University of Calcutta but later, in 1948, the college was accorded affiliation to the Gauhati University. On 22nd December 2020, the college was granted autonomy by the University Grants Commission for a period of 10 years.

Suchibrata Roychoudhury was an Assamese litterateur and poet, and the first female Judicial Magistrate of Assam as an Assam Civil Services officer. She received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2001 for translating Suvira Jaiswal's The Origin and Development of Vaishnavism in India.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 NAAC peer team report
  2. 1 2 3 Annual Quality Assurance Reports (AQARs)
  3. National Accessment and Accreditation Council
  4. 1 2 History of Gauhati University
  5. 1 2 "H i s t o r y". Gauhati.ac.in. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  6. "A d m i n i s t r a t i o n". Gauhati.ac.in. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  7. Manuscript Conservation Centres Archived 6 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine National Mission for Manuscripts .
  8. "Varsity effort to preserve old manuscripts". The Times Of India. 6 February 2012.
  9. "Administration". Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  10. PTI (20 August 2019). "Pratap Jyoti Handique appointed new VC of Gauhati University". India Today. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  11. "Gauhati University".
  12. 1 2 3 Gauhati University to offer PG courses in 4 regional languages- Nyooz
  13. "Gauhati University Declares PG Students' Union Election Results". The Sentinel . 27 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  14. 1 2 "QS Asia University Rankings 2023". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 8 November 2022.
  15. "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2022 (Overall)". National Institutional Ranking Framework . Ministry of Education. 15 July 2022.
  16. "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2022 (Universities)". National Institutional Ranking Framework . Ministry of Education. 15 July 2022.
  17. "MHRD, National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF)". www.nirfindia.org. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  18. "MHRD, National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF)". www.nirfindia.org. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

26°09′13″N91°39′48″E / 26.1537°N 91.6634°E / 26.1537; 91.6634