Relations between State and Educational Institutions: Role of Two Universities

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) are like any other university of India, yet they are different. They are different not just because they came into existence for different visions, despite the fact that both of them were founded by members of the Muslim community to primarily impart modern education to the community, but also because they were and are treated differently by the state in pre-Independent India as well the post-Partition era. While the AMU (then Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College or MAO College, founded in 1877) was a result of the Indian War of Independence of 1857, JMI was founded (1920) in response to the noncooperation and Khilafat movements. While AMU wasn’t opposed to the then state policies, at the core of JMI was opposition to the state—the British Government. However, things changed in post-Independence India.