History

The University grew out of the work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who in the aftermath of the Indian War of Independence of 1857 felt that it was important for Muslims to gain modern education and become involved in the public life and Government Services in India at that time. Raja Jai Kishan helped Sir Syed a lot in establishing this university. The British decision to replace the use of the knowledge of Persian in the 1842 for Government employment and as the language of Courts of Law caused deep anxiety among Muslims of the sub-continent. Sir Syed then clearly foresaw the imperative need for the Muslims to acquire proficiency in the English language and "Western Sciences" if the community were to maintain its social and political clout, particularly in Northern India. He began to prepare the road map for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools. In 1864, the Scientific Society of Aligarh was set up to disseminate Western works into native languages as a prelude to prepare the community to accept "Western Education". Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah, The Aga Khan III has contributed greatly to Aligarh Muslim University in terms collecting funds and providing financial support.

In 1875, Sir Syed founded the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he had visited on a trip to England. His objective was to build a college in tune with the British education system but without compromising its Islamic values. Sir Syed's son, Syed Mahmood, had studied at Cambridge and contributed a proposal for an independent university to the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Fund Committee upon his return from England in 1872. This proposal was adopted and subsequently modified. Mahmood continued to work alongside his father in founding the college.

It was one of the first purely residential educational institution set up either by the Government or the public in India. Over the years it gave rise to a new educated class of Muslims who were active in the political system of the British Raj, and who would serve as a catalyst for change among not only the Muslim population of India, but of the entire subcontinent. When Viceroy to India, Lord Curzon visited the College in 1901, he praised the work which was carried on by the College and called it of "sovereign importance".

The college was originally affiliated with the University of Calcutta, and was transferred to the Allahabad University in 1885. Near the turn of the century it began publishing its own magazine, and established a law school. It was also around this time that a movement began to have it develop into a university to stand on its own. To achieve this goal, many expansions were made with more and more programs added to the curriculum. A school for girls was established in 1907. By 1921(exact year 1920), the College was transformed into a university, and it was named Muslim University. Its growth continued. The first chancellor of the university was a female, Sultan Shah Jahan Begum. In 1927, a school for the blind was established, and the following year, a Medical School was attached to the university. By the end of the 1930s, the University had also developed its Engineering faculty. Syed Zafarul Hasan, joined the Aligarh Muslim University in early 1900s as Head of Philosophy Department, Dean Faculty of Arts. He was a pro-Vice Chancellor prior to his retirement, and brought good name to the University.

Movement of Aligarh University
 

The Aga Khan believed that the root cause of Muslim backwardness in India was illiteracy, and therefore, education was the panacea for their ills. He thought that education should be a medium of service to others and a tool for modernization. He also considered the aim of education to be character building. According to Islamuddin in 'The Aga Khan III' (Islamabad, 1978, p. 22), 'It was he, who, translated the dream of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan into reality, by raising the status of Aligarh College into a great Muslim University.' Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah states in 'The Prince Aga Khan' (London, 1933, p. 65) that, 'It was Sir Syed Ahmed who founded Aligarh College, but it was the Aga Khan, an ardent enthusiastic promoter of the ideal of education, who has been mainly responsible for the raising of its status to that of a University.' After the death of Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan in 1316/1898, the Aga Khan III advised Mohsin al-Mulk (1837–1907), the Secretary of Aligarh College, to tour India to procure public opinion for the cause of Muslim University. His interest in the Aligarh College dates from the time when he was called upon to preside at an Educational Conference held at Delhi at the time of Lord Curzon's proclamation Durbar in 1319/1902. He used the platform of Muslim Educational Conference to bring home to the Muslims, the importance of education, and Muslim University at Aligarh. In his Presidential address to the Muslim Educational Conference, the Aga Khan said: 'If, then, we are really in earnest in deploring the fallen condition of our people, we must unite in an effort for their redemption and, first and foremost of all, an effort must now be made for the foundation of a University where Muslim youths can get, in addition to modern sciences, a knowledge of their glorious past and religion and where the whole atmosphere of the place, it being a residential University, nay, like Oxford, give more attention to character than to mere examinations. Muslims of India have legitimate interests in the intellectual development of their co-religionists in Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and the best way of helping them is by making Aligarh a Muslim Oxford .... We are sure that by founding this University we can arrest the decadence of Islam, and if we are not willing to make sacrifices for such an end, must I not conclude that we do not really care whether the faith of Islam is dead or not? .... We want Aligarh to be such a home of learning as to command the same respect of scholars as Berlin or Oxford, Leipzig or Paris. And we want those branches of Muslim learning, which are too fast passing into decay, to be added by Muslim scholars to the stock of the world's knowledge.' (vide 'Khutbat-i Aliyah', Aligarh, 1927, Part I, p. 206).

Addressing the annual session of Muslim Educational Conference in 1904 at Bombay, the Aga Khan III said: 'The farsighted among the Muslims of India desire a University, where the standard of learning should be the highest and where with the scientific training, there shall be that moral education, that indirect but constant reminder of the eternal difference between right and wrong, which is the soul of education .... I earnestly beg of you that the cause of such a University should not be forgotten in the shouts of the market place that daily rise amongst us.'

The plan for the Muslim University had by 1910 taken on the complexion and force of a national movement. The session of the All India Muslim Educational Conference at Nagpur in December, 1910 gave the signal for a concreted, nation-wide effort to raise the necessary funds for the projected University. In moving the resolution on the University, the Aga Khan III made a stirring speech. He said, 'This is a unique occasion as His Majesty the King-Emperor is coming out to India. This is a great opportunity for us and such as is never to arise again during the lifetime of the present generation, and the Muslims should on no account miss it...We must make up and make serious, earnest and sincere efforts to carry into effect the one great essential movement which above all has a large claim on our enegery and resources...If we show that we are able to help ourselves and that we are earnest in our endeavours and ready to make personal sacrifices, I have no doubt whatever that our sympathetic government, which only requires proper guarantees of our earnestness, will come forward to grant us the charter. `Now or never' seems to be the inevitable situation.'

To make a concerted drive for the collection of funds, a Central Foundation Committee with the Aga Khan III as Chairman with Maulana Shaukat Ali (1873–1938) as his Secretary; and prominent Muslims from all walks of life as members was formed at Aligarh on January 10, 1911. The Aga Khan III accompanied by Maulana Shaukat Ali, who was still in government service and had taken a year's furlough, toured throughout the country to raise funds, visiting Calcutta, Allahabad, Lucknow, Cawnpore, Lahore, Bombay and other places. According to Willi Frischauer in 'The Aga Khans' (London, 1970, p. 76), 'His campaign for the Aligarh University required a final big heave and, as Chairman of the fund raising committee, he went on a collecting tour through India's main Muslim areas: `As a mendicant', he announced, `I am now going out to beg from house to house and from street to street for the children of Indian Muslims.' It was a triumphal tour. Wherever he went, people unharnessed the horses of his carriage and pulled it themselves for miles.'

The response to the touching appeal of the Aga Khan III was spontaneous. On his arrival at Lahore, the daily 'Peace' of Punjab editorially commented and called upon the Muslims 'to wake up, as the greatest personality and benefactor of Islam was in their city.' The paper recalled a remark of Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan prophesying the rise of a hand from the unseen world to accomplish his mission. 'That persoanlity' the paper said, 'was of the Aga Khan III.' On that day, the 'London Times' commenting upon the visit, regarded him as a great recognised leader of Muslims. The significant aspect of the Aga Khan's fund collection drive was not the enthusiastic welcome accorded to him, but the house to house collection drive. Qayyum A. Malick writes in 'Prince Aga Khan' (Karachi, 1954, p. 64) that once the Aga Khan on his way to Bombay to collect funds for the university, the Aga Khan stopped his car at the office of a person, who was known to be his bitterest critic. The man stood up bewildered and asked, 'Whom do you want Sir?' 'I have come for your contribution to the Muslim university fund,' said the Aga Khan. The man drew up a cheque for Rs. 5000/-. After pocketing the cheque, the Aga Khan took off his hat and said, 'Now as a beggar, I beg from you something for the children of Islam. Put something in the bowl of this mendicant.' The man wrote another cheque for Rs. 15000/- with moist eyes, and said, 'Your Highness, now it is my turn to beg. I beg of you in the name of the most merciful God to forgive me for anything that I may have said against you. I never knew you were so great.' The Aga Khan said, 'Don't worry! It is my nature to forgive and forget in the cause of Islam and the Muslims.' The drive received further great fillip from the announcement of a big donation by Her Highness Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum of Bhopal. The Aga Khan III was so moved by her munificence that in thanking her, he spoke the following words: Dil'e banda ra zinda kardi, dil'e Islam ra zinda kardi, dil'e qaum ra zinda kardi, Khuda'i ta'ala ba tufail'e Rasul ajarash be dahadmeans, 'You put life in the heart of this servant; you put life in the heart of Islam; you put life in the heart of the nation. May God reward you for the sake of the Prophet!' In sum, the Aga Khan collected twenty-six lacs of rupees by July, 1912 in the drive and his personal contribution amounted to one lac rupees.

On October 20, 1920, the Aligarh University was granted its official Charter. In spite of several obstacles, the Aga Khan continued his ceaseless efforts for the Muslim University, and further announced his annual grant of Rs. 10,000/- for Aligarh University, which was subsequently raised. The Ismaili individuals also made their generous contributions to Aligarh University. For instance, Mr. Kassim Ali Jairajbhoy gave Rs. 1,25,000 to found chairs of Philosophy and Science in the Aligarh in memory of his father. The Aligarh Muslim University was officially inaugurated and commenced operations on Friday, December 17, 1920. Raja Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan of Mahmudabad was the first vice-chancellor of the university.

It must be noted on this juncture that in January, 1857, Lord Canning (1856–1862) had passed the Acts of Incorporation in India which provided for the establishment of universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The fourth university was then established in 1882 by a Special Act of Incorporation in Pujnab and the fifth was that of Allahabad University in 1887. Thus, by the end of 1902 there were five universities in India, and Aligarh University was the sixth one.

It will remain as a historical reminder of the fact that the Aga Khan gave continuity to the traditions of his ancestors as pioneers of education in Egypt and elsewhere - traditions associated with the foundation of Al-Azhar, the oldest existing university in the world, which to this day is crowded with students from all parts of the globe. The Aga Khan III instituted the Aga Khan Foreign Scholarship programme for the promising students. It is worth mentioning here that Dr. Ziauddin was one of the students of the Aga Khan in the sense that the Aga Khan paid for his years of study at Cambridge. Among other great Muslim scholars, who benefited from the munificent help were Dr. L.K. Hyder, the well known economist, Mr. Wali Muhammad, a great physicist, Dr.Syed Zafarul Hasan, a learned theologian and philosopher, and Dr. Zaki etc. 'The Movement of establishing a Muslim University' writes Mumtaz Moin in his 'The Aligarh Movement' (Karachi, 1976, p. 184), 'is an important chapter of our history. Initiated by Waqar al-Mulk it soon became a live issue under the patronage of the Aga Khan.' Islamuddin writes in 'Aga Khan III' (Islamabad, 1978, p. 27) that, 'Thus it would not be an exaggeration to say that without Aga Khan, there would have been no Aligarh University, and without Aligarh, Pakistan would have been a near impossibility.' The Aga Khan himself said in his 'Memoirs' (London, 1954, p. 36) that: 'We may claim with pride that Aligarh was the product of our own efforts and of no outside benevolence and surely it may also be claimed that the independent sovereign nation of Pakistan was born in the Muslim University of Aligarh.'

The Aga Khan III paid another visit of Europe in 1904, and for the second time, he went to see his followers in East Africa in the following year.

In 1324/1906, the Aga Khan III liquidated the traditional jurisprudent committee, known as justi in the community. In replacement thereof, he founded the Council in Bombay, and appointed the Mukhis and Kamadias and other 20 persons as members. In 1327/1910, the Aga Khan III promulgated a legally drafted Constitution for the Shia Imami Council and ordained it under his personal seal. Ibrahim Muhammad Rawji had been appointed as its first president.

The Aga Khan III highly abhorred injustice and fought actively for both human and civil rights at a time when it was hardly a fashionable pursuit. He resigned from the exclusive St. Cloud Golf Club near Paris when some members objected to Sugar Ray Robinson, the black boxer playing on the links. In Aix-les-Bains, one day, he rubuffed the pompous head waiter of the Hotel Splendide who refused to seat a large group of Senegalese students and promptly invited them to a three-star lunch. The Aga Khan III was also deeply shocked by the ruthless and arrogant discrimination practised by whites in United States, India and China. During his brief visit to China in 1906, he remarked: 'Within the foreign settlements the general attitude towards the Chinese was little short of outrageous. All the better hotels refused them entry. From European clubs they were totally excluded. We hear a great deal about the colour bar in South Africa today. In China, in the early years of this century, the colour bar was rigidly imposed - not least offensively in discrimination against officials of the very government whose guests, under international law, all foreigners, were supposed to be. Is it any wonder that the China intelligencia long retained bitter memories of this attitude?'

Important Landmarks

• 24 May 1875 : Inauguration of the School (Madarsatul Uloom) at Sami Manzil, Jail Road, Aligarh presided by Maulvi Mohd. Karim, President of the Managing Committee. Maulvi Samiullah�s son Mr. Hamidullah Khan admitted as the first student.

• 1 June 1875 : Boarding House started with seven students on the roll with a budget of Rs. 989/- per month. Managing Committee consisted of Maulvi Samiullah, Chiragh Ali, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Syed Mahmud, Raja Jaikishan Das, Nawab Ziauddin Khan and Maulvi Ahsan Nanotavi etc.

• 28 June 1875 : Mr. H.G.I. Siddons took over as Head Master of the School on a salary of Rs. 400/- per month. Mr. Baijnath Prasad was appointed as Second Master along with Maulvi Abul Hasan, Maulana Mohd. Akbar, Syed Jafer Ali, Maulvi Najaf Ali etc.

• 12 November 1875 : Sir William Muir, Lt. Governor of U.P. visited the institution. He was presented with an address of welcome on behalf of the School in which the scheme of the College was described in detail.

• 6 December 1875 : H.H. Mahindra Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, accompanied by his Chief Minister Khalifa Muhammed Hasan, paid a visit to the School and announced a grant of Rs. 1,800/- per annum. He was appointed the first Visitor of the institution.

• 8 November 1877 : Syed Ahmed Khulusi Effendi, the Ambassador of Turkey visited the College.

• 8 January 1877 : Lord Lytton, the Viceroy and Governor General of India laid the foundation stone of the M.A.O. College. Raja Shambhu Narayan Singh, Raja Jai Kishan Das, Rao Kishan Kumar and others, were also present.

• 1 January 1878 : Intermediate classes started and the college affiliated to the Calcutta University for F.A. Examination.

• 12 January 1878 : Sir Richard Temple, Governor of Bombay paid a visit to the college.

• 10 December 1880 : Sir John Strachey, the Lt. Governor of U.P. paid a visit on the eve of his retirement from ICS.

• 1 January 1881 : Four students appeared in the B.A. Examination. Mr. Ishwari Prasad was the first student to pass the examination.

• 5 February 1883 : Sir Alfred Lyall, Lt. Governor of U.P. visited the College and declared open the newly constructed classrooms.

• 26 August 1884 : Students� Union (Siddons Union Club) was inaugurated under the presidentship of Theodore Beck. Khwaja Sajjad Husain was declared Vice President and Syed Mohammed Ali Secretary of the Union.
  

• 1884 : Foundation Stone of the Victoria Gate was laid.

• 22 December 1886 : All India Mohammedan Educational Conference was inaugurated.

• 3 January 1887 : A deputation of the College Fund Committee called upon the Nizam of Hyderabad, Mr. Mehboob Ali Khan, to seek the permission to dedicate the College Museum to him.

• 16 November 1887 : The College was affiliated to Allahabad University.

• 1 January 1888 : Sir John Edge, the first Vice Chancellor of the Allahabad University visited the College on the occasion of the anniversary of the Siddons Union Club. 

• 24 July 1888 : Sir Asman Jah Bahadur, Prime Minister of Hyderabad visited the College.

• 6 February 1889 : Sir Syed along with his friends staged a drama in Aligarh Exhibition to raise funds for the College.

• 21 December 1889 : Trustee Bill passed and Board of Trustees replaced the College Fund Committee. Sir Syed was elected life Honorary Secretary and Syed Mahmud life Joint Secretary.

• November 1890 : Duty Society was inaugurated at the initiative of Sahibzada Aftab Ahmad Khan.

• 1891 : Aligarh Magazine started its publication under the editorship of Maulana Shibli Nomani.

• 25June 1891 : The brotherhood or �The Ikhwanussafa� was set up. Its membership was open to the present and past AMU students and teachers. It was later on converted into Old Boys� Association.

• 29 December 1891 : The Chief Justice of Allahabad Mr. Douglas Straight visited to inaugurate the Law Classes.

• 12 November 1894: The Lt. Governor, Sir Charles Crosthwait, performed the opening ceremony of the Strachey Hall.

• 7 August 1895 : Sir Allen Cadell, Governor of U.P. visited the College and presided over the Annual Prize distribution function. (Sir) Ziauddin received the Strachey Gold Medal for securing Honours in Mathematics.

• 27 March 1898 : Sir Syed breathed his last at 10 P.M. His funeral prayer was performed in the Cricket ground on 28th March.

• 31 March 1898 : Efforts started to make the College a Muslim University by Sahabzada Aftab Ahmad Khan.

• 31 January 1899 : Mohsinul Mulk appointed Secretary of M.A.O. College and Syed Mahmud was granted Life Presidentship.

• 2 July 1901 : H. H. Siyaji Rao Gaikwad of Baroda visited the College.

• 10 August 1903 : A deputation headed by Mir Wilayat Husain was sent to Iran, on whose persuasion 12 students from the Royal family came to study at Aligarh.

• 7 March 1906 : Prince of Wales visited the College and Science Section was established. Sir Adamji Peer Bhoi of Bombay donated Rs. One Lakh ten thousand. H.H. Agha Khan and Raja Saheb of Mahmoodabad gave Rs. 36 thousand cash and a grant of Rs. 64,611 per annum to the College.

• 1 October 1906 : A delegation headed by Agha Khan called upon Lord Minto, the Viceroy and Governor General of India in Shimla to seek help in establishing a Muslim University.

• 16 January 1907 : His Majesty Habeebullah Khan, Shah of Afghanistan visited the College and announced a grant of Rs. 20,000.

• 10 February 1907 : Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah established Girls� School, which in 1921 became a High School and was recognized as Undergraduate College in 1937.

• 1907 : Students� strike against European Staff.

• 1 December 1907 : Nawab Viqarul Mulk was appointed Secretary of the College.

• 20 July 1908 : Government handed over General Peron�s residence, Sahib Bagh, built in 1803 to the College, which after some alteration became Sulaiman Hall.

• 13 November 1909 : Mir Imam Baksh of Talpur, ruler of Khairpur Sindh visited the College and donated a property of Rs 500 per month. So impressed was he by the high standard of the College that he decided to admit his son to this college.

• 15 December 1909 : Mr J. C. Gupta, Member of the Indian Council visited and was highly impressed by the secular character of the College.

• 1 January 1910 : Sir Pratap Singh Inder Mahendra Bahadur, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir donated Rs 2,000 to the college during his visit.

• 18 March 1910 : Mr. Chirol, Foreign Editor of the London Times visited the College.

• 10 January 1911 : A Committee constituted to establish Muslim University with Sir Agha Khan as the President and Nawab Viqarul Mulk as Hony. Secretary. Nawab Muzammilullah Khan, Haji Mohd. Musa Khan, Shaikh Mohd. Abdullah and Mr. Shaukat Ali were appointed Joint Secretaries.

• 16 February 1911 : University Constitution Committee was formed and held its first meeting at Lucknow.

• 9 June 1912 : Sir Rameshwar Singh, Maharaja of Darbhanga, who was the President of B.H.U. Committee, visited the College.

• 21 July 1912 : The Trustees accepted Nawab Viqarul Mulk�s resignation and unanimously elected Nawab Ishaq Khan as Secretary.

• 27 February 1914 : Begum Sultan Jahan of Bhopal laid the foundation stone of the Educational Conference Building which she declared open on 19.2.1916.

• 25 July 1914 : The main gate of the College was named as Victoria Gate.

• Feb 1915 : The Mosque was formally declared open.

• 6 January 1917 : Mrs. Sarojni Naidu delivered a lecture on �the glories of Islam and the Hindu-Muslim amity� at Strachey Hall.

• 29 January 1918 : The Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Usman Ali Khan, visited the College and donated Rs one lakh for Arabic teaching and Rs five thousand for renovating rooms of the hostel named later as Osmania hostel.

• 25 October 1920 : Mahatma Gandhi visited the College and was made the first Honorary Life Member of the Students� Union.

• 29 October 1920 : Inauguration of Jamia Millia Islamia at University Mosque. Shaikh-ul-Hind Maulana Mahmoodul Hasan presided over the function.

• 16 November 1926 : His Highness Nawab Hamidullah Khan of Bhopal laid the foundation stone of Science College. Government of India donated Rs. 15 Lakh and Nizam of Hyderabad also donated Rs. 10 Lakh to the University.

• 27 October 1927 : The Chancellor appointed an Enquiry Commission on the University affairs headed by Sir Ibrahim Rehmatullah on the recommendation of PVC. Sir Ziauddin resigned on 27th April 1928.

• 27 November 1927 : William Marris, Governor of U.P. inaugurated Ahmadi School for the Blind.

• 24 November 1928 : Allama Iqbal conferred with the life membership of the AMU Students� Union.

• 20 September 1931 : Dr. C.V.Raman, noted scientist conferred with the D.Sc. (Honoris causa)

• 14 November 1933 : At its 12th Annual Convocation the University awarded its first Doctorate to Dr. Omar Farooq in Chemistry.

• 1934 : Frontier Leader Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, an alumnus, visited his alma mater.

• 1934 : Jawahar Lal Nehru visited Aligarh Muslim University.

• 30 April 1934 : Sir Ross Masood resigned from the post of Vice Chancellor.

• 1935 : The Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Usman Ali Khan elected Chancellor of the University.

• 1936 : The university acquired Aligarh Fort.

• 5 February 1938 : Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, President, All India Muslim League visited AMU.

• 23 January 1938 : Sir Agha Khan laid the foundation stone of Technical Laboratories.

• 8 March 1941 : Nawab Kamal Yar Jung inaugurated Agha Khan Workshop. B.Sc.(Engineering) classes started.

• 15 December 1948 : C. Rajgopalacharya, Governor General of India visited the University.

• 11 October 1951 : The Parliament passed the AMU Amendment Act.

• 8 December 1951 : The President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad delivered the Convocation Address.

• 3 January 1952 : The Health Minister, Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, laid the foundation stone of the Institute of Ophthalmology.

• 6 November 1955 : Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of Maulana Azad Library, which was inaugurated by him on 6 December 1960.

• 3 December 1955 : His Majesty Shah Saud Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia visited the University. The University conferred upon him the degree of Doctorate of law (Honoris Causa).

• 25 February 1956 : In a special Convocation, the University conferred the degree of Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) upon Shah of Iran, Raza Shah Pehalvi.

• 21 May 1956 : A delegation led by Dr. Zakir Husain visited Saudi Arabia and Shah Saud donated Rs. one million for the establishment of Medical College.

• 17 February 1958 : His Majesty Zahir Shah of Afghanistan was conferred with LL.D. (Honoris Causa).

• 1 April 1960 : Jamal Abdul Nasser, President of United Arab Republic visited the institution.

• 8 November 1960 : Mr. C.D. Deshmukh, Chairman, University Grants Commission laid the foundation stone of General Education Centre (Kennedy House) with a donation of Rs. 22 Lakhs by Ford Foundation, U.S.A.

• 1934 : Jawahar Lal Nehru visited Aligarh Muslim University.

• 30 April 1934 : Sir Ross Masood resigned from the post of Vice Chancellor.

• 1935 : The Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Usman Ali Khan elected Chancellor of the University.

• 1936 : The university acquired Aligarh Fort.

• 5 February 1938 : Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, President, All India Muslim League visited AMU.

• 23 January 1938 : Sir Agha Khan laid the foundation stone of Technical Laboratories.

• 8 March 1941 : Nawab Kamal Yar Jung inaugurated Agha Khan Workshop. B.Sc.(Engineering) classes started.

• 15 December 1948 : C. Rajgopalacharya, Governor General of India visited the University.

• 11 October 1951 : The Parliament passed the AMU Amendment Act.

• 8 December 1951 : The President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad delivered the Convocation Address.

• 3 January 1952 : The Health Minister, Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, laid the foundation stone of the Institute of Ophthalmology.

• 6 November 1955 : Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of Maulana Azad Library, which was inaugurated by him on 6 December 1960.

• 3 December 1955 : His Majesty Shah Saud Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia visited the University. The University conferred upon him the degree of Doctorate of law (Honoris Causa).

• 25 February 1956 : In a special Convocation, the University conferred the degree of Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) upon Shah of Iran, Raza Shah Pehalvi.

• 21 May 1956 : A delegation led by Dr. Zakir Husain visited Saudi Arabia and Shah Saud donated Rs. one million for the establishment of Medical College.

• 17 February 1958 : His Majesty Zahir Shah of Afghanistan was conferred with LL.D. (Honoris Causa).

• 1 April 1960 : Jamal Abdul Nasser, President of United Arab Republic visited the institution.

• 8 November 1960 : Mr. C.D. Deshmukh, Chairman, University Grants Commission laid the foundation stone of General Education Centre (Kennedy House) with a donation of Rs. 22 Lakhs by Ford Foundation, U.S.A.