Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI)

ABOUT Jamia Millia Islamia - JMI

Introduction

Jamia Millia Islamia (lit. 'National Islamic University') is a central university located in New Delhi, India, an institution originally established at Aligarh in United Provinces, India in 1920 became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988. In Urdu language, Jamia means ‘University’, and Millia means ‘National’.

The story of its growth from a small institution in the pre-independence India to a central university located in New Delhi—offering integrated education from nursery to research in specialized areas—is a saga of dedication, conviction and vision of a people who worked against all odds and saw it growing step by step. They “built up the Jamia Millia stone by stone and sacrifice by sacrifice,” said Sarojini Naidu, the nightingale of India.

Conception

Under the colonial British rule, two dominant trends joined hands and contributed towards in the birth of Jamia. One was the anti-colonial Islamic activism and the other was the pro-independence aspiration of the politically radical section of western educated Indian Muslim intelligentsia. In the political climate of 1920, the two trends gravitated together with Mahatma Gandhi as a catalyst. The anti-colonial activism signified by the Khilafat and the pro-independence aspirations symbolised by the non-cooperation movement of the Indian National Congress helped to harness creative energies and the subsequent making of Jamia Millia Islamia. Rabindranath Tagore called it “one of the most progressive educational institutions of India”.

Responding to Gandhiji’s call to boycott all educational institutions supported or run by the colonial regime, a group of nationalist teachers and students quit Aligarh Muslim University, protesting against its pro-British inclinations. The prominent members of this movement were Maulana Mehmud Hasan, Maulana Mohamed Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, and Abdul Majid Khwaja.

Jamia Moves to Delhi

The saying, ‘when going gets tough the tough gets going’ cannot be truer about Jamia. As the crisis loomed large, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari and Abdul Majeed Khwaja—the first trio—supported by Gandhiji shifted Jamia from Aligarh to Karol Bagh, in New Delhi in 1925. Gandhiji boosted the morale of Jamia, saying, “The Jamia has to run. If you are worried about its finances, I will go about with a begging bowl”. Jamia followed Gandhiji’s constructive programme for self-reliance while it took to Charkha and Takli as favoured vocations.

Although Gandhi’s contacts helped to secure financial help for Jamia, the risk of helping a Congress-backed institution under the British Raj dissuaded many willing benefactors. Orthodox Muslims also viewed Jamia as a threat to Aligarh Muslim University, the ‘Muslim Oxford’. During those difficult days, it was Hakim Ajmal Khan who met most of Jamia’s expenses from his own pocket. Dr. M.A. Ansari and Abdul Majeed Khwaja toured India and abroad, explaining the importance of Jamia and collecting funds for this noble enterprise. Their collective intervention did avert a collapse that was almost certain.

Jamia's Motto

Right on the top is a star with the inscription“Allah O Akbar.” When in dark nights poor travellers have to traverse jungles and there is no one to show them the way, they chart their course with the help of stars. The star of Allah O Akbar is the guiding star of Jamia. Its eyes are fixed on this star which shows it the path in the darkling world. It reflects the truth that Allah is the greatest and he who bows his head before Him only, discovers the truth. Having bowed before Him, how can the head bow before anything else? Beneath this glittering star is a book with the inscription, Allammal Insaana Maalam Yalam (Taught man that which he knew not). This is the Holy Quran. Through the Holy Quran, Allah has revealed His Will to His differences of caste, class, colour; of master and slave, and became true to His tenets. This book led from darkness to light, and placed the wayward and lost on the Straight Path. The Prophet made an example of his own life. By the light of his eyes and the warmth of his heart, He prepared a group of good persons who cleaned the world of evil and spread the Word of God. On either side of the Book are two date tress typical of the land where God’s last Prophet was born. They are symbolic of the barren valley in which nothing grew; but it was there that the sapling of din took root. These trees are emblems of hope from a land in which not a leaf or flower could sprout; but wherein suddenly the springs of hidaya burst forth and drenched the “communities of the heart”. They are a source of consolation for people who became disheartened with adverse circumstances. Why do external factors make them lose hope?

At the very bottom is a tiny silver crescent which reads Jamia Millia Islamia. This crescent is small but just as it expands to become the full moon on the fourteenth night, so also Jamia. Meaning that this is the beginning of our work. It will expand to become the full moon and a source of delight for the eve of its beholder.