About Gauhati University

Gauhati University was established by an act of the State Legislature, namely, the Gauhati University Act 1947 (Assam Act, XVI of 1947), of the Government of Assam in the year 1948. The University is funded by the University Grants Commission and the Government of Assam. Besides, various agencies of the Central and State Government provide various grants and assistance for Research and other Academic activities. The University is in its 58th year existence, and is the oldest, largest, and the most premier seat of higher education in the entire North Eastern Region of India. It was indeed a dream come true for thousands of people of Assam who had relentlessly agitated for decades for an institute of higher education in the province when Gauhati University was established on 26 January, 1948. For a long time, the only university in the entire eastern region was at Calcutta. This university catered to the needs not only of the students from Bengal but also of those from Bihar, Orissa and Assam. Naturally, therefore, seats for students from Assam were extremely limited and very often even meritorious students found themselves ousted in the fray. Over the years, this had caused resentment among the educated Assamese youth and the necessity of a separate university began to be acutely felt.

Soon after the capital shifted to Delhi in 1911, Bihar and Orissa acquired their own Universities and it was then that Assam, too, put forward her claim to the Government for a separate University. The first public demand was made at the annual session of the Assam Association held at Sivasagar in 1917 when Satyanath Bora made a fervent plea in his Presidential speech for a separate University. He forcefully stated that apart from other reasons, Assam deserved an independent University for the simple reason that the Senate and Syndicate of the Calcutta University had little link with the people of Assam and as such could never identify themselves with the hopes and aspirations of the Assamese people. Satyanath Bora’s powerful speech had a tremendous impact on the Assamese intelligentsia and it was followed up by a petition to the Calcutta University Commission headed by Michael Sadler. From then onwards till 1928, representation and petitions to the Government for a separate university were presented from time to time.

The first Court meeting of the University was held on 26-1-48 at the old Sudmerson Hall of Cotton College, Guwahati. Accordingly the date '26 January' is observed as the Foundation Day of Gauhati University. Thanks to the relentless and untiring efforts of a band of dedicated workers like Gopinath Bordoloi (the first Chief Minister of Assam. He was awarded 'Bharat Ratna' posthumously), Madhab Bezbarua, Bhubaneswar Barua, Sarat Chandra Goswami, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (former President of India), and many others, and the help and co-operation of the people of Assam, the University could be established in 1948.

The University which started functioning from the city centre was shifted to the present campus in 1955-56. The objective of the University is to revitalize its educational leadership and transform the University from an institution of higher education to an institution of higher development of the intellect, the will, and the moral; through continuous self-development, collaboration and sharing of knowledge with institutions of excellence. Starting with 17 affiliated colleges and 8 Post Graduate Departments in 1948, Gauhati University, today, has 38 Post Graduate Departments and a satellite campus at Kokrajhar besides Post Graduate Correspondence School and a constituent Law College. It has 205 affiliated colleges offering undergraduate and post graduate courses in the faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Engineering and Medicine. Gauhati University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities and the Association of Commonwealth Universities

Location - The University is located at Jalukbari within the Guwahati city area. The campus has got some hillock on the southern side and the mighty river Brahmaputra is flowing on the northern side of it.

Transportation - The University is 10 kms from the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport on National Highway No. 37. It is 5 kms from Kamakhya Railway Station and 10 kms from Guwahati Railway Station at the heart of Guwahati City. The capital complex of Assam at Dispur is 22 kms away from the University. The University is easily accessible from the Guwahati city, and Guwahati has road, rail and air links from all parts of the Country. A large number of bus services from various parts of Assam have their station at Adabari Bus Stand which is 2 kms away from the campus.

Information compiled from:Gauhati University -Website