From Calcutta Madrasaḥ to ‘Āliah University: A Journey
Arifur Rahaman Mollah
DOI https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13292418
Abstract. The history of Muslim education in India since the inception of British rule, is closely associated with the history of Calcutta Madrasaḥ popularly known as Madrasaḥ-e-ʿĀliah.[1] It is the main spring from and round which a system of madrasaḥ education grew up in India. The Calcutta Madrasaḥ was the first educational institution in India, established by the British Government for the promotion of education in Theological Science, Oriental Studies, Medical Education, Geological Studies and Islamic Laws among the Muslims of Bengal for the purpose of administration and the judiciary. The institution which has managed to cover such a time period of two and a quarter century has played a remarkable role in the dissemination of knowledge, as well as social and cultural activities. It was hugely affected by the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and lost its earlier prestige and status. Then, owing to continuous movements by the students of the madrasaḥ and votaries of madrasaḥ education, against the ruling government of West Bengal to establish their tradition through this educational Institution, the Calcutta Madrasaḥ regained its college status and then has been upgraded to ʿĀliah University in 2007. This paper traces the journey for this institution.
Keywords. Calcutta Madrasaḥ, Persian language, ʿĀliah University, Madrasaḥ education, Calcutta Madrasaḥ College
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Arifur Rahaman Mollah received his master’s degree from the Department of Islamic Theology, Aliah University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is an Assistant Teacher at Majaherul Uloom Islamia Senior Madrasah, Howrah, WB. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. at the same university. His areas of interest include comparative religion and religious history, especially Islam. He has also attended many national and international seminars in his areas of interest. Mr. Mollah is a passionate researcher who is actively engaged in pursuing research through various national and international seminars.
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9066-7358
arifurmollah14@gmail.com
From Calcutta Madrasaḥ to ‘Āliah University: A Journey by Arifur Rahaman Mollah is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 
