Banaras Hindu University Act, 1915

Banaras Hindu University Act, 1915
The university main entrance gate
Indian Parliament
Long title The Banaras Hindu University Act of 1915
Citation	Banaras Hindu University Act (Act 16). 1915.
Territorial extent	Republic of India
Passed by	Indian Parliament
Passed	1 October 1915
Enacted	1 April 1916
Assented to	1 October 1915
Signed by	Viceroy and Governor-General of India
Signed	1 October 1915
Commenced	1 April 1916
Legislative history
Introduced by	Harcourt Butler
Introduced	11 March 1915
Summary
An act to establish and incorporate a teaching and residential, Hindu university at Banaras.
Keywords
BHU Act
Status: In force

The Banaras Hindu University Act, 1915 (also called the BHU Act), is an act of Parliament of India, passed on 1 October 1915 and assented by the Viceroy and Governor-General of India on the same day to establish Banaras Hindu University.^[1] It was the act number 16 of 1915, and came into force from 1 April 1916 on being published in the Gazette of India on 23 March 1916.^[2]

The act has been amended six times thus far, in 1922, 1930, 1951, 1958, 1966, and 1969.^[2]

History

See also: Banaras Hindu University § History

In 1905^[3] at the twenty first conference of Indian National Congress in Banaras Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya announced his goal of establishing a university in Banaras. Mahamana Malviya established a Hindu University Society, with Maharaja of Darbhanga Rameshwar Singh Bahadur as the president to crowd-source the funding from all over Indian subcontinent for the establishment of such university.^[4]

The first draft was prepared in October 1911.^[5]

On 22 March 1915, then Education Minister Harcourt Butler introduced the Benares Hindu University Bill.^[6] In his speech he remarked about the university:

My Lord, this is no ordinary occasion. We are watching to-day the birth of a new and, many hope, a better type of University in India. The main features of this University, which distinguish it from existing Universities, will be, first. that it will be a teaching and residential University; secondly, that while it will be open to all castes and creeds, it will insist upon religious instructions for Hindus, and thirdly, that it will be conducted and managed by the Hindu community and almost entirely by non-officials

— Harcourt Butler 11 March 1915, Imperial Legislative Council, New Delhi, India ^[7]

The bill was passed on 1 October 1915.^[1]

The Act

• The Banaras Hindu University Act, 1915, as modified upto December 2018
• The Benares Hindu University Act, as passed in 1915

First page of then Benares Hindu University Act, as passed in 1915

Statutes

The Statutes in force at the commencement of the university were added into the BHU act as a schedule vide an amendment in 1966.^[8] The statutes of the university are published on the official website, and are not usually added to the Act document.

References

1. Dar, S.L.; Somaskandan, S. (1966). History Of The Banaras Hindu University. Banaras Hindu University Press. p. 291. ISBN 8185305226.
2. Banaras Hindu University Act (Act 16). 1915.
3. "Sessions of Congress". Indian National Congress. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
4. Banaras Hindu University, Banaras Hindu University (3 January 2022). "PANDIT MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA The Man, The Spirit, The Vision". Archived from the original on 3 August 2013.
5. Dar, S.L.; Somaskandan, S. (1966). History Of The Banaras Hindu University. Banaras Hindu University Press. p. 269. ISBN 8185305226.
6. Dar, S.L.; Somaskandan, S. (1966). History Of The Banaras Hindu University. Banaras Hindu University Press. p. 271. ISBN 8185305226.
7. Dar, S.L.; Somaskandan, S. (1966). History Of The Banaras Hindu University. Banaras Hindu University Press. p. 273. ISBN 8185305226.
8. Amendment Act 52, 17(2) (PDF). Parliament of India. 1966. p. 12.