Barkatullah University is a state public university located in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, India. Established in 1970, it serves as one of the principal centres of higher education and research in central India, offering postgraduate teaching, research programmes, and affiliation to a large number of colleges across the Bhopal division.
| Name | Barkatullah University |
|---|---|
| Former name | Bhopal University |
| Type | State public university |
| Established | 1970 |
| Location | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Named after | Maulana Barkatullah |
| Language of instruction | English and Hindi |
The university was founded in 1970 as Bhopal University to cater to the growing demand for higher education in the Bhopal region of Madhya Pradesh. In 1988, it was renamed Barkatullah Vishwavidyalaya in honour of Maulana Barkatullah, the freedom fighter and revolutionary born in Bhopal who was associated with the Ghadar movement and the Provisional Government of India established in Kabul in 1915.
The university campus is situated in the Habibganj area of Bhopal and houses teaching departments, research centres, administrative offices, hostels, and a central library. It functions as an affiliating university, with several colleges across the region offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes under its umbrella.
Barkatullah University offers programmes through its faculties, which broadly cover the arts, sciences, commerce, education, law, management, and life sciences. The university conducts teaching, research, and examination activities at the postgraduate, doctoral, and diploma levels, and grants affiliation to colleges that conduct undergraduate and select postgraduate courses.
Among its notable academic units are departments dealing with biotechnology, bioinformatics, biosciences, physics, chemistry, applied geology, and pharmaceutical sciences, alongside departments in the humanities and social sciences. The university also operates institutes for management studies and lifelong learning.
The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission under Section 2(f) and 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956, making its degrees recognised across India. It is a member of the Association of Indian Universities.
As the principal state university serving the Bhopal division, Barkatullah University plays an important role in higher education in central Madhya Pradesh, providing affiliation to numerous colleges and supporting research output in the region. The naming of the institution after Maulana Barkatullah also serves to commemorate Bhopal's contribution to the Indian freedom movement.