Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) is a public university located in Rono Hills, Doimukh, in the Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Established in 1984, it is the oldest university in the state and serves as a major centre of higher education and research in the eastern Himalayan region. The university was elevated to the status of a Central University in 2007.
| Name | Rajiv Gandhi University |
|---|---|
| Former name | Arunachal University |
| Type | Central University |
| Established | 1984 |
| Location | Rono Hills, Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh, India |
| State | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Country | India |
Arunachal Pradesh, located in the north-eastern frontier of India, lacked a full-fledged university until the mid-1980s. To address the need for higher education in the region and to support its tribal and culturally diverse population, the state government, in cooperation with the Government of India, set up a university at Rono Hills near Itanagar, the state capital. The institution was originally founded as Arunachal University and was later renamed Rajiv Gandhi University in honour of the former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.
The main campus is situated at Rono Hills, about 30 kilometres from Itanagar, on a hilly site overlooking the Dikrong river valley. The campus accommodates academic departments, administrative offices, hostels, residential quarters, libraries and sporting facilities, spread across forested hill terrain typical of the region.
RGU offers undergraduate, postgraduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes through several faculties covering arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, commerce and management, education, and law. The university also houses departments dedicated to the study of tribal cultures, languages, and the natural environment of Arunachal Pradesh, reflecting its regional focus. Affiliated colleges across Arunachal Pradesh function under the academic ambit of the university.
The university places particular emphasis on research relating to the indigenous communities, languages, biodiversity, and ecology of the eastern Himalayas. Departments such as Anthropology, Tribal Studies, Hindi and Tribal Languages, Geography, and the life sciences contribute to documentation and study of the region's heritage and natural resources.
As the oldest university and the only Central University in Arunachal Pradesh for much of its history, Rajiv Gandhi University has played a central role in expanding access to higher education in a remote and ethnically diverse state. It has served as a feeder institution for academia, government services, and professional training in the north-eastern states, and has contributed to the preservation and academic study of tribal cultures and languages of Arunachal Pradesh.