Aligarh History, India

Famous by the name of University City in the educational field and by the name of City of Locks on the economical front, Aligarh is an important city for India on national as well as on International level. Almost every lock making company of India and many foreign lock making companies have their firms in Aligarh and this makes Aligarh in important center for lock manufacturing Industry. Situated on the G. T. Road (the Grant Trunk Road), Aligarh’s proximity to New Delhi has been an important reason why it played important role in shaping India’s history.

Somewhere in the early 18th century and even before, Aligarh was known by the name of Koil or Kol. This wasn’t the name of the city alone but the complete district of today’s Aligarh. Initially the land in and around Aligarh was full of trees, grooves, and jungles. It was the year of 372 A.D. when Rajput’s Dor tribe laid the foundation of Kol. An old fort, right in center of the city (almost broken to nothing), dates to that period thus confirming the legend. There are many other accounts of how the city came into existence but the one pointed above is the most famous.

It was the 2nd Anglo - Maratha war (between 1803 and 1805) when Aligarh experienced the Battle of Ally Ghur. During this war, the British overtook the famous Aligarh Fort from the French and slowly established the British rule in and around the area.

Aligarh Muslim University was established somewhere in the year of 1875. The foundation of this university was laid by the Muslims of Aligarh and the neighboring cities and later on, the Act under the Parliament of India gave this residential institution the status of university. It was modeled and inspired from the University of Cambridge and is amongst the first few institutions that were built during the British rule.

Initially this university was an Anglo - Oriental College foundation which was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. This university gained fame when many famous writers, reformers, and scholars started to graduate it.

As of today, Aligarh Muslim University is one of the best institutions of the country and is considered very near to the level of IITs.