Celebrating 100 years of its inception, BHU is the largest university in Asia, as currently, it resides more than 12000 students on the campus.

The institute was established as Central Hindu College but now has 6 different institutes in itself, with over 140 departments. Nearly students from 48 countries pursue higher education at BHU.

Along with the academic excellence, BHU also has a well-established alumni base, who have contributed in many fields like politics, education, art or social work.

BHU is referred to be a respected name in the field of education as it has mentored the greatest minds of the century. Today, we will look at some of the most famous alumni of Banaras Hindu University, along with their achievements.

This article aims to highlight what BHU has given to the society and how it continues to nurture talented individuals?

Let’s have a look:

1-    Harivansh Rai Bachchan

Noted name in poetry, Harivansh Rai Bachchan is a man who needs no introduction.

Writer of some of the most beautiful and heart pleasing poems, Harivansh Rai Bachchan is a proud alumnus of Banaras Hindu University.

Harivansh Rai Bachchan worked hard for the evolution of Hindi as the official language of the country. He has also been awarded Padma Bhushan in 1976, for his impressive work for the country. Several of his writings have been used in Bollywood films and he is also known for being the father of prominent Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan.

Apart from BHU, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, also studied at Allahabad University and Cambridge University. He had served as a faculty of English literature at Allahabad University. He even worked for the Ministry of External Affairs of Government of India.
Most acclaimed & appreciated work of Harivansh Rai Bachchan includes Madhushala, Koshishkarnewalokikabhihaarnahihoti, Kavi kivaasna, Andhere ka Deepak, to name a few.

2-    JayanthNarlikar

JayanthNarlikar is an Indian astrophysicist who graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Bsc degree) from Banaras Hindu University. With several awards and notable work associated with him, JayanthNarlikar is amongst the most respected alumni of BHU.

After completing his graduation from BHU in 1951, JayanthNarlikar went to study in the Cambridge University, where he attained a BA in Mathematics. He completed his PhD in 1963 after which he went on to pursue MA in astronomy and astrophysics.

JayathNarlikar’s: Boyle-Narlikar theory, which is known as conformational gravity theory. Is among the brightest star on his collar as had received the most appreciation.

Apart from that he has received several awards and recognitions like, he was bestowed with a Padma Vibhushan in 2004 for his research work. Also, he has been honored with Kalinga Prize from UNESCO,

Bhatnagar award, SahityaAkademi award and Indira Gandhi award.

He has written many science fiction novels, and short stories in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil. And worked as the chairman of consulting body of science and mathematics books of NCERT.

3-    Bhupen Hazarika

Bhupen Hazarika, the pioneer of Assamese folk music, is another name in the list of most famous and respected alumni of BHU. The singer, lyricist, poet, film maker and musician from Assam is also known as “Sudhakantha”.

Bhupen Hazarika, after completing his schooling from Guwahati, went on to do Intermediate Arts in Cottom College. After this, he studied BA and MA in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University. And then, he went to Columbia University for pursuing PhD.

Bhupen Hazarika is known for bringing Assamese folk music in the film industry.

He has several awards to his name, like National Film Award for best music direction, Padambhushan, SangeetNatakAkademi Award, Dada Saheb Phalke Award and SangeetNatakAkademy Fellowship.

His famous melodies include: Ganga MorMaa, BistinroParore, Snehe Amar XotoShrabonor and many others.

4-    C N R Rao

ChintamanNagesa Ramchandra Rao is an Indian Scientist in the field of chemistry who has earned a lot of respect and fame with his research.

There is an endless list of awards he has received; however, his biggest achievement is that he is the recipient of Highest Civilian Award in the country, Bharat Ratna. He became the third scientist to receive this prestigious award.

Born in Bangalore, C N R Rao was home tutored for initial years before going to middle school. Signs of intelligence were visible in his early age, as in school he helped his seniors in subjects like Mathematics.

C N R studied BSc at Central College, Bangalore. After this he obtained a Master’s Degree from Banaras Hindu University.

C N R Rao is amongst the earliest scientists who worked in the field of solid state and materials.
His work on transition metal oxides, two-dimensional metal oxides and oxide semiconductors has received applauds from around the world. He has authored more than 1500 research papers and 45 scientific books.

C N R Rao is also the founder of Jawahar Lal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore.

5-    KapilaVatsayayan

KapilaVatsayayan is a leading name in Indian Arts, like the Indian Classical Dance, art, and architecture. She is also an art historian and has been awarded Padma Vibhushan for her work in Indian Art.

Delhi based, KapilaVatsayayn did her MA in English Literature from Delhi University and MA in Education from the University of Michigan.

Then she completed her Ph.D. from Banaras Hindu University.

Her books like Matralaksanam, Bharata : The Natya Shastra and The square and circle of Indian Arts, gained a lot of popularity.

She is the founder of Indian Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Delhi.

She has been honored with awards like SangeetNatakAkademy Fellowship, Jawahar Lal Nehru Fellowship, Lalit Kala Akademy fellowship and many other national and international awards.

7-    Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, also known as B P Koirala, is another notable name in the alumni of Banaras Hindu University. The former Prime Minister of Nepal was a highly valued political figure in Nepal and has an important role in the current political structure of Nepal.

B P Koirala was brought up in the city of Banaras. After completing his schooling, he obtained Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Politics from Banaras Hindu University.

His most important work is that he enabled the end to Rana Regime, which is the most important event in the history of Nepal.

After this, B P Koirala was involved in shaping the political structure of Nepal. He served as the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal.

He served the term only for around 18 months and the remaining part of his life was spent mostly in exile and imprisonment, due to many political reasons.

8-    Shitala Pandey (Sameer)

Though not honored with national and international awards like the people mentioned above, Sameer is a famous name in Indian Film Industry and is amongst the successful alumni of Banaras Hindu University. If you are someone who listens to Bollywood songs, you definitely would have gone through songs written by Sameer.

Born near Banaras, Sameer attained his Masters of Commerce degree from Banaras Hindu University. Though he started his career with a bank job but left it very soon as he realized that his passion was writing.

Therefore, he went to Mumbai to pursue his career as a lyricist.

Starting his career with films like Bekhabar and Maar KeKatare Maar Jaibe (Bhojpuri), Sameer became a sensation in romantic songwriting with his work in movies like Dil and Aashiqui.

In his 34-year-old career, Sameer has written more than 3500 songs for more than 650 films. He currently holds the Guinness World Record for writing the most number of songs.

With 3 Filmfare awards to his name, Sameer’s songs have been a regular feature in the list of nominations for awards like IIFA, Zee Cine, and Screen Awards.

These are just 7 names from a long list of successful people who have studied at Banaras Hindu University. Such a rich list of alumni defines the great culture of the university and adds huge value to its name.