Jamia

Jamia is a term used in the Indian subcontinent to designate a university or higher education institution. It derives from the Arabic word jamīʿa (جَامِعَة), meaning a gathering, assembly, or place of learning, and appears in many institutional names across South Asia and the Muslim world. In transliteration from Arabic, Urdu, and Persian, jamia is commonly spelled “Jamia” in English, and it does not by itself specify the institution’s legal status or curriculum.

In India and neighboring regions, several universities and madrasas bear the word Jamia in their names. Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi is a central university founded in 1920 during the Indian independence movement and later incorporated into the country’s higher education system as a central university. Jamia Nizamia in Hyderabad is a historic Islamic seminary focused on Islamic sciences and jurisprudence. Jamia Hamdard in New Delhi is a multidisciplinary institution known for health sciences and the Unani tradition. Other institutions with Jamia in their names exist in different countries and languages, reflecting the term’s broad semantic scope.

Because Jamia broadly means an institution of higher learning, it is not tied to a single organizational model or religious tradition. The use of Jamia is common in Urdu, Persian, and Arabic-speaking contexts and often accompanies both secular and religious educational establishments.