Department of Gujarati Language & Literature, Saurashtra University Rajkot

The Department of Gujarati Language & Literature is one of the few departments to be established concurrently with the establishment of Saurashtra University in 1967 and has till date given many scholars, critics and writers in Gujarati to the societ ars, critics and writers in Gujarati to the society. The Department offers an M.A. in Gujarati (through 4 Semesters) with an intake capacity of 60 and an M.Phil. (through 2 Semesters for course work and 1 for Thesis) with an intake of 20 Scholars are currently engaged in their doctoral work from the Department where Ph.D. is a prt-time program. It has a highly qualified team of 7 permanent faculties and offers specialization in Gujarati Poetry and Poetics, Modern Gujarati Literature and Gujarati Folklore. The Department has a rich collection of more than 11,000 manuscripts of medieval and early modern Gujarati literature besides a combined faculty publication of more than 225 books. The work of the Department has also attracted funds through private donations which has been utilized in establishing an academy and Research Center for Jain Studies and Charni Literature. The Department is infra-structurally sound having its own research library. Postgraduate Intake M.A.(GIA) 60 M.Phil. (GIA) 20 Ph.D. 40 The Saurashtra University was created on a rigorous demand, for a separate university out of Gujarat University (Ahmedabad), from the eminent educationists and freedom fighters of the Saurashtra region. The demand was more prominent after the creation of Gujarat state on May 1, 1961. The Saurashtra University Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Gujarat in the year 1965(Gujarat Act No. 39 of 1965). Saurashtra University, established on 23rd May, 1967, having two headquarters in the initial stage i.e. Rajkot and Bhavnagar. After the incorporation of the Bhavnagar University, Rajkot became the sole headquarters of the Saurashtra University. The campus of the University is spread over 363 acres of land. The present jurisdiction of the University includes Amreli, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surendranagar, and Morbi districts. It has 29 Post Graduate Departments on its campus and 238 affiliated colleges. The University has important seats of learning spreading knowledge in the respective fields i.e. Nehru Chair, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Chair, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chair, Swami Dayanand Saraswati Chair, Gulabdas Broker Chair, etc. The University runs a centre of learning and research in the name of Shri Zaverchand Meghani i.e. Meghani Lok Sahitya Kendra. The University in collaboration with Commissionerate of Industries, Government of Gujarat, and Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, has started National Facility for Drugs Discovery (NFDD) in the year 2009. The NFDD is a state of art centre of research and innovation. Later in the year 2014, the NFDD was transformed into Centre of Excellence (COE). COE is actively involved in generating funds from industrial consultancy.