# Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University

The vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (VC-BHU) is the chief administrator, and a full-time salaried officer of the Banaras Hindu University. The vice-chancellor derives their powers from sections 7(B) and 7(C) of the Banaras Hindu University Act (BHU Act) and from the statutes of the said act.
Although the chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, preceding the vice-chancellor, is "head of the university" under the BHU Act, it is only a titular position. The vice-chancellor is the principal executive and principal academic officer of the university. She or he is the ex-officio chairperson of the Executive Council, the Academic Council, and the Finance Committee of the university.
Applications for the appointment of vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University are invited openly by the Ministry of Education, which shortlists candidates interviewed by its search committee. The shortlisted candidates are recommended to the president of India. Upon their satisfaction, the president appoints the vice-chancellor. Per the BHU Act, vice-chancellors of the university have a three-year tenure in the office. They are, however, eligible for a second term of appointment upon expiration of the first term with preferably not more than 67 years of age. The maximum age for holding the office is 70 years. When a vice-chancellor leaves office by the means of retirement, resignation, death, or ill-health, the rector assumes the office as officiating vice-chancellor to avoid interregnum.
During the British Indian and Indian Dominion administration, the appointments were made by the Governor General.
There have been 28 vice-chancellors since the establishment of the university.
On 7 January 2025, Sudhir K. Jain retired as the 28th vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University. In place of him, Prof Sanjay Kumar (Rector, BHU) has been assigned the charge of the vacant chair, now acting as the Vice Chancellor (incharge). The finalized name of new VC of BHU is yet to be disclosed by the central government.

## Chronological list

The vice-chancellors of Banaras Hindu University, in chronological order, are as follows:
Vice-Chancellors of Banaras Hindu University :
| No. | Name | Period of office | Period of office | Remarks |
| 1 | Rai Bahadur Sir Sunder Lal CIE | 1 April 1916 | 13 April 1918 | Founding vice-chancellor Sir Sunderlal Hospital in the university named after him |
| 2 | Sir P.S. Sivaswami Iyer KCSI CIE | 13 April 1918 | 8 May 1919 | Presided as the vice-chancellor at university's first convocation |
| 3 | Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Bharat Ratna | 29 November 1919 | 6 September 1938 | Served for more than 19 years Founder of the university |
| 4 | Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Bharat Ratna | 17 September 1939 | 16 January 1948 | Served for more than 8 years Went on to become the president of India |
| 5 | Amarnath Jha Padma Bhushan | 27 February 1948 | 5 December 1948 | |
| 6 | Pandit Govind Malaviya | 6 December 1948 | 21 November 1951 | Alumnus of the Banaras Hindu University Youngest son of university founder Madan Mohan Malaviya |
| 7 | Acharya Narendra Dev | 6 December 1951 | 31 May 1954 | |
| 8 | Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer KCSI KCIE | 1 July 1954 | 2 July 1956 | |
| 9 | Veni Shankar Jha Padma Bhushan | 3 July 1956 | 16 April 1960 | |
| 10 | N. H. Bhagwati | 16 April 1960 | 15 April 1966 | |
| 11 | Triguna Sen | 9 October 1966 | 15 March 1967 | |
| 12 | A. C. Joshi | 1 September 1967 | 31 July 1969 | |
| 13 | Kalu Lal Shrimali Padma Vibhushan | 1 November 1969 | 31 January 1977 | Alumnus of the Banaras Hindu University |
| 14 | Moti Lal Dhar | 2 February 1977 | 15 December 1977 | First and only Kashmiri Pandit to hold this position |
| 15 | Hari Narain Padma Shri | 15 May 1978 | 14 May 1981 | |
| 16 | Iqbal Narain | 19 October 1981 | 29 April 1985 | |
| 17 | R. P. Rastogi | 30 April 1985 | 29 April 1991 | |
| 18 | C. S. Jha | 1 May 1991 | 14 June 1993 | |
| 19 | D. N. Mishra | 8 February 1994 | 27 June 1995 | |
| 20 | Hari Gautam | 2 August 1995 | 25 August 1998 | |
| 21 | Y. C. Simhadri | 31 August 1998 | 20 February 2002 | |
| 22 | Patcha Ramachandra Rao | 20 February 2002 | 19 February 2005 | Alumnus of the Banaras Hindu University |
| 23 | Panjab Singh | 3 May 2005 | 7 May 2008 | |
| 24 | D. P. Singh | 8 May 2008 | 21 August 2011 | India Today-Nielsen ranked the university best in India |
| 25 | Lalji Singh Padma Shri, FNA, FASc | 22 August 2011 | 21 August 2014 | Alumnus of the Banaras Hindu University Undertook various reforms in the university Voluntarily received only a token salary of ₹ 1 per month |
| 26 | Girish Chandra Tripathi | 27 November 2014 | 26 November 2017 | Banaras Hindu University women's rights protest during his tenure |
| 27 | Rakesh Bhatnagar | 28 March 2018 | 28 March 2021 | |
| 28 | Sudhir K. Jain Padma Shri | 7 January 2022 | 7 January 2025 | NIRF ranking of the university dropped from third to sixth after five years |

## Timeline

* Vice-Chancellors of Banaras Hindu Universityvte