Suresh Gyan Vihar University

“The eternal quest for knowledge that shall enlighten us and free us from all biases, preoccupations, fixations, obsessions and unhealthy concerns, should be the one and only objective of human civilization.” These sentiments, put into words by Acharya Shri Purushottam ‘Uttam’ have echoed through the ages and continued to resonate with Sahitya Sadawart, becoming its driving force and guiding beacon. Sahitya Sadawart which literally translates to unfettered and all-pervasive dissemination of knowledge is the umbrella organization under whose aegis multiple schools, colleges, research centers and a University have taken shape and prospered. Sahitya Sadawart saw its birth in the year 1938, as the culmination of a philosophical journey undertaken by Shri Kamlakar ‘Kamal’ and a young Acharya Shri Purushottam ‘Uttam’. It was a thought which pioneered academic rigor in a region that had traditionally lagged in terms of education. It was the time when the erstwhile Rajputana was yet to emerge from the feudal darkness, illiteracy plagued the masses and the doors of formal education remained firmly shut for the downtrodden and the subaltern. These two teachers took upon themselves, the herculean task of taking education, free thought and liberal ideas to the doorsteps of those who were poor by dime, to those who were poor by gender and to those who were poor by birth. Peripatetic instructors, with little or no money put all their heart, mind and spirit into Sahitya Sadawart and laid the foundation of an edifice which was to change the course of things for an entire generation in Jaipur. The institution grew, albeit gradually. With the coming of mid 1950s multiple learning centers had been transformed to multiple schools which offered formal education to the kids, adolescents and adults of a newly formed Rajasthan. In the years to come, aided by his zeal to teach and his commitment to the nation building process, Acharya Shri Purushottam ‘Uttam’ made a name for himself as the quintessential teacher earning the epithet of ‘Acharya’. Revered by scores of Alumni who brought laurels to Sahitya Sadawart by excelling in various fields and leading the success story of a newly formed Rajasthan, he had set the stage for Gyanvihar to take shape. Gyanvihar, which commenced its journey as an experiment to redefine school education in Jaipur has now culminated into Gyanvihar Universe, a galaxy, with some truly stellar constellations, Suresh Gyanvihar University and Gyanvihar School being the more recognized names. Gyan Vihar School came into existence in the year 1994. It was a concerted effort to combine the best of western and eastern pedagogy to create the kind of atmosphere where kids could learn and “fly free”. The foundation stone of Gyan Vihar was laid on 19 February 1994 by Acharya Purushottam and Shri Suresh Sharma.

Library and Auditorium names after Acharya Shri Purushottam ‘Uttam’

In 1999, Gyan Vihar decided to launch a technical education institution to serve the students at a national level and a new establishment was planned that would adopt and employ new technologies and advances in the field of Science. Thus was born the Gyan Vihar School of Engineering & Technology, which was spread over 32 Acres of land within the municipal limits of Jaipur City

The college grew in disciplines and enrollment numbers and in the year 2008 became the constituent college of the newly formed Suresh Gyan Vihar University. In the years since, the University has forayed into numerous other disciplines including Engineering, Pharmacy, Management, Hospitality, Interdisciplinary and Liberal Studies, Hospitality, Applied Sciences and Agriculture, Journalism and Arts, etc. The University initiated under the guidance of Chairman Shri Sunil Sharma and Dr. Sudhanshu[11] as its first vice-chancellor. Since 2012, Dr. Sudhanshu has continued administration as the Chief Mentor of the University.

Gyan Vihar University was established by Government of Rajasthan Act No. 16 of 2008, passed in state Assembly of Rajasthan, giving it the status of 'State University'. University Grant Commission released the approval for the establishment of the University and empowered to award degrees as specified by the UGC U/S 22 of UGC Act 1956 through its notification no. F.9-38/2008(CPP-I) dated 1 April 2009. Gyan Vihar is included in the list of private universities maintained by the University Grants Commission under section 2 (f) of UGC Act 1956.[12][13]