Aliah University

Aliah University in Kolkata is a state government university with an unusual lineage: it is the modern successor to the historic Calcutta Madrasah tradition, reconstituted as a university in 2007 under West Bengal's minority affairs administration. It carries a mandate to serve minority students while remaining open to all, and holds an A grade from NAAC. Teaching spreads across city campuses including New Town, covering humanities and social sciences among other fields — English, economics, history and political science are staple undergraduate choices. Fees are at government-university levels, which keeps it accessible, and Kolkata offers a low cost of living with a rich intellectual culture. It suits students, particularly from Bengal's minority communities, seeking an affordable state-university degree in the arts with a distinctive institutional history.