Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a state university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. It was founded on 10 February 1921 during the Non-Cooperation Movement by Rastra Ratna, Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta and Bharat Ratna, Dr. Bhagwan Das. Inaugurated by the father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi ji, the institution was initially named Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed as Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith in 1995. It gained the status of Deemed University in 1974 and was declared a State University in 2009 under the Uttar Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Act, 2008. The university has more than 200 affiliated colleges across two districts and offering diverse academic and professional courses in arts, science, commerce, law, agriculture, management, and computing.