01. The University of Calcutta is a public state university located in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), West Bengal, India established on 24 January 1857. It was the 1st institution in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and secular Western-style university.
02. The University of Mumbai is the 2nd oldest University in the subcontinent and the oldest in Maharashtra, established in 1857. The University of Mumbai was modeled on similar universities in the United Kingdom, specifically the University of London.
03. The University of Madras is a public state university in Chennai (formerly Madras), Tamil Nadu, established in 1857. It is the 3rd oldest University in the subcontinent. The university progressed and expanded through the 19th century to span the whole of South India, giving birth to universities like Mysore University (1916), Osmania University (1918), Andhra University (1926), Annamalai University (1929), Travancore University (1937) presently University of Kerala, Sri Venkateswara University (1954), Madurai Kamaraj University (1966), Bharathidasan University (1982), Bharathiar University (1982), Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (1990), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (1971), Anna University (1978), Tamil University (1981), Mother Teresa Women's University (1984), Dr. M.G.R. Medical University (1989), Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (1989), Periyar University (1997) and Dr. Ambedkar Law University (1996).
04. The University of Punjab is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1882. It is the 4th oldest University in the subcontinent and oldest public university in Pakistan. Contrary to the three previously established universities, which were only examining institutions, the University of Punjab was both teachings as well as examining body right from the beginning. It served the educational needs of the entire region of pre-independence Punjab and northern India. Mohindra College, Patiala was the first college of higher learning to affiliate with the University of Punjab in 1882; followed by St. Stephen's College, Delhi.
05. The University of Allahabad is a public central university located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, established on 23 September 1887; it is the 5th oldest University in the subcontinent. Its origins lie in the Muir Central College, named after Lt. Governor of North-Western Provinces, Sir William Muir in 1876, who suggested the idea of a Central University at Allahabad, which later evolved to the present university. The foundation stone of the Muir Central College was laid by Governor-General of India, Lord Northbrook on 9 December 1873. The college was named after Sir William Muir, Lt. Governor of United Province, who was instrumental in its foundation. Initially, it functioned under the University of Calcutta and later, on 23 September 1887, the University of Allahabad was established.
06. The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. It is the 6th oldest University in the subcontinent. It is established in the year 1916 by then Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, after two of his educational experts (C. R. Reddy and Thomas Denham) undertook a five-year study of higher education around the world. They structured the new school to encompass elements from universities that promote original research (University of Chicago), those that emphasize extending knowledge among the people (University of Wisconsin), and those that combine intellectualism with an educational system calculated to train students for political and social life (University of Oxford and Cambridge). H. V. Nanjundaiah, who played a key role in establishing the university۔
07. Patna University is the 7th oldest University in the subcontinent and first in Bihar. It was established in the year 1917 during the British Raj, as an affiliating and examining body. At that time, the jurisdiction of the university extended to Bihar, Odisha, and the Kingdom of Nepal. The university oversaw examinations for educational institutions ranging from school finals to the postgraduate levels. This continued almost for four decades until the establishment of the Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, and the Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar.
08. Osmania University is the 8th oldest University in the subcontinent. It is a public state university located in Hyderabad, India, founded in 1918 with the help of chief Architect of Mahbub Ali Khan - Nawab Sarwar Jung. It was established and named after the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan. It is the third oldest university in southern India, and the first to be established in the erstwhile princely State of Hyderabad. It is the first Indian university to have Urdu as a medium of instruction.
09. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is a public central university. It is the 9th oldest University in the subcontinent. It was established as Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind in 1875. The Anglo–Indian statesman Sir Syed Ahmad Khan founded the predecessor of AMU, the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, in 1875. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's image for the college was based on his visit to Oxford and Cambridge and he wanted to establish an education system similar to the British model. In the beginning, the college was affiliated with the University of Calcutta for the matriculate examination but became an affiliate of Allahabad University in 1885. In 1877, the school was raised to the college level and Lord Lytton laid the foundation stone of the college building. Around 1900 efforts began to make the college its own university. The Aligarh Muslim University Act of 1920 made it a central university.
10. The University of Dhaka also known as Dhaka University or simply DU), is the oldest university in modern Bangladesh. It is the 10th oldest University in the subcontinent, established in 1921. After the Partition of India, it became the focal point of progressive and democratic movements in Pakistan. Its students and teachers played a central role in the rise of Bengali nationalism and the independence of Bangladesh.
11. The University Of Lucknow or Lucknow University (LU) is a government-owned Indian university based in Lucknow. It is the 11th oldest University in the subcontinent. LU's old campus is located at Badshah Nagar, University Road area of the city with a new campus at Jankipuram. On 17 July 1921, the University undertook to teach, both formal and informal. Teaching in the Faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, and Law were being done in the Canning College and teaching in the Faculty of Medicine in the King George's Medical College and Hospital. The Canning College was handed over to the University on 1 July 1922. The King George's Medical College and the King George's Hospital were transferred by the Government to the University on the 1 March 1921.
12. The University of Delhi was established in 1922 as a unitary, teaching and residential university by an Act of the then Central Legislative Assembly of British India. It is the 12th oldest University in the subcontinent. Only four colleges existed in Delhi at the time: St. Stephen's College founded in 1881, Zakir Husain Delhi College (then known as The Delhi College), founded in 1892, Hindu College founded in 1899, and Ramjas College founded in 1917, which was subsequently affiliated with the university. The university thus had modest beginnings with only four colleges, two faculties (Arts and Science), and about 750 students.
13. Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It was established in 1926 by the Madras University Act to serve the entire linguistic region of Andhra as a residential teaching-cum-affiliating University. It is the 13th oldest University in the subcontinent.
14. Annamalai University is located in Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in the year 1929 by the entrepreneur Annamalai Chettiyar in the aftermath of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. It is the 14th oldest University in the subcontinent.
15. The University of Kerala (UoK), formerly the University of Travancore, is an affiliating university located in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the south Indian state of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937, long before the birth of the state of Kerala in India, by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma۔ It is the 15th oldest University in the subcontinent.