BHU: From Inception to Crisis (1915–1965) is an account of the first five decades of one of the foremost Indian universities. The book contextualizes its conception relative to the colonial framework of higher education and in terms of the personal background and outlook of its chief architect Madan Mohan Malaviya. It documents the conflicting and evolving visions, interpersonal drama, activism, and politics preceding the passing of the Banaras Hindu University Bill in the Imperial Legislative Council on 1 October 1915 and the struggles and efforts that characterized the institution’s first three decades. Post-independence, it looks at some noteworthy events at BHU and concludes by documenting the Congress government’s abortive attempt to secularize the institution by renaming it Madan Mohan Malaviya Kashi Vishwavidyalaya. The book charts BHU’s course from its inception until an assault on its denominational identity provoked a major students’ agitation. Alongside, it advances the idea that the university may be seen as the expression of a distinctly Indian ‘dialogic modernity.