On February 10, 1921, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith (MGKVP) was established as Kashi Vidyapith and laid the foundation stone by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta and Bhagwan Das.

It is one of the largest public state universities in Uttar Pradesh, with hundreds of thousands of students, both rural and urban. It offers a range of professional and academic courses in Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Computing, and Management.

The university was recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under section 2(f) & 12(B) on September 23, 2010, under Act, 1956 and was accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with "B" Grade - (CGPA Score 2.41 on a 4 Point Scale in 2nd Cycle) in September 15, 2012.

The Vidyapith was accorded the status of "Deemed University" by the UGC in 1963 and owes its birth to the educational, cultural and political aspirations of pre-independence India. The university has more than 400+ affiliated colleges spread over six districts.

UG courses are under Choice Based Credit and Semester System (CBCSS). Therefore, the students should have to choose one honor (core) subject with two or more as subsidiary (elective) subjects for the specific undergraduate streams.

As per the declaration contained in the founding resolution of the Vidyapith, the objectives of this university are to strive to enhance and propagate:

• The development of Indian civilization and culture based on spiritualism
• The homogeneous intermingling of all the sections of Indian society
• Coordination among different thoughts and cultures
• The notion of independence and patriotism along with the feeling of brotherhood and the urge to serve mankind
• Ancient and modern development in the fields of various disciplines of learning, sculpture, science, and technology