A philanthropist, freedom fighter, famous Hakeem and a nationalist, Hakim Mohammed Ajmal Khan was born on February 11, 1868 in the illustrious Shareef Khani family of Delhi, that traces its lineage to a line of distinguished Unani doctors or Hakims, who first came to India in the 16th Century during the Mughal period.
Hakim Ajmal Khan started a Hindustani Dawakhana in this ancestral house and used it for service of the people of India. The Hindustani Dawakhana treated every patient who came to its door free of any charge, irrespective of his class, religion or region.
Hakim Ajmal Khan was actively associated with the Khilafat Movement as well as Gandhiji call for Non-Cooperation.
A natural outcome of this strive was the emergence of a national consciousness in education which resulted in the establishment of many institutions in India like Jamia Millia Islamia on October 29, 1920 as India's statement of self-reliance.
Hakim Ajmal Khan, one of the founders was unanimously elected as its first Chancellor, a position which he held until his death in 1927.