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Presidency College, Kolkata

• Location & Contact Information
  • Address, Directions, & Map:
    • 86/1, College Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
  • Telephone Numbers: 22411960
  • Official Website: [1]
  • Email: contact@presidencycollegekolkata.org
• History & Memorable Moments

• • Origin

With the creation of the Supreme Court in Calcutta in 1774 many Hindus of Bengal became eager to learn the English language. A remarkable Scot watchmaker, David Hare, in collaboration with Radhakanta Deb had already taken some steps in that direction. Babu Buddinath Mukherjee advanced it further by enlisting the support of Sir Edward Hyde East, Chief Justice, Supreme Court who called a meeting of 'European and Hindu Gentlemen' in his house in May, 1816. The purpose of the meeting was to 'discuss the proposal to establish an institution for giving a liberal education to the children of the members of the Hindu Community'. The proposal was received with unanimous approbation and donation over one hundred thousand rupees was promised right there. Raja Ram Mohan Roy had full sympathy for the scheme but chose not to come out in support of the proposal publicly for fear of 'alarming the prejudices of his orthodox countrymen and thus marring the whole idea'. ^[1]

The College formally opened on Monday, January 20, 1817 with twenty 'scholars'. The control of the institution was vested in a body of two Governors and four Directors. The first Governors were Maharaja Tejchandra Bahadur of Burdwan and Babu Gopee Mohan Thakoor. The first Directors were Babu Gopeemohan Deb (father of Raja Radhakanta Deb of Sobhabazar), Babu Joykissen Sinha (grandfather of Kaliprasanna Sinha, the translator of Mahabharata into Bengali), Babu Radha Madhab Banerjee and Babu Gunganarain Doss, Babu Buddinath Mukherjee was the Secretary. ^[1]

The classes were held at first in a rented house belonging to Gorachand Bysack at Garanhatta (later numbered 304 Chitpore Road). In January 1818 the Hindu College moved to 'Feringhi Kamal Bose's house' located nearby. The building is a historic one because Raja Ram Mohan Ray inaugurated his Brahma Sabha here and Duff started his educational establishment later in 1834. From Chitpore, the Hindu College eventually shifted to Bowbazar and later to a building that now houses the Sanskrit College. ^[1]

• Early 19th century

Increasing realization of the value of western education made the Hindu College a coveted destination of scholars from all over India. Pupils came from Patna, Assam, Vizagapatnam and by 1828 enrolment rose to 400. The obvious question, which was raised, was whether it would not be wiser for government to establish a new 'English College' open to all classes and community and leave the Hindu College to its fate. Incidentally, facing financial problems, the Committee of Managers of the Hindu College had become dependent on subsidy from the government which, as expected, began to play a greater role in running the affairs of the College. ^[1]

By mid-19th century the Hindu College had outgrown the plans of its original founders. Not only did it attract an ever-increasing number of scholars from far and near, but it had also introduced courses in Law, Drawing, and Engineering, which catered to the needs of all classes of students - Hindus as well as non-Hindus. The government had also to consider whether this growing institution spending a good deal of public money could be retained as a non-governmental institution, particularly when Calcutta had no general college managed exclusively by the Council of Education. In the fitness of things, when smaller towns had government colleges, it became imperative that the metropolis should also have one. ^[1]

• From Hindu College to Presidency College

The proposal to set up a new college called the Calcutta College, or the Metropolitan College open to students from all communities was already in the air, but this would have meant greater financial liability on the government, which would also have to provide it with a competent faculty. A viable alternative was to convert Hindu College into a general institution open to all communities, managed by the government. Accordingly, the Committee of Management for Hindu College met for the last time on 11 January 1854. The Court of Directors renamed the College as Presidency College. It started functioning on 15 June 1855. With the formation of the University of Calcutta, located nearby, however, the Council of Education had to shelve its plans of associating the Medical College and the Civil Engineering College with Presidency College and expanding it into a University. ^[1]

On October 21, 1853, His Lordship the Governor of Bengal suggested that “ a new general college should be established at Calcutta by the government and designated "The Presidency College" .. the College should be open to all youths of every caste, class or creed. ” ^[1]

On June 15, 1855 the Presidency College was formally established. The 'scholars' of the College Department of the Hindu College were transferred to the Presidency College and 101 new admissions were made. Of this 101 pupils, two were "Muhammadans", the rest were Hindus. ^[1]

• Expansion

In 1856, Presidency College had one hundred and thirty-two students on its rolls. Ninety-four of them were in the General Branch and thirty-eight in the Legal Branch. Of them, eighty-two had paid tuition fees, forty-three were scholarship holders, and seven were enjoying free studentships. The Legal Branch was placed partly on a separate footing, its students being examined by the Professors themselves. Two years later Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay of the Law Department earned the distinction of being one of the first two graduates in Arts of the University of Calcutta. ^[1]

The year 1857 was indeed a momentous year, for it saw the birth of Calcutta University. It became part of the University's task to determine the courses of studies for colleges affiliated to it. Since Presidency College was the first college to be affiliated to the University, it became an institution preparing candidates for the BA examination. At the first Entrance Examination, held in 1857, Presidency College sent twenty-three students. The MA degree was conferred for the first time on six students of this college in 1863. ^[1]

The problem of space had been plaguing the College authorities even after the expansion of the Sanskrit College building. The process of the land acquisition for having its own campus started in September 1865 and by 1870 the Principal of the Presidency College was in a position to submit a plan for the erection of a building for the College on the premises where it was located now. The new edifice was opened on March 31, 1874 by the then Lieutenant–Governor Sir George Campbell in the presence of His Excellency of the Viceroy of India. The finishing touch was given to the dignity of the edifice by Babu Nuffer Chandra Pal Chaudhuri, who provided it with a turret clock, at a cost of nearly Rs. 5000.00 soon after its opening. Professor J. Sutcliffe was the Principal of the College when the new building was opened. The First Arts or FA Examination was introduced in 1861. The first candidate to qualify in this examination from Presidency College was Gooroodas Banerji, who also became the first Indian Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University. The ever-increasing rolls of the college were indicative of the keen interest being shown by students from all across the region. The prestigious award of the Gilchrist Scholarship for studies in England went to students of this college for four successive years since its introduction in 1868. The college soon expanded its campus and the present edifice was officially opened by the Lieutenant Governor on 31 March 1874 in the presence of the Viceroy. Nuffer Chandra Pal Chowdhury provided the building with a turret clock. The new building enabled the extension of scientific studies. The chemistry department could thus introduce practical classes by 1875. Engineering classes being held at the college were discontinued in 1880 when the Howrah Engineering College was set up. ^[1]

In order to augment the Faculty of Science a professorship of Geology was instituted in 1892. The Department of Biology was founded eight years later and SC Mahalanabish was made a Professor. The last two decades of the 19th century saw the appointment of distinguished scholars to teaching positions at Presidency College. For instance, HM Percival joined in 1880, Bipinvihary Gupta in 1883, jagadish chandra bose in 1885, prafulla chandra ray in 1889, and Manmohan Ghosh in 1896. Between 1868 and 1900, twenty-five students of the college were awarded the Premchand Roychand studentship, the highest honour for academics given by Calcutta University. In 1902, Dr. P.K.Roy became the first Indian to take over as principal of the college. ^[1]

Commerce classes were added in 1903. Baker Laboratories, named after Edward Norman Baker, the Lieutenant Governor, was formally opened on 20 January 1913 and the departments of Physics, Physiology, Botany and Geology were transferred to the new set-up. One of the biggest rooms in the Baker Laboratories accommodated the science library (the Peake Library, named after Prof CW Peake). The outbreak of World War I in 1914 interrupted plans for the building of an additional hostel and other facilities but the college continued to cross important milestones in the advancement of teaching and higher learning. New dimensions were added to the college with the reorganisation of the Library in 1908 and the introduction of a college union in 1914. The 1920s saw eminent teachers such as Prof.Wordsworth, Prof.Sterling, Prof.Home and Dr.Harrison embellishing the faculty. ^[1]

• Presidency during the Indian freedom struggle

During the non-cooperation movement and the civil disobedience movement, J.R.Barrow served as the Principal of the college. He set the highest standards of discipline and academic excellence, but also meted out punitive action to students participating in the nationalist upsurge. His objective, however, was never in doubt, and he earned the deep respect and appreciation of teachers as well as students. From the 1930s, Indian Principals headed the college, though the Education Department retained the services of British officers until 1947. ^[1]

The prestige of the college, at the time of India's independence, was evident in a limerick written by Phani Bhushan Chakrabarty, the first Indian Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court: Prathom jakhon collegey elam/Bollam bahabaharey/Aschi hotey Hindu Hare/Koriney care kaharey. ^[1]

• Recent History

In recent times the college has been a hotbed for left and far-left leaning politics. The students union plays a very active role in the day to day administration of the college. ^[1]

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