Khalsa College, Amritsar
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Khalsa College is a historic educational institution in the northern Indian city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab, India. Founded in 1892, the sprawling 300-acre campus is located about eight km outside of the city center on the Amritsar-Lahore highway (part of the Grand Trunk Road), adjoining Guru Nanak Dev University campus, to which Khalsa College is academically affiliated.
Khalsa College has following faculties:
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration
- Faculty of Sciences
- College of Agriculture
- Institute of Computer Science
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[edit] History
Khalsa College Establishment Committee was set up in 1890 with Colonel W. R. M. Holroyd, Director of Public Instruction, Punjab, as president, and W. Bell, Principal of Government College, Lahore, as secretary. Among the native constituents of this 121-member committee were Sir Attar Singh, Gurdial Singh Maan of Nabha, Diwan Gurmukh Singh of Patiala, Bhai Kahn Singh, Professor Gurmukh Singh and Sardar Jawahir Singh (1859-1910). Many princely states of British India gave their financial help to the establishment of Khalsa College, including Maharaja Rajendra Singh of Patiala, Maharaja Hira Singh of Nabha, Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala and Sir Sunder Singh Majithia.
After a prolonged discussion about the site of Khalsa College, it was decided that one college would be established in Amritsar, followed by a second in Lahore. The 300-acre campus was sited just outside the village of Kot Sayyad Mehmood, which was later renamed Kot Khalsa.
[edit] The Building
The main building is considered a gem of the Indo-Sarcenic style, which is strongly influenced by traditional Indian and Mughal schools of architecture. The foundation stone was laid on March 5, 1892, with the first classes starting in 1893.
The college was designed by Bhai Ram Singh, principal of the Mayo School of Arts, Lahore, with the help of engineer Dharam Singh Gharjakhia. Bhai Ram Singh was decorated for his services with the Member of the Victorian Order (MVO), the highest civilian award of British India. Khalsa college picture
[edit] Principals
Colonel W. R. M. Holroyd was first President of the Governing Council of the Khalsa College Amritsar.
- Dr Johan Campbell Oman (1898-1899)
- M. G. V. Cole (1900-1910)
- R. G. Wright (1910-1915)
- G. A. Wathen (1915-1924)
- Bishan Singh (1928-1936), first Sikh principal
- Jodh Singh (1936-??)
Other principals of Khalsa College Amritsar include:
- Inder Singh (1952-1957)
- Harbant Singh (1958-1961)
- Balwant Singh Anand (1962-1963)
- Bishan Singh Samundri (1964-1969)
- Sham Singh Kapur (1970-1971)
- Harbans Singh (1971-1975)
- Gurbax Singh Shergill (1975-1989)
- Harbhajan Singh Soch (1989-1995)
- Mohinder Singh Dhillon (1996-2003)
- Daljeet Singh (2003—)
[edit] Famous visitors
- Mahatma Gandhi (1920)
- Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (1921)
[edit] Famous alumni
- Pratap Singh Kairon, former Chief Minister of Punjab
- Teja Singh Samundri (1882-1926), founder of SGPC - Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak (Management) Committee
- Gen. Rajinder Singh "Sparrow" Shergill
- Sohan Singh Josh (1898-1970?), Socialist Leader of Punjab
- Niranjan Singh Talib (1901 - ), Gandhian Leader of Indian independence movement
- Gurdial Singh Dhillon, former Speaker of the Indian Parliament [1]
- Sardar Hukam Singh, former Speaker of the Indian Parliament [2]
- Mulk Raj Anand, novelist
- Bhisham Sahni, filmmaker and writer
- Daljeet Singh (Ophthalmologist)
- Dr. Pathak, former director of PGI Chandigarh
- Justice Hans Raj Khanna, former judge Supreme Court of India [3]
- Manohar Singh Gill, former Chief Election Commissioner of India
- Bishen Singh Bedi, former captain of the Indian cricket team
[edit] Trivia
The outside court scenes featuring Shah Rukh Khan's character Veer in the film Veer-Zaara were filmed at the college.
