Scottish Church College, Calcutta

Scottish Church College
Motto Nec Tamen Consumebatur ("Burning, but yet not consumed")[1]
Established 1830: General Assembly's Institution
1843: Free Church Institution
1863: Duff College
1908: Scottish Churches College
1929: Scottish Church College
Type Church of North India administered liberal arts and sciences college
Principal Dr. John Abraham
Location Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Campus Urban
Recognition National Assessment and Accreditation Council's Grade ‘A’ Institution; University Grants Commission’s ‘College with Potential for Excellence’
Affiliations University of Calcutta
Website http://www.scottishchurch.ac.in/

The Scottish Church College is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in India.[2][3] It is affiliated with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (for the Scottish Church Collegiate School), the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education for the awarding of baccalaureate and post baccalaureate diplomas, and with the University of Calcutta for graduate and postgraduate degrees.

It is well-known for its beautiful campus, renowned faculty, robust intellectual milieu and its English Palladian architecture. Its students and alumni call themselves "Caledonians" in the name of the college festival, "Caledonia".

Contents

The founder and institutional origins

The institutional origins are traceable to the life of Dr. Alexander Duff, D. D. LLD. (1806–1878), the first overseas missionary of the Church of Scotland, to India. Initially known as the General Assembly's Institution, it was founded on 13 July 1830.[4]

Alexander Duff was born on 25 April 1806, in Moulin, Perthshire, located in the inner Scottish countryside. He attended the University of St Andrews where after graduation, he decided to opt for a missionary life.[4] Subsequently, he undertook his evangelical mission to India. In a voyage that involved two shipwrecks (first on the ship Lady Holland off Dassen Island, near Cape Town, and later on the ship Moira, near the Ganges delta) and the loss of his personal library consisting of 800 volumes (of which 40 survived), and college prizes, he arrived in Calcutta on 27 May 1830.[5][6]

Principals of General Assembly's Institution (1830–1908)
  • Rev. Alexander Duff 1830-34
  • Rev. W. S. Mackay & Rev. D. Ewart 1834-39
  • Rev. Alexander Duff 1840-43
  • Rev. James Ogilvie, 1845–71
  • Rev. William Hastie, 1878–84
  • Rev. W. Smith, 1884–89
  • Rev. John Morrison 1889-1904
  • Rev. A. B. Wann, 1904–1908
Principal of Free Church Institution (1843–63)
Principals of Duff College (1863–1908)
  • Rev. W. C. Fyffe, 1863–80
  • Rev. James Robertson, 1881–83
  • Rev. John Hector, 1883–1902
Principals of Scottish Churches College (1908–1929)
  • Rev. A.B. Wann, 1908–09
  • Rev. John Lamb, 1909–11
  • Rev. Alexander Tomory, 1910–1911
  • Rev. Dr. James Watt, 1911–1928
Principals of Scottish Church College (1929–present)
  • Rev. Dr. W. S. Urquhart, 1928–37
  • Rev. Allen Cameron, 1937–44
  • Rev. John Kellas, 1944–54
  • Dr. H. J. Taylor, 1954–60
  • Dr. N. K. Mundle, 1960–70
  • Jyotsna Pyne, 1970
  • B. Das, 1970–1971
  • S. K. Mitra, 1971–75
  • K. D. Bhatt, 1973–75
  • S. K. Mukherjee, 1975–76
  • A. K. Sen, 1976–78
  • A. K. Kisku, 1978–81
  • Aparesh Bhattacharyya, 1981–1983
  • Kalyan Chandra Dutt, 1983–1995
  • Dr. Kalyan Kumar Mandi, 1996–2002
  • Dr. John Abraham[7], 2002–present

With initial support from the Governor-General of India Lord William Bentinck[5], Rev. Alexander Duff opened his institution in Feringhi Kamal Bose's house, located in upper Chitpore Road, near Jorasanko. In 1836 the institution was moved to Gorachand Bysack's house at Garanhatta.[4] Mr. MacFarlon, the Chief-Magistrate of Calcutta, laid the foundation stone on 23 February 1837. Mr. John Gray, elected by Messrs. Burn & Co. and superintended by Captain John Thomson of the East India Company designed the building. The construction of the building was completed in 1839.[4]

Historical context

In the early 1800s, under the regime of the East India Company, English education and Missionary activities were initially suspect.[4] While the East India Company supported Orientalist instruction in the vernacular languages like Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit, and helped to establish institutions like Calcutta Madrasah College, and Sanskrit College, in general, colonial administrative policy discouraged the dissemination of knowledge in their language, that is in English.[8] The agency of missionaries like Duff has to be contextualized in this backdrop.

Inspired by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Reverend Alexander Duff, a young and dedicated missionary, arrived in India's colonial capital to set up an English-medium institution. Though Bengalis had shown some interest in the spread of Western education from the beginning of the 19th century, both the local church and government officers were skeptical about the high-caste Bengali's response to the idea of an English-medium institution.[4] While Orientalists like James Prinsep were supportive of the idea of vernacular education, Duff and prominent Indians like Raja Rammohun Roy supported the use of English as a medium of instruction.[4]His emphasis on the use of English on Indian soil was prophetic:

The English language, I repeat it, is the lever which, as the instrument of conveying the entire range of knowledge, is destined to move all Hindustan.

[9]

Raja Ram Mohan Roy helped Duff by organizing the venue and bringing in the first batch of students. He also assured the guardians that reading the Bible did not necessarily imply religious conversion. Although his ultimate aim was the spread of English education, Duff was aware that a foreign language could not be mastered without command of the native language. Hence in his General Assembly's Institution (as later in his Free Church Institution), the teaching and learning of the dominant vernacular Bengali language and literature was emphasized. Duff and his successors also underscored the necessity of sports among his students .[10] Interestingly, when he introduced political economy as a subject in the curricula, the Church strongly criticized him.

In 1840, Duff returned to India. At the Disruption of 1843, Duff sided with the Free Church. He gave up the college buildings, with all their effects and established a new institution, called the Free Church Institution.[5] He had the support of Sir James Outram and Sir Henry Lawrence, and the encouragement of seeing a new band of converts, including several young men born of high caste. In 1844, governor-general Viscount Hardinge opened government appointments to all who had studied in institutions similar to Duff's institution. In the same year, Duff co-founded the Calcutta Review, of which he served as editor from 1845 to 1849. These two institutions founded by Duff, i.e., the General Assembly's Institution and the Free Church Institution would be merged later to form the Scottish Churches College. After the unification of the Church of Scotland in 1929, the institution would be known as Scottish Church College.[4]

Along with Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the great social reformer often called the father of modern India, Dr. Duff supported Lord Macaulay in drafting his influential Minute for the introduction of English education in India. Eminent contemporary and successive missionary scholars from Scotland, notably Dr. Ogilvie, Dr. Hastie,[11] Dr. Macdonald, Dr. Stephen, Dr. Watt, Dr. Urquhart contributed in spreading liberal Western education. The institutions founded by Duff have been coterminous with other contemporary institutions like Serampore College, and Hindu College in ushering the spirit of intellectual enquiry and a general acceptance of the ideals of the Enlightenment, among colonized Bengalis, in what has been widely regarded by historians specializing in nineteenth century India, as the epochs of the Young Bengal Movement and later, the Bengal Renaissance.[12]

Duff's contemporaries included such luminaries as Reverend Mackay, Reverend Ewart and Reverend Thomas Smith. Till the early 20th century the norm was to bring teachers from Scotland (like William Spence Urquhart, Leslie Stephen, H.M. Percival, Ian Fairweather[13] etc.) but eminent Indian scholars were also engaged as teachers by the college authorities. Scholars like Surendranath Banerjea, Kalicharan Bandyopadhyay, Jnan Chandra Ghosh, Gouri Shankar Dey, Adhar Chandra Mukhopadhyay Sushil Chandra Dutta, Mohimohan Basu, Sudhir Kumar Dasgupta, Nirmal Chandra Bhattacharya, Bholanath Mukhopadhyay and Kalidas Nag had all contributed hugely to enhance the academic standards of the college.[14]

Dr. Duff played a leading part in founding the University of Calcutta in 1857, he was associated with the Agro-horticultural Society and the establishment of a medical college, the first in India.[15] He also aimed at breaking down caste-barriers by founding several girls schools. The Scottish Church College played a pioneering role in women's education as well as co-education in the country.[5] Female students comprise half the present roll strength of the college. With the added interest of the missionaries in educational work and social welfare, the college stands as a monument to Indo-Scottish co-operation. The aims and principles of the College are essentially those of its founder namely, the formation of character through education based on Christian teaching.

Current status and initiatives

Scottish Church College in popular culture

In fiction

In cinema

Notable alumni

Since its inception, it has continuously produced alumni who have excelled or have been influential in various fields. The spirit of the Protestant work ethic, originally espoused by its founders and teachers have been verily inculcated in its students. To sum it, the following excerpt from the 2004 NAAC Report[29] is very appropriate:

Scottish Church College, Kolkata is perhaps the only college of India which can boast of producing a large number of extra-ordinary personalities most of whom are not only famous in the country but also could earn international repute...The very impressive and a very long list of alumni of the college includes the names of Governors, Chief Ministers, Ministers, Vice-Chancellors of some eminent Universities of India, Jurists, Administrators, Ambassadors, Speakers, Educationists, Historians, Scholars, Doctors, Authors, Poets, Dramatists, Novelists, Political Leaders, Religious Leaders, Sports persons, Film personalities, Actors, Singers, Artists etc. etc.

Social reformers and religious leaders

Politicians and freedom fighters

Industry

Jurists

Academics and vice chancellors

Performing arts, theater and cinema

Visual arts

Writers, poets and journalists

Administrators

Sportspersons

References

  1. ^ Saint Columba's main doorway
  2. ^ Basu, Pradip. The Question of Colonial Modernity and Scottish Church College in 175th Year Commemoration Volume. Scottish Church College, April 2008. page 35.
  3. ^ Matilal, Anup. The Scottish Church College : A Brief Discourse on the Origins of an Institution in 175th Year Commemoration Volume. Scottish Church College, April 2008. pp. 19-20.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i History of Scottish Church College
  5. ^ a b c d Pitlochry Church of Scotland's obituary of Alexander Duff
  6. ^ The missionary’s mission in Calcutta
  7. ^ Abraham, John. A Foreword in 175th Year Commemoration Volume. Scottish Church College, April 2008. page 2.
  8. ^ Matilal, p. 17.
  9. ^ Basu, pp. 33-4.
  10. ^ Bandyopadhyay, Kausik. Games Ethic in Bengal: A Commentary on the sporting tradition of the Scottish Church College in 175th Year Commemoration Volume. Scottish Church College, April 2008. pp. 74-5.
  11. ^ Master visionary
  12. ^ Basu, p. 35.
  13. ^ Rev Ian Fairweather by William F. Hendrie
  14. ^ Basu, p. 35.
  15. ^ Basu, p. 34.
  16. ^ AULP schedule
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ NAAC - National Assessment and Accreditation Council
  19. ^ a b Campus Buzz
  20. ^ Star tag on six colleges
  21. ^ Half in, half out in college tag race
  22. ^ Tagore drew inspiration from Scottish bard for his poem - article in the Times of India
  23. ^ Glasgow tie-up for CU - article in the Calcutta Telegraph
  24. ^ Centre for Tagore Studies in Scotland
  25. ^ Sahitya Akademi Awards 1955-2007
  26. ^ Article in The Telegraph on the film Kaalbela
  27. ^ Football scores at the box office in cricket-mad India
  28. ^ More than a trophy
  29. ^ NAAC directory of accredited colleges in West Bengal
  30. ^ From the Brahmo Samaj website
  31. ^ Entertainment Homepage
  32. ^ International Society for Krishna Consciousness
  33. ^ Reflections around Swami Gambhirananda
  34. ^ Bisheshwor Prasad Koirala
  35. ^ Gopinath Bordoloi
  36. ^ Yahoo! Search - Web Search
  37. ^ Brief Bio-data
  38. ^ 'Big cities have big problems'
  39. ^ B L Joshi sworn-in as new Meghalaya Governor
  40. ^ Kolkata old boy is Nepal’s top statesman
  41. ^ Panja, Ajit Kumar
  42. ^ [2]
  43. ^ Code Name Success
  44. ^ Photo News
  45. ^ From Dharam Lall to Lord Lall
  46. ^ Passage to England
  47. ^ Bill's bill for riches
  48. ^ a b The IMF's new munim
  49. ^ A. K. Sarkar
  50. ^ Amarendra Nath Sen
  51. ^ Ganendra Narayan Ray
  52. ^ [3]
  53. ^ Hon'ble Mr. Justice Umesh C. Banerjee
  54. ^ Banerjee new chief justice of Andhra HC
  55. ^ Seal, (Acharya) Brajendra Nath
  56. ^ Satischandra Ray (1882-1904)
  57. ^ Chatterji, Suniti Kumar
  58. ^ AnthroSource: Error
  59. ^ http://guha.pbwiki.com/BirajaGuha
  60. ^ Nirmal Kumar Bose - Scholar wanderer
  61. ^ Sen, Benoychandra
  62. ^ Chanda, Ramaprasad
  63. ^ a b Chemistry alumni, Scottish Church College
  64. ^ BANGLAPEDIA: Bhaduri, Shishir Kumar
  65. ^ Ajitkumar Chakravarty (1886-1918)
  66. ^ Padmabhusan Manna
  67. ^ A Cultural Colossus
  68. ^ Chasing the Truth: The Films of Mrinal Sen
  69. ^ Sen, Mrinal
  70. ^ Merchant of Dreams
  71. ^ a b Kaleidoscopic journey of an artiste and his troupe
  72. ^ a b Mustard memories
  73. ^ ENAD's Fourth Production
  74. ^ "Eminent theatre actor Shyamanand Jalan dead". The Times of India. May 25, 2010. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Eminenet-theatre-actor-Shyamanand-Jalan-dead/articleshow/5970813.cms. 
  75. ^ A tale of two cities
  76. ^ travel media shopping computers hardware at sitaristarun.com
  77. ^ "Better play abroad than crib at home" (6 December 2003)
  78. ^ His Indian Heritage Marks Bivas Chaudhuri’s Abstract Art At Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus in October
  79. ^ Bivas Chaudhuri
  80. ^ Chowdhury, Bulbul
  81. ^ [4]
  82. ^ Mustafa Monwar: A legend of our times
  83. ^ Vita of Nirad Chaudhuri
  84. ^ Bose, Manomohan
  85. ^ Dutta, Satyendranath
  86. ^ Dutta, Sudhindranath
  87. ^ Sudhindranath Dutta (1901 - 1960)
  88. ^ Parvati Prasad Baruva
  89. ^ "People's poet of Bengal-Subhas Mukhopadhyay" By Dr Ashok K Choudhury
  90. ^ Bani Basu
  91. ^ Stranger than fiction
  92. ^ Meenakshi Mukherjee: Bani Basu's Novels
  93. ^ Error
  94. ^ Gallerie
  95. ^ Jagmohan Dalmiya: Cricket's face of change
  96. ^ Biography of Shyamal Ghosh, Chairman
  97. ^ Gourgopal Ghosh (1893-1940)
  98. ^ fitnessNEPAL.com (fitnessNEPAL/History)
  99. ^ "Encounter with a martyr’s daughter" By Sudha Shrestha
  100. ^ 'Unexpected' finish by Surya Sekhar
  101. ^ Ganguly, Surya Shekhar
  102. ^ Indian National Championship won by Surya Ganguly

External links