Fergusson College, Pune

About Fergusson College, Pune

With the end of the East India Company’s regime in India and the failure of the first armed uprising in 1857, for India’s freedom, a new era dawned in our country. It was clear that the emancipation of our land and the transformation of the life of our people had to be brought about by peaceful and constitutional means. Indian renaissance had began and it heralded the role which education needed to play to achieve national aspirations. Wood’s Education Despatch (1854), the Education Commission of 1882 and the Hunter Commission (1891), were all indicative of the concerted efforts, of both the Government and the Indian people, in the enterprise of education. The Founders of the Fergusson College had first started the New English School, Pune in 1880 and later established the Deccan Education Society (DES) in 1884.

This was followed by the bold step to start the first ever privately managed college in India, on the 2nd January 1885, naming it as the Fergusson College. The name was given in appreciation of the support of Sir James Fergusson, the then Governor of Bombay Province and also the first Patron of the DES. Principal William Wordsworth, the grandson of the famous poet, was the master of the ceremonies at the inaugural function of the college. Thus, the Fergusson College bridged the gulf between the great city of London and Poona, the city of the Peshwas and on this occasion Sir Fergusson wished God’s blessings on this new venture. The college received affiliation of the University of Bombay and began its onward march in higher education with the opening of the Arts classes, followed in 1892, with the science classes.

The college held these classes, for almost ten years, in the old Gadre Wada and other locations in Poona. A plot of about 37 acres (a portion of the present extensive campus) was acquired on a 99 years’ lease in 1891 by the DES. The foundation stone of the Main building of the Fergusson College, was laid in 1892 and the building was completed in 1895. The college started functioning on this campus in 1895. From then onwards, the college has grown from strength to strength and acquired a reputation as a nation-building institution. It has a place of pride in the hearts of the people, as a historical monument and a symbol of the country’s freedom struggle. While the founders Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi and Vaman Shivram Apte have become legends, in the history of education and the freedom struggle in India, it is a matter of great significance, that the college received active and moral support from academicians and statesmen, such as Principal William Wordsworth, Principal F. G. Selby, Lord Rippon, Sir William Wedderburn and Sir James Fergusson.Fergusson College was intended to be, “the seminary of the Indian educational missionaries”.

Justice Mahadeo Govind Ranade, the wisest protagonist of liberalism and secular political ethos, emerging in Indian Society, described the opening of Fergusson College as having, “unquestionably a great political importance as well”. The truth of this statement is evidenced by the fact that the Fergusson College has produced great political leaders, such as the former-Prime Ministers P. V. Narasimhrao and V. P. Singh, former-Chief Minister Babubhai Patel, former-Minister of Information and Broadcasting Barrister V. N. Gadgil; Acharya Kripalani, Veer Savarkar and S. M. Joshi. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who was described by Mahatma Gandhi, as his political guru and mentor, gave a distinctive touch to the Fergusson College. In his address delivered at the time of laying of the corner stone of the New English School and the Fergusson college building, on the 5th March 1885, Sir James Fergusson declared that the opening of the College was more a national than a local undertaking. He said, “… that this institution has developed is due to the self-denying patriotism, which actuated the teachers of the college. True patriots are they and well worthy of all the praise that can be given to them.” All through its 122 years of a shrine–like existence, the Fergusson college has given to the country, from among its alumni, great patriots, thinkers, philosophers, poets, writers, teachers, social workers, scientists, industrialists, entrepreneurs, researchers, administrators and defense officers. There is no walk of life that has not basked in the sun of the Fergussonian spirit.In keeping with its eminent standing in the educational field, some of its teachers and students have brought laurels to the college, by being appointed as Vice Chancellors of Pune and other Universities. Notable amongst these are:

The founders of the DES and of the Fergusson College, were more than convinced, of the need for the spread of western knowledge, as an urgent need of Indian Society, to bring about social reforms and as a potent instrument for national regeneration.

The emphasis of the founders on ‘knowledge’, is aptly reflected in the college emblem, which bears the inscription, ‘Knowledge is Power’. The ‘Garuda’ (the Eagle) in this emblem, symbolizes the youth, soaring with the power of knowledge, into a vast sky of challenges and opportunities.

To aspire and strive for excellence in education by developing and sharpening the intellectual and human potential of learners for the good of society and of our stakeholders.