Heramba Chandra College, Kolkata

About Heramba Chandra College, Kolkata

In the history of education in India, the achievements of the City College need to be remembered not only for its pioneering efforts in the field of modern education in the country but also for the fact that it is the embodiment of the liberal spirit of those master minds that enriched the nineteenth century renaissance in India.The City College of today had its modest beginning in the City School which was founded on January 6,1879 by the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. Late Ananda Mohan Bose, the then President of the Samaj had borne the initial expenses of the foundation of the School, which was repaid within a short period. Late Sivanath Sastri was the Secretary and Organiser and other prominent members of the Society were actively associated in founding the School. Late Surendra Nath Banerjee was one of the teachers of the School at that time, because he was a friend of Ananda Mohan Bose and Sivanath Sastri having been engaged in the Indian Association, the first body which sought the country's freedom from the British.

In 1881, only two years after its establishment, the City School was raised to the rank of a College when F.A. classes were started. Since then, the college made rapid strides towards the advancement of higher education. The B.A classes were opened in 1884 and thus within five years of its establishment, the institution developed into a first-grade college. In 1885, a Law Department for teaching up to the B.L standard was added. The College was first established in an old house. After a short while, that house at 13, Mirzapur Street (Now Surya Sen Street) was purchased for the City College.Subsequently, a new building was erected in its place at a cost of about a lakh of rupees. The foundation of the building was laid by the late Sri Ramesh Chandra Mitra, Kt., B.L., the then officiating Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and the opening ceremony of the new building was performed in 1884 by Lord Ripon, the then Governor General of India. In this College an effort, and a successful one, had been made to combine moral and intellectual training on the liberal and rational principles of the Brahmo Samaj. Lord Ripon approvingly mentioned this feature in his speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the new building.

For some years, teaching up to the M.A standard was done in the City College. But the M.A Classes had to be abolished when the new regulations of the Calcutta University came into force. In January 1905, the College was placed under the control of a society registered under Act XXI of 1860 and called, " The City College Institution, which is now know as Brahmo Samaj Education Society. The object of the Society is "to promote the cause of education - comprehending the mind, heart and body and founded on a Theistic basis to conduce to the good of man and the glory of God."To meet the growing need of the students a new commodious building was erected in 1917 at Amherst Street now, Raja Rammohan Sarani, Kolkata on a plot of land measuring three bighas and six cottahs.