Sanatan Dharma College, Ambala

About Sanatan Dharma College, Ambala

Sanatan Dharma College (Lahore) , Ambala Cantt, was founded at Lahore in 1916 by the great Sanatanists Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and Pandit Deen Dayal Vachaspati. Pandit Reikhi Ram Ji was the most active force behind its birth and also instrumental in collecting huge donations. In the wake of partition of country in 1947 , the institution was rehabilitated at ambala cantt in 1948 due to the untiring efforts of Goswami Ganesh Dutt Ji. No less significant was the role of local Sanatan Dharama Sabha in its re-establishment in the initial trying period.

Sanatan Dharma College Society became a registered society in Lahore in April 1916. Eminent educationists, patriots and honourable men like Rai Bahadur Lala Ram Sharan Das, Diwan Bahadur Dewan Krishan Kisore, Seth Mool Chand, Pandit Rishi Ram, Rai Bahadur Nar Sinh Das and Rai Bahadur Lala Mohan Lal were an integral part of it. Rai Bahadur Lala Ram Saran Das donated his famous Peeli Kothi, which stood in front of the Punjab University sports-field, for college building. Initially, the college had only graduate courses to offer to its students but with the changing times and the need for upliftment of the society, post-graduate courses were included in the curriculum.

Of all the Sanatan Dharma leaders, who aspired for the college to reach the pinnacle of success, Tyagmurthi Goswami Ganesh Dutt ji’s contribution stands above ranks. Tyagmurthi Goswami ji joined Sanatan Dharma Managing Committee in 1926 and in 1928 he became the General Secretary of the College Managing Committee. By 1946, he became a source of inspiration to the college and continued to serve the college all his life. In June 1917, India’s renowned educationist and eminent Sanskrit scholar and Scholar of ‘Etymology’ of Maharishi Yask, Pandit Raghuvar Dayal Shastri, took over as the principal of the institution. A multi-faceted personality, he displayed unparalleled coincidence of administrative skills and practical approach. During his tenure as the principal of the college, he appointed professors of international repute like— Prof. Brij Narayan, Dr Raghuveer, Prof. P. N. Moulick, Prof. Gulshan Rai, Prof. A. N. Ganguly, to name a few.

The partition of India was a huge set back to the institution. However, it goes to the credit of Tyagmurthi Goswami Ganesh Dutt ji, who, rehabilitated and re-established the college in Ambala. In 1948 the Defence Ministry of India provided 14 acres of land in Ambala Cantonment for the college building. The institution was inaugurated by the first Speaker of Indian Parliament, Sh G. V. Mavlaonkar and the students took their initial classes in tents set up in the Sanatan Dharma Mandir Complex. Soon with the help of various philanthropists, the construction for college building was in the pipeline. It is a matter of immense pride that the foundation stone of the college building was laid by India’s first President Dr Rajender Prasad on 3 October 1951. Since then the institute has never looked back.

Our Vision
The Vision of the college is an offspring of the lofty ideals of its founders and great educationists like ‘Bharat Ratna’ Mahamana Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya, which in Sanskrit reads: Tamso Ma Jyotirgamay or Lead Me from Darkness to light.

Our Mission
The primary mission of the college is to uplift the society through education. Like a beacon, guiding the philosophy of nurturing a healthy human resource that is endowed materially, intellectually, morally and spiritually, the institution continues to spread the light of knowledge.