Kolkata: The famed Presidency College of Calcutta is celebrating 200 years as an academic institution.
Founded in 1817 as Hindu College, rechristened Presidency College in 1855 and Presidency University in 2010, this year marks the bicentenary of the prestigious university.
Speaking on the evolution of the university 200 years ago at the introduction to the Dipak Banerjee Memorial Lecture, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said that Presidency University can celebrate the fact that it was not only a very old institution but also that it reflected changes that were taking place in society at the time.
“India was privileged to have Nalanda, the oldest university in the world that attracted students from abroad. There were other universities that died slowly and were replaced by other traditions. By the time Presidency College was being founded, the country did not really have a major institution. It is very important to recognise the institute was born out of a civil society initiative and is probably the oldest institution in the world which has no religious connection,” Sen told the large gathering of former students in the Derozio Hall.
“Presidency was then called Hindu College but that was a term used to refer to Indians. It did not have the denominational feature. By the time it was taken over by the government in the 1850s, that total non-denominational nature was more emphasised,” Sen said.
The Presidency University bicentenary celebrations, which began on January 5, have already seen a registration of more than 1,000 alumni for the Founder’s Day programme, scheduled on January 20.
“The Founders Day celebration will include speeches by President Pranab Mukherjee and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,” said secretary of the alumni association Bivas Chaudhuri.
A series of events has been planned and thousands of former students who have made the institution proud reached the city to participate in the events. To begin with, on January 15, a heritage walk from the house of alumnus Swami Vivekananda on Bidhan Sarani to Presidency University and then to Coffee House has been planned.
Thereafter, a lunch will be hosted by vice-chancellor Anuradha Lohia at Coffee House for the alumni.
The alumni association will also invite other illustrious alumni including former chief minister Buddhdeb Bhattacharjee, former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chattejee, former state finance minister Asim Dasgupta, poet Shankha Ghosh, former Union minister Satyabrata Mukherjee.
“It is a matter of great honour to see our Alma mater celebrate 200 years of its existence, which is a matter of pride not only for Kolkata but also India. It has produced the best of academicians for years hope it continues its tradition,” said Ujjala Sengupta, a former student and now a professor in London.
