The CMS College (CMS College Kottayam) is the first Western-style college in India.

Overview

The college now has 17 Undergraduate and 18 postgraduate departments. There are six research centres in the college. Research work leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is conducted in the departments of Botany, Zoology, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English, and Commerce.

History

CMS College Kottayam was founded by the Church Missionary Society of England, in 1815 when no institution existed in what was then the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of Travancore to teach English. CMS College Kottayam was patronised by Col. John Munro, the East India Company Resident, and Dewan of Travancore. The

Rev. The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Benjamin Bailey was the first principal. Apart from English, Greek and Latin were taught. The government of India welcomed the college as ''"a place of general education hence any demands of the state for officers to fill all the departments of public service would be met"''. In the early years of the Old Seminary (

Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary The Orthodox Theological Seminary also known as Old Seminary (Pazhaya Seminari) is a seminary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. It was founded in 1815 by Colonel John Munro with the help of the priest-monk Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop Ramba ...

), the curriculum included the study of Latin, Greek, Hebrew,

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, History, and Geography besides English, Malayalam, Sanskrit, and Syriac. In 1838, the college moved to a wooded hillock — the present site — commanding views of the distant Western Ghats. One of the oldest buildings in the campus is Room 52, or the " Grammar School", as it was originally called. A college magazine in Malayalam was started in 1864 by Principal Richard Collins, after whom the college library is named. In 1857 the college was affiliated to Madras University soon after its incorporation, and the college began to present students for the Matriculation examination. It provided free education to all its students until 1855 when the fee of one Rupee per month per student was collected. The number of students in 1870 was 129. In 1880, Visakham Thirunal, Maharaja of Travancore, observed on a visit to the college: ''"Long before the state undertook the humanizing task of educating the subjects, the Christian Missionaries had raised the beacon of knowledge in the land"''. In 1840, the number of students in the college was 220. In 1890, two-year classes were started, and the first batch of students, initially all men, was presented for the F.A. Examination in 1892. Female students were not admitted to the college until 1938. In 1950, Degree classes were started, and by 1960 the number of students in the college had risen to 1,250. Postgraduate classes were started in 1959. The college is now affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. In 1981, the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of mainline Protestant denominations in South India after independence. The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Pr ...

transferred the management of the college to the C. S. I. Madhya Kerala Diocese. In 1999 the college was accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with five-star status. In 2004 the University Grants Commission accorded it the status of College with Potential for Excellence. In 2009, the CMS English department celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the introduction of a postgraduate programme. The 2006 Malayalam film Classmates was filmed here and was dedicated to the 1946-48 batch.

Notable alumni

K. R. Narayanan Kocheril Raman Narayanan (27 October 1921 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the 9th vice president of India, Vice President of India from 1992 to 1997 and 10th President of India fr ...

, former President of India * K. T. Thomas, former Judge of the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

K. P. S. Menon Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon Sr. (18 October 1898 – 22 November 1982), usually known as K. P. S. Menon, was a diplomat and diarist, a career member of the Indian Civil Service. He was appointed independent India's first Foreign ...

, first Indian Foreign Secretary after independence * Paulose II,

Malankara Metropolitan Malankara Metropolitan is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of the Malankara Syrian Church, previously by the Government of Travancore and Cochin in South India. This title was awarded by a proclamation from the King of Travancore and ...

and Catholicos of he Malankara Church *

K. M. Panikkar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar (3 June 1895 – 10 December 1963), popularly known as Sardar K. M. Panikkar, was an Indian statesman and diplomat. He was also a professor, newspaper editor, historian and novelist. He was born in Travancore, then a ...

, former ambassador to China * E. C. G Sudharshan, physicist *

Jacob Chandy Jacob Chandy (23 January 1910 – 23 June 2007) was an Indian neurosurgeon and teacher of medical sciences. As the first neurosurgeon in India, he is widely regarded as the father of modern neurosurgery in India. In 1964, the Government of India ...

, neurosurgeon *

N. N. Pillai N. N. Pillai (Narayana Pillai Narayana Pillai; 1918–1995) was an Indian playwright, actor, theatre director, orator, screenplay writer, lyricist and an I.N.A Freedom fighter. (Served as Commanding Officer of Field Propaganda Unit under Neta ...

, Actor, Script writer, orator, stage actor *

Unni R. P. Jayachandran (born 12 April 1971), better known by his pen name Unni R., is an Indian short-story writer and screenwriter, who is known for his work in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. Born in Kudamaloor in Kottayam district, he i ...

, Short story writer, Novelist, Screenplay writer. *

K. M. Mathew Kandathil Mammen Mathew (2 January 1917 – 1 August 2010) was an Indian newspaper editor who served as the editor-in-chief of the Malayalam-language daily, ''Malayala Manorama''.

, former chief Editor of Malayala Manorama * John Abraham, Film director and writer. *

G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmmak ...

, Film director and music director. * Oommen Chandy, Former Chief Minister of Kerala. *

Kavalam Narayana Panikkar Kavalam Narayana Panicker (1 May 1928 – 26 June 2016) was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably Kalidasa's ''Vikramorvasi ...

, poet, dramatist *

Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan M. R. Ramakrishna Panikkar (22 March 1935 – 31 March 2008), popularly known as Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan or Kadammanitta, was an Indian poet. He was born in Kadammanitta province of Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. His childhood experiences, ...

, Poet. * Prem Prakash, Actor and Producer * Jayaraj, Film director *

B. Unnikrishnan Unnikrishnan B (born 14 August 1970) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, distributor and exhibitor who works in the Malayalam film industry. Early life Unnikrishnan. B. was born on 14 August 1970 in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, I ...

, filmmaker and writer. *

Sooraj S. Kurup Sooraj S. Kurup is an Indian singer, composer and actor who has composed for Malayalam films and Tamil films. He debuted as a feature film composer with the 2016 film ''Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti ''Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti'' is a 20 ...

,Music director *

Anupama Parameswaran Anupama Parameswaran (born 18 February 1996) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. She rose to fame with her debut film ''Premam'' (2015) in Malayalam. She later went onto star in films such as ''A ...

, Actress *

Kummanam Rajasekharan Kummanam Rajasekharan (born 23 December 1952) is an Indian politician and former governor of Mizoram (2018–2019). He began his political career as an activist of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Sangh Parivar in Kerala in 1970. From 2015 ...

Former BJP State President *

Suresh Kurup K. Suresh Kurup (born 25 May 1956) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly representing Ettumanoor constituency from 1 June 2011 to 24 May 2021. He wa ...

, MLA. *

Anwar Abdullah Anwar may refer to: * Anwar (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Anwar (singer) (born 1949), an Indian playback singer * ''Anwar'' (2007 film), a 2007 Hindi film * ''Anwar'' (2010 film), a 2 ...

, Film director, writer and Novelist *

Joshy Mathew Joshy Mathew (Malayalam: ജോഷി മാത്യു) an Indian film director in Malayalam cinema, started his career in 1984 as an assistant to renowned director P. Padmarajan. In 1992 he made feature debut with Nakshatra Koodaram (1992). ...

, Film Director *

Kanam Rajendran Kanam Rajendran (born 10 November 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India."Kana ...

, politician

References

External links

*
CMS College, panoramic view

New book partly set in CMS College, Kottayam
*
CMS College Kottayam
wikimapia {{DEFAULTSORT:Cms College Kottayam Arts and Science colleges in Kerala Universities and colleges in Kottayam Universities and colleges affiliated with the Church of South India Colleges affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala Educational institutions established in 1817 1817 establishments in India Academic institutions formerly affiliated with the University of Madras CMS College Kottayam alumni

Overview

History

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links