The Maharaja's College is a government college of higher education located in Kochi, Kerala. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest colleges in India. Located in the heart of the city, the college is spread over a campus of on the banks of

Vembanad Lake Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...

. Blanketed by tall and rare species of trees, its campus features is a mix of old and modern architecture and covers a total area of , providing infrastructural facilities for the 22 departments of the college.

History

This multidisciplinary centre of higher learning had its humble beginnings as a single room English school started by the Royal (

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...

) Shankara Warrier in 1845 "to impart such instruction to the students as would enable them to converse with Englishmen without the aid of an interpreter". The school was upgraded to a college in 1875 and in June 1925 the college acquired its present name. The college provided instruction in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, History and Economics. At that time there were two hostels and physical education, literary and science associations functioning in full swing. Sir

C. V. Raman Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (; 7 November 188821 November 1970) was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering. Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when ...

and Dr

S. Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...

were among the speakers at the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1925. The first PG course was started in 1947 in the Department of Chemistry, which already had research facilities holding to M.Sc. and Ph.D. The government of Kerala recognised it as a Centre of Excellence in the state and the University Grants Commission awarded the college with Potential for Excellence (CPE) status based on the NAAC Accreditation results. UGC awarded Autonomous status to the college. Green Campus

Campus

Library

The college library is 135 years old and has a collection of nearly one

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For e ...

(hundred thousand) books, including a prestigious collection of rare literature books. The reference section itself has 2000 books. However, lack of space is one of the vexing problems of the library. A reference and information section, inter-library networking and Internet facility are some of the immediate requirements of the library.

Sport facilities

The university has 18 acres of land specifically dedicated to sports, including a 400-meter synthetic track,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

grounds, courts for

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, kho-kho, kabaddi and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

, carrom,

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; pro ...

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effo ...

etc.

Staff and students co-operative society

The Maharaja's College staff and students co-operative society Ltd. no. 207, functioning on the campus, aims at promoting the spirit of cooperation and independence among its members. The society runs a bookshop in which textbooks and notebooks and various study materials are made available for students. It also houses a photocopying machine where photocopying is done at a fixed rate.

Career guidance cell

A career guidance centre was started on the college campus in 1994, with a view to enable the students to manage themselves and to provide personal counseling on environment and qualifications for entry into various careers. In spite of the fact that the centre is still in its infancy and has few infrastructural facilities, it could arrange campus interviews for Cochin Maintenance Centre, NITT and Eureka Forbes. Many lectures on career opportunities are arranged on a regular basis by the centre.

Hostels

The Maharaja's College Rama Varma hostels include the new hostel for men and the ladies' hostel. The former has 90 rooms with a capacity of 240 students and two tutors; the latter has facilities for only 104 students and one tutor. Nowadays, the demand for accommodation in the ladies' hostel is greater than the availability due to the increase in the number of girl students. To remedy this situation, a concrete proposal for a women's hostel has been submitted to UGC during the IX plan.

Old Students Association

An Old Students Association formed in 1925 still functions on the college campus and its members have been involved in many of the activities of the college, such as arranging lectures by eminent personalities and awarding prizes to rank holders. It has also played an instrumental role in initiating the ongoing restoration work of the college Maharajas Entrance

Courses

The college conducts 22 Under Graduate courses , 24 postgraduate courses and 11 doctorate programmes. Maharaja's also offers

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

programmes under almkst departments.

Milestones

* 1875 - The Cochin Rajas Elementary school started by Cochin Sarkar is upgraded into a college. Mr. Alfred Forbes Sealy, M.A. took charge as the first principal. It was Mr. Sealy who had designed the building and hence the name Sealy block. F.A. (First examination in Arts) course started. * 1908 - Intermediate course started * 1909 - Two separate hostels started - one for Hindu students and another for Christian students * 1910 - First college magazine published - on the occasion of the 60th birthday of the Cochin Maharaja,

Sir Sri Rama Varma Sir Sri Rama Varma XV (1852–1932), known as the Rajarshi of Cochin and as Abdicated Highness, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin from 1895 to 1914. Rama Varma abdicated the throne in 1914. He died in January 1932 at his summer reside ...

. * 1925 - Golden Jubilee. Sir C.V. Raman and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan visited the college. The college got its present name - "Maharajas College". The college was raised to a first grade college providing instructions in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, History and Economics affiliated to

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. Old Students Association formed. * 1930 - Three new blocks added to the college. plot donated to the college - Maharajas ground established. * 1935 - Diamond Jubily. B.Sc. Courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Zoology started. * 1947 - B.Sc. Botany started. Year of India's independence. Students' political activities reached new peaks. Student activists hoisted Indian national flag in the Campus and got brutally beaten up by the royal police. * 1948 - The department of Chemistry that already had research facility started the first P.G. course. * 1949 - Following the integration of Travancore and Cochin states, the college is transferred from

to Travancore University. * 1951 - New courses - B.A. (Hons.), M.A. Economics, B.Sc. (Hons.), M.Sc. Mathematics. * 1954 - New course - M.Sc. Applied Chemistry. * 1956 - Pre University course started. M.A. Malayalam and M.A. English started. * 1957 - The college comes under Kerala University. M.Sc. Physics started. * 1959 - New courses - B.A.Sanskrit, M.A. History, M.A. Hindi, M.Sc. Zoology. * 1964 - Pre University Course metamorphed into Pre Degree course. New courses - B.A. Politics, B.A. Philosophy * 1968 - New courses - B.A.English, B.A. Islamic History, B.A. Arabic * 1971 - New courses - M.A. Philosophy, M.A. politics, M.A. Sanskrit * 1975 - Centennial - completed 100 years - celebrations in great style with science exhibitions, seminars, symposia etc. * 1977 - New Centenary Auditorium inaugurated. * 1979 - New course - M.A. Arabic. * 1981 - New courses - M.A. Islamic History. * 1983 - Affiliation changed to newly formed Mahatma Gandhi University. * 1990 - Maharaja's College declared Centre of Excellence. Departments of Chemistry, Hindi, Malayalam and Physics recognised as research centres for research towards Ph.D., under Mahatma Gandhi University. * 1993 - Maharaja's won overall championship of the Mahatma Gandhi University youth festival. A feat to be repeated in 1994, 1995, 1998 and 2000. * 1995 - New course - M.Sc. Statistics. * 1996 - New courses - B.Sc. Physics - Instrumentation and B.Sc. Environment and Water Management. * 1997 - R. Shankar Award for the best Government College presented to Maharajas. * 1998 - New course - B. A. Music * 1999 - New course - B.Com. with Computer Applications. * 2000 - Completes 125 glorious years. Accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Maharajas goes online. * 2006 - Re-accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council at A - level. * 2007 - Maharaja's College Ground gets synthetic tracks for conducting international athletic events. Students of the college win overall championship of the Mahatma Gandhi University Silver Jubilee youth festival. * 2009 - Edusat facility installed. Becomes part of Ernakulam cluster of colleges. * 2010 - Maharaja's wins overall championship of the Mahatma Gandhi University youth festival. College selected as a "College with Potential for Excellence" by the University Grants Commission. * 2012 - New course - M.Com. with Finance. * 2013 - Re-accredited (Third cycle) by National Assessment and Accreditation Council at A - level. * 2013 - New course - B.A. Honors in Economics *2014 - Berlin Bench - the friend shade in memory of Berlin Babu was established * 2017 - Mridula Gopi became first woman chairperson in 70 years Rear Gate Maharajas

Notable alumni

* A. K. Antony, former Chief Minister of Kerala and Former Defence Minister of India * Aashiq Abu, film director, producer *

Amal Neerad Amal Neerad (born on 7 October 1976) is an Indian film director, cinematographer and producer who mainly works in Malayalam Cinema. He attended the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata (first batch). He was awarded the National F ...

, film director, cinematographer * Anju Joseph, singer *

Antony Varghese Antony Varghese, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2017 through the film '' Angamaly Diaries''. Personal life Antony Varghese was born in Angamaly, Kerala to Varghese and Alphonsa on 11 October 1989. He ...

, actor *

Anu Sivaraman Anu Sivaraman (born on 25 May 1966) is the judge of Kerala High Court. The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The High Court of Kerala is headquartered at Ernakulam, ...

, judge, High Court of Kerala *

Anwar Rasheed Anwar Rasheed is an Indian film director and producer who works in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2005 with ''Rajamanikyam''.He continued to do successful action-comedy films, such as ''Chotta Mumbai'' (2007) and '' Annan Thambi'' (200 ...

, film director, producer * Ashitha, author * Babu Namboothiri, film actor * Baburaj, film actor *

Balachandran Chullikkadu Balachandran Chullikkad (born 30 July 1957) is an Indian poet, orator, lyricist and actor in Malayalam-language. Early life Balachandran was born in Paravur, Ernakulam, Kerala, India. He completed his graduation in English literature from the ...

, poet, film actor, lyricist, screenplay writer * Bibin George, actor and writer * Biju Narayanan, playback singer * Binoy Viswam, Former Member of Parliament *

C. V. Subramanian Chirayathumadom Venkatachalier Subramanian (11 August 1924–5 February 2016), popularly known as CVS, was an Indian mycologist, taxonomist and plant pathologist, known for his work on the classification of Fungi imperfecti, a group of fungi c ...

, mycologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize recipient *

Changampuzha Changampuzha Krishna Pillai (Malayalam: ചങ്ങമ്പുഴ കൃഷ്ണപിള്ള; 10 October 1911 – 17 June 1948) was a celebrated Malayalam poet from Kerala, India, known for his elegy ''Ramanan'' (Malayalam: രമണന ...

, poet *

Chinmayananda Saraswati Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati (born Balakrishna Menon; 8 May 1916 – 3 August 1993) was a Hindu spiritual leader and a teacher. In 1951, he founded Chinmaya Mission, a worldwide nonprofit organisation, in order to spread the knowledge of Advaita ...

, founder of

Chinmaya Mission The Chinmaya Mission is a Hindu religious and spiritual organization engaged in the dissemination of Vedanta, the science of the self as expounded in the Vedas, particularly the Upanishads, and other Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad G ...

Vishwa Hindu Parishad The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian right-wing Hindu organization based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "t ...

Chitharesh Natesan Chitharesh Natesan aka ''The Indian Monster'', ( ml, ചിത്തരേശ് നടേശൻ; born 7 May 1986) is an Indian professional bodybuilder who won the title of Mr. Universe 2019 at the 11th World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports C ...

, Mr. Universe, 2019 * Dileep, film actor * Jibin George Sebastian, music composer, lyricist and entrepreneur * John Paul Indian scriptwriter, producer, author and actor. *

Jyothirmayi Jyothirmayi is an Indian actress, television presenter, and former model, who works in Malayalam cinema. Starting her career as a model, she ventured into television, working as an anchor and later starring numerous Television show. Career J ...

, film actress * K. G. Balakrishnan, former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...

* Justice K. K. Usha, former Chief Justice of Kerala * K. P. Appan, literary critic *

K. R. Gowri Amma K. R. Gouri (14 July 1919 – 11 May 2021), born Kalathilparambil Raman Gouri, commonly known as Gouri Amma, was an Indian politician from Alappuzha in central Kerala. She was one of the most prominent leaders of the Left movement in India. Bor ...

, former minister of Kerala * K. S. Manilal, taxonomist *

K. Satchidanandan K. Satchidanandan (1946) is an Indian poet and critic, writing in Malayalam and English. A pioneer of modern poetry in Malayalam, a bilingual literary critic, playwright, editor, columnist and translator, he is the former editor of ''Indian L ...

, poet * K. Sukumaran, former judge of Bombay and Kerala High Courts * Kalabhavan Abi, actor *

Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan (born 24 October 1940) is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from 1994 to 2003. He is presently Chancellor of Central University of Rajasthan and NIIT University. He ...

, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation * M. Achuthan, Orator * M. Leelavathy, writer, academic * M. N. Vijayan, writer *

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, H ...

, film actor *

Mary Verghese Mary Puthisseril Verghese (1925–1986) was a physician in India who was among the earliest pioneers of Physical medicine and rehabilitation in the country. Mary Verghese was instilled in a home where love and respect were two main factors in t ...

, physician *

Mercy Ravi Mercy Ravi (18 March 1945 – 5 September 2009) was a member of Kerala Legislative Assembly and the wife of the Indian politician Vayalar Ravi. She was also a renowned social worker and author. Early life and education She was born in 1945 in ...

, writer, senior Mahila Congress leader and former MLA *

N. S. Madhavan N. S. Madhavan (born 9 September 1948) is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his novel, ''Lanthan Batheriyile Luthiniyakal'' (Litanies of the Dutch Battery) and a host of short stories such as ''Higuita'', ''Thiruthu'', ''Chulai ...

, author, civil servant * Nadirshah, actor, director * O. Chandrashekar, Olympian and Asian Games Gold Medal winner in football * P. K. Chathan Master, former minister of Kerala * P. T. Thomas, MLA *

Priya A. S. Priya A. S. is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. She writes short stories, children's literature, translations and memoirs. She has translated Arundhati Roy's ''The God of Small Things'' into Malayalam under the title '' Kunju Karyangalu ...

, writer * R. Ramachandran, poet *

Radha Vinod Raju Radhavinod Raju ( ml, രാധാവിനോദ് രാജു 27 July 1949 – 21 June 2012) was an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. He joined the police service in 1975 as Jammu and Kashmir cadre batch. The character Sethurama Iyer, w ...

, IPS * Rajeev Ravi, film director, cinematographer, producer *

S. D. Shibulal S. D. Shibulal (born 1 March 1955, in Alappuzha, India), better known as Shibulal, is an Indian business executive. He was the chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys, and one of its seven founding members. He stepped down from ...

, co-founder and former CEO of

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is ...

* Sabareesh Prabhaker, violinist *

Salim Kumar Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mal ...

, film actor, comedian *

Sameer Thahir Sameer C. Thahir ISC (born 7 November 1976) is an Indian cinematographer, screenwriter, and film director and producer who works mainly in the Malayalam cinema while also having worked in a few Tamil films. He is a graduate of Maharajas Co ...

, film director, cinematographer * Sarayu, actress *

Sebastian Paul Sebastian Paul (born 1 May 1947) was a member of Parliament, representing Ernakulam in the 14th Lok Sabha. Political life Paul made his electoral debut in the 1997 Lok Sabha by-election in Ernakulam when he defeated Antony Isaac of Indian N ...

, politician, former Member of Parliament * Seethi Sahib, speaker, community leader * Justice Shaji P. Chaly, Judge of

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to issu ...

Shibu Chakravarthy Shibu Chakravarthy is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, and poster designer who works in Malayalam cinema. His ancestors were the rulers of Kurukkanmoola Dynasty, hence the name ''Chakravarthy'' (). His birthname was Shibu Rajav, later change ...

, poet, lyricist * Subhash Chandran, writer *

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan (credited as Sujatha) is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has record ...

, singer * Sunil P. Ilayidom, critic * T. A. Venkitasubramanian, biochemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize recipient * T. V. R. Shenoy, journalist, columnist * T.M. Thomas Isaac (1956), Finance Minister of Kerala * Tini Tom, film Actor, comedian *

Vaikom Viswan Vaikom Viswan is a politician from the State of Kerala in India. He was the Convener of Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala and member of the Central Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM). Early life He was born on 28 Octob ...

, Former LDF Convenor *

Vaisakhan M.K. Gopinathan Nair, popularly known as Vaisakhan, is an Indian short story writer, playwright, and screenwriter. , he is the President of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. His stories are known for their simplicity in style and freshness in theme. Many ...

(1956), writer, playwright, and screenwriter * Vayalar Ravi, former Cabinet Minister for Overseas and Civil Aviation Affairs of India and Senior Congress Leader * Venu Rajamony I.F.S, Diplomat and Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Netherlands *

Vijayalakshmi Vijaya lakshmi is a Hindu Indian feminine given name or surname, which means "goddess of victory". The name may refer to: People First name * Vijayalakshmi Atluri, Indian computer scientist *Vijayalakshmi (Kannada actress), Indian actress *Vijay ...

, Malayalam Poet *

Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon Kerala poet and Indian poet Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon (11 May 1911 – 22 December 1985) (also written as Vailoppilli) was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature. Known for his works such as ''Kudiyozhikkal'', ''Kannikkoythu'' and '' Mambazham'' ...

, poet

References

External links

* {{Authority control Arts and Science colleges in Kerala Universities and colleges in Kochi Colleges affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala 1875 establishments in India Educational institutions established in 1875 Academic institutions formerly affiliated with the University of Madras