Hindu School is a state government-administered school in
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
(Calcutta), India. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest modern educational institution in Asia (then known as ''Hindu College''). The institution played a key role during
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...
period. It is located on
College Street, in the vicinity of
Hare School,
College Square,
Presidency University,
Sanskrit College,
Calcutta Medical College and the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
.
History
With the establishment of the Supreme Court of Calcutta in 1773 many
Hindus
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
of
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
showed eagerness to learn the English language.
David Hare, in collaboration with
Raja
Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
T ...
Radhakanta Deb had already taken steps to introduce English education in Bengal. Babu
Baidyanath Mukhopadhya advanced the introduction of English as a medium of instruction further by enlisting the support of Sir
Edward Hyde East,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Fort William who called a meeting of 'European and Hindu Gentlemen' in his house in May 1816. The purpose of the meeting was to "discuss the proposal to establish an institution for giving a liberal education to the children of the members of the Hindu Community". The proposal was received with unanimous approbation and a donation of over Rs. 100, 000 was promised for the setting up of the new college.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy showed full sympathy for the scheme but chose not to come out in support of the proposal publicly for fear of "alarming the prejudices of his orthodox countrymen and thus marring the whole idea".
The college was formally opened on Monday, 20 January 1817 with 20 'scholars'. The foundation committee of the college, which oversaw its establishment, was headed by
Raja Rammohan Roy. The control of the institution was vested in a body of two Governors and four Directors. The first Governors of the college were
Maharaja Tejchandra Bahadur of
Burdwan and Gopee Mohan Thakoor. The first Directors were
Gopi Mohun Deb of Sobhabazar, Joykissen Sinha, Radha Madhab Banerjee and Gunganarain Doss. Buddinath Mukherjee was appointed as the first Secretary of the college. The newly established college admitted Hindu students only from affluent and upper caste families.
At first the classes were held in a house belonging to Gorachand Bysack of Garanhatta (later renamed 304, Chitpore Road), which was rented by the college. In January 1818 the college moved to 'Feringhi Kamal Bose's house' which was located nearby in Chitpore.
[This building is a historic one because Raja Ram Mohan Roy inaugurated his ]Brahma
Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...
Sabha there and Alexander Duff of the Scottish Missionary Board started his educational establishment, the General Assembly's Institution there as well a few years later in 1830. From Chitpore, the college moved to
Bowbazar and later to the building that now houses the
Sanskrit College on
College Street. In 1855 the 'Pathshala' part was renamed as Hindu School and the 'Mahapathshala' part became
Presidency College, Kolkata.
Medium of education
Hindu School had been providing education primarily in Bengali medium until 2017, prior to its bi-centenary, when it has been decided to introduce English as the second medium of imparting education.
Notable alumni
Short notable alumni list
*
Young Bengals
*
Satyendranath Tagore
Satyendranath Tagore (1 June 1842 – 9 January 1923) was an Indian civil servant, poet, composer, writer, social reformer and linguist from Calcutta, Bengal. He was the first Indian who became an Indian Civil Service officer in 1863. He was a ...
.
*
Jyotirindranath Tagore.
[Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'', pp. 184-185]
*
Taraknath Palit
Sir Taraknath Palit (1831–1914) was an Indian lawyer from the Bengal Presidency and a philanthropist. He was associated with the Swadeshi Movement during the Partition of Bengal and was one of the key figures behind the establishment of ...
*
Bhaktivinoda Thakur
*
Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee
*
Satyendra Nath Bose
Satyendra Nath Bose (; 1 January 1894 – 4 February 1974) was an Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statist ...
*
Chhabi Biswas
*
Birendranath Sircar
*
Nitin Bose
Nitin Bose (26 April 1897 – 14 April 1986) was an Indian film director, cinematographer and screenwriter of the nation's film industry. He was born in Calcutta and died in the same city. In the 1930s and early 40s, he worked with New Theatr ...
*
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist and politician who helped devise the theory of Thermal ionization, thermal ionisation. His Saha ionization equation, Saha ionisation equation allowed astronomers to ...
*
Michael Modhusudan Dutt
*
Rajendralal Mitra
Raja Rajendralal Mitra (16 February 1822 – 26 July 1891) was among the first Indian cultural researchers and historians writing in English. A polymath and the first Indian president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, he was a pioneering figur ...
*
Peary Chand Mitra
*
Dr. Pratap Chandra Chunder
*
Keshob Chandra Sen
*
Nisith Ranjan Ray
*
Rishi Rajnarayan Bosu
*
Anandamohan Bose
*
Kaliprasanna Singha
*
Radharaman Mitra
*
Kulada Charan Das Gupta
*
Sankar Das Banerji
*
Santosh Kumar Mitra
See also
*
List of schools in Kolkata
*
List of schools in West Bengal
References
External links
*
{{coord, 22.575697, 88.363713, type:landmark, display=title
Boys' schools in India
Schools in Colonial India
Presidency University, Kolkata
High schools and secondary schools in Kolkata
Educational institutions established in 1817
1817 establishments in British India
Hinduism in Kolkata
Hindu universities and colleges
Hindu schools in India