The Isabella Thoburn College, formerly the Lucknow Women's College and often called informally IT College, is a college for women in Lucknow,

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, named after its founder, Isabella Thoburn, the first woman American missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church to sail in India 1869. The college was established in 1870 with just six girls on roll.

History

The origin of the college was in a school for girls opened by Isabella Thoburn on 18 April 1870 in one room in the city-centre

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in t ...

of Lucknow There were then just six girls. By 1871, the school had expanded and moved to occupy a house named Lal Bagh, which had been lived in by the treasurer of the last Nawab of Awadh.College History
at itcollege.ac.in, accessed 22 April 2012 On 12 July 1886 Miss Thoburn's school was renamed as the Lucknow Women's College and began to teach

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

classes under the supervision of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

. In 1894, this connection was abandoned in favour of a new one with

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

. Following the death of Miss Thoburn in 1901, the College, still at Lal Bagh, was given its present name in her honour. In 1923, it moved to the Chand Bagh estate of almost 32 acres, where it has remained until the present day. Chand Bagh means "Moon Garden". The property was once a royal garden. After its affiliation to Lucknow University it found requisite support and guidance from Nirmal Chandra Chaturvedi, a renowned educationist and member of the university Executive Council. The college's Principal Sarah Chakko (1905–1954) was the first woman president of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

Present day

Isabella Thoburn College 2012 stamp of India

The College is now affiliated to

Lucknow University The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher ed ...

. The buildings it has developed on the Chand Bagh campus since the 1920s include student hostels, lecture rooms, laboratories, a library, a college chapel and a large hall. The college teaches five undergraduate courses, leading to the degrees of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(BA),

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

(BEd),

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(BSc),

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, M ...

(BCom), and Bachelor of Library and Information Science (BLISc). There are also postgraduate courses leading to the degrees of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

(MA),

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

(MSc),

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accou ...

(MBA) and to a Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare and Hospital Management (PGDHHM). IT College, along with undergraduate and post graduate courses also offered intermediate classes. Eventually a separate college for intermediate level students was formed within the IT College campus. This building only houses classes for classes 11th and 12th, while the college level students study in the old college building. IT College, as it is called has hostel facilities for students as well as has a large number of day scholars. There are three hostels for the resident students, Naunihal, Nishat Mahal and Maitreyi Bhawan. On 12 April 2012 the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

issued a new five rupee

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the ...

illustrating the College.

Principals

*Isabella Thoburn * Sarah Chakko *Dr. Eva Shipstone *Dr. Kamala D. Edwards *Ms. Mary Abraham *Dr. Adella Paul *Dr. E. S. Charles *Dr. Primrose H. Bodhan *Mrs. K. Sen *Dr. Vinita Prakash (Present)

Notable alumnae

* Nabia Abbott (31 January 1897 – 15 October 1981), Islamic scholar, papyrologist, paleographer at the

University of Chicago Oriental Institute The Oriental Institute (OI), established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's interdisciplinary research center for ancient Near Eastern (" Orient") studies and archaeology museum. It was founded for the university by professor James Henry B ...

* Lilavati Singh (December 14, 1868 – May 9, 1909), educator, also taught at the college * Martha Chen (born 1944), American academic, lecturer in public policy at the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public a ...

* Rashid Jahan (1905–1952),

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Writer. * Isha Basant Joshi (born 1908), first female officer of the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the India ...

and writer, also known by the pen name Easha JoshiRajeev Mullick (January 28, 2011
125 years of Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow
''Hindustan Times''. Retrieved on 2018-12-03. * Attia Hosain (1913–1998), feminist author and broadcaster * Ismat Chugtai (August 1915 – 24 October 1991), eminent Indian writer in Urdu * Vijayaraje Scindia (1919–2001), politician, consort of the last ruling

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great Monarch, king" or "high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Em ...

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the ...

Qurratulain Hyder Qurratulain Hyder (20 January 1927 – 21 August 2007) was an Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding and influential literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for ...

(1928–2007), novelist *

Bina Rai Bina Rai (13 July 1931 – 6 December 2009), sometimes referred to as Beena Rai, was an Indian actress, primarily of the black and white era of Hindi cinema. She is most known for her roles in classics such as ''Anarkali'' (1953), '' Ghunghat' ...

(1936–2009), actress *

Ma Prem Usha Ma Prem Usha (November 3, 1937 – July 17, 2008) was an Indian tarot card reader and columnist. Usha, who was well known as a clairvoyant and fortune-teller both inside Indian and abroad, travelled extensively to read her tarot cards. Biography ...

(1937-2008), clairvoyant and columnist *

Fatima Zakaria Fatima Zakaria (17 February 1936 – 6 April 2021) was the editor of the ''Mumbai Times'', and later the Sunday editor of ''The Times of India''. She also served as the editor of the ''Taj'' magazine of the Taj Hotels. Career In 1958, she esta ...

(1936-2021), former editor of the

Bombay Times The ''Bombay Times'' is a free supplement of ''The Times of India'', in the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) region. It covers celebrity news, news features, international and national music news, international and national fashion news, lifestyle and ...

and Sunday editor of

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

*Dr. Mohini Giri, first chairperson of National Commission for Women in India * Vartika Singh, model, Femina Miss India Grand International finalist 2015, second Runner Up *

Nivedita Bhattacharya Nivedita Bhattacharya (born 21 July 1970) is an Indian actress. She was born in Lucknow. She is an actress who has acted on television and in films. Filmography * '' Kya Kehna'' (2000) - Preity Zinta's sister-in-law * ''Darr @ the Mall'' ( ...

, theatre and television actress

History

Present day

Principals

Notable alumnae

See also

References

Further reading