| With the creation of the Supreme Court in
Calcutta in 1774 many Hindus of Bengal became eager to learn
the English language. A remarkable Scot watchmaker, in collaboration
with Radhakanta Deb had already taken some steps in that direction.
Babu Buddinath Mukherjee advanced it further by enlisting
the support of Sir Edward Hyde East, Chief Justice, Supreme
Court 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 donation over one hundred thousand rupees
was promised right there. Raja Ram Mohan Roy had 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 formally opened on Monday, January 20, 1817
with twenty 'scholars'. The control of the institution was
vested in a body of two Governors and four Directors. The
first Governors were Maharaja Tejchandra Bahadur of Burdwan
and Babu Gopee Mohan Thakoor. The first Directors were Babu
Gopeemohan Deb (father of Raja Radhakanta Deb of Sobhabazar),
Babu Joykissen Sinha (grandfather of Kaliprasanna Sinha,
the translator of Mahabharata into Bengali), Babu Radha
Madhab Banerjee and Babu Gunganarain Doss, Babu Buddinath
Mukherjee was the Secretary.
The classes were held at first in a rented house belonging
to Gorachand Bysack at Garanhatta (later numbered 304 Chitpore
Road). In January 1818 the Hindu College moved to 'Feringhi
Kamal Bose's house' located nearby. The building is a historic
one because Raja Ram Mohan Ray inaugurated his Brahma Sabha
here and Duff started his educational establishment later
in 1834. From Chitpore, the Hindu College eventually shifted
to Bowbazar and later to a building that now houses the
Sanskrit College.
Increasing realization of the value of western education
made the Hindu College a coveted destination of scholars
from all over India. Pupils came from Patna, Assam, Vizagapatnam
and by 1828 enrolment rose to 400. The obvious question,
which was raised, was whether it would not be wiser for
government to establish a new 'English College' open to
all classes and community and leave the Hindu College to
its fate. Incidentally, facing financial problems, the Committee
of Managers of the Hindu College had become dependant on
subsidy from the government which, as expected, began to
play a greater role in running the affairs of the College.
On October 21, 1853, His Lordship the Governor of Bengal
suggested that "a new general college should be established
at Calcutta by the government and designated 'The Presidency
College' …….. the College should be open to
all youths of every caste, class or creed…….".
On June 15, 1855 the Presidency College was formally established.
The 'scholars' of the College Department of the Hindu College
were transferred to the Presidency College and 101 new admissions
were made. Of this 101 pupils, two were 'Muhammadans', the
rest were Hindus.
The problem of space had been plaguing the College authorities
even after the expansion of the Sanskrit College building.
The process of the land acquisition for having its own campus
started in September 1865 and by 1870 the Principal of the
Presidency College was in a position to submit a plan for
the erection of a building for the College on the premises
where it was located now. The new edifice was opened on
March 31, 1874 by the then Lieutenant – Governor Sir
George Campbell in the presence of His Excellency of the
Viceroy of India. The finishing touch was given to the dignity
of the edifice by Babu Nuffer Chandra Pal Chaudhuri, who
provided it with a turret clock, at a cost of nearly Rs.
5000.00 soon after its opening. Professor J. Sutcliffe was
the Principal of the College when the new building was opened.
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