` Words of Enlightenment from Honourable Principal, Ananda Chandra College, Jalpaiguri Dear All, It gives me immense pleasure to introduce to you all the College Brochure, ‘GYANODAY’ while celebrating seventy-ninth year of its glorious journey. Growth and dissemination of knowledge has been the most potent force in shaping the path of development of human race. In this journey, educational institutions have played an instrumental role as catalyst. As such, Ananda Chandra College, too, has been successfully endeavouring to contribute its share of vision, commitment and perseverance since its inception in 1942. However, one should never lose sight of the fact that acquisition of knowledge bears its sanctity only when it transcends into creating favourable conditions for the growth of a democratic space, opportunities and equity. So, the teachers and students alike must engage their knowledge with issues like deprivation, poverty, inequality, displacement, oppression, empowerment and most importantly, sustainable development. The civil society of Jalpaiguri must be seeking Ananda Chandra College to build a road map for furthering quality education. Being the Principal of the College, I am committed to that cause so that our institution becomes a centre of excellence and finds a place of pride in the firmament of higher learning. Finally, I convey my sincere gratitude and indebtedness to the members of the Brochure Committee who had very less time at its disposal to arrange the diverse pieces in order and complete the task within the stipulated deadline. Read on and know the College. Dr. Md. Abdur Razzaque, Principal, A.C.College, Jalpaiguri From the Brochure Committee................. We are happy to bring before you all the Brochure of Ananda Chandra College, “Gyanodaya”. We also take humble pride in informing you that the horizon of this booklet goes beyond the confines of a prospectus. A genuine effort has been made to provide a link between past memories and present activities of the College. The purpose behind such vision is to make everyone aware of its glorious past while celebrating seventy-ninth year of excellence. We hope the nostalgia of past laid down in snippet forms will make us all feel proud to be associated with this institution and strengthen our will to guide it to great heights. We convey our sincere thanks to the Honourable President, Governing Body and Honourable Principal of the College for reposing faith in our ability as well as for allowing our whims and fancies in conceptualising the design and content of the Brochure. We also extend our gratitude to all those who have shared their cooperation in the preparation of the material. Special thanks go to Sri Gour Sundar Ghosh for his active involvement and Sri Partha Sarathi Lahiri, Clerk (Officiating) for his photography of the groups and departments. We cannot but take this opportunity to submit that the souvenirs published during the Silver Jubilee Celebration in 1967 and Golden Jubilee Celebration in 1992 were of invaluable help to us in recollecting and reliving some glorious moments of past. Finally, realising that there is always a scope for improvement, we take on us the responsibility for the limitations and mistakes committed inadvertently in shaping this Brochure. May our learning be luminous and purposeful. Thank You All. Compiled, Edited and Prepared by Support & Encourgement Sri Chinmayakar Das, Dr. Md. Abdur Razzaque, Department of Political Science Principal, A.C.College Cover Page Design by Sri Kanishka Sarkar, Sri Gour Sundar Ghosh, Department of Computer Science Secretary, Teachers’ Council Other Members of the Committee Sri Prasad Roy, Sri Tapan Kumar Ghosh, Department of Bengali Department of Economics Sri Ranjit Barman Sri Zareth Rongong, Department of Sociology Department of Zoology Content 1. The Journey 1-6 2. The Courses of Study Offered and the Criteria for Selection 7-13 3. Fee Structure 14-15 4. The Central Library: Facilities, Rules and Regulations 16-17 5. Students 18-27 6. Departments 28-46 7. Snapshots 47-51 8. Who’s Who 52-54 9. R ONE The Journey ............. “......... And Miles to Go” The untiring zeal of Late Debendra Kumar Chanda and Late Tarani Mohan Chakraborty and financial magnanimity of Late Nalini Kanta Rahut laid the foundation of ‘Ananda Chandra College’ in 1942 – the year witnessing the turmoil of Second World War and Quit India Movement. However, the dream did not come true without hurdles. The first Provisional Organizing Committee constituted for the purpose of affiliation was summarily rejected by the Late Ananda Chandra Rahut authorities of Calcutta University for non-compliance of rules. Before any measure could be taken for reconstitution, the noble intention of establishing a college faced malicious and false propaganda by some sections of people. Overcoming the unfortunate tide with great pains, a new Organizing Committee and a Working Committee was constituted. Finally, the much coveted affiliation for commencing I.A. (Intermediate in Arts) Courses in seven subjects and I.Sc. (Intermediate in Science) in Mathematics was granted by Calcutta University in the month of May, 1942. The Arts subjects were Bengali, English, Sanskrit, History, Civics, Logic and Arabic & Persian. Soon after, the first batch of seven teachers was appointed with Kshitish Chandra Dev as the Principal. 1st day of October, 1942 saw the commencement of class with 62 students in a small building on the land (nearly 4 bighas) donated by Rahut family in Race Course. The 1943-44 session saw affiliation in I.Sc. Course in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The efforts of the college authority now focused on extension of affiliation to B.A. standard. After much persuasion and fulfilling the requisite conditions, the College received formal recognition to commence B.A. classes in May, 1945. English, Bengali (Vernacular), Bengali (Classical), Sanskrit, Economics, History, Philosophy, Arabic & Persian became the first subjects to be alleviated to B.A. standard from 1945-46 session. However, B.A. class in Philosophy was introduced from the following session (1946-47). Another feather in the cap of the College in that session (1945-46) was securing Honours affiliation in two subjects – Economics and Bengali. The partition of the country brought with it the obvious consequence of refugee influx. The roll strength of the College abnormally rose to seven hundred. In order to meet the impending problem, the Working Committee of the College purchased the land and buildings belonging to ‘North Bengal Mounted Rifle Club’ in Race Course at a cost of Rs. 40,000/- and A.C.College in 1942 at Race Course also secured adjacent thirty-three bighas of land at a ‘We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.’ 1 selamy of Rs. 17,000/-. A new College building was planned to be constructed here. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal kindly agreed to lay the foundation stone of the College on 29th day of April, 1949. Unfortunately, a sudden and an unprecedented demonstration and sloganeering at the venue site by some sections of people and students to protest against police firing on innocent marchers in Calcutta a few days ago turned the whole programme in utter chaos and fiasco. No one associated with the College ever predicted even in their Late Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy wild dreams that such incident would take place. Dr. B.C. Roy left the venue venting his disgust and without laying the foundation stone of the College. What an incalculable harm the protesting students did to the cause of higher education in the district! Not only the prestige of the College deteriorated, the financial condition, the roll strength of the students and the benevolent donations from affluent citizens and Tea Companies nosedived. Adding to the woes, the then Deputy Commissioner of Jalpaiguri, for reasons best known to him, withheld permission to construct any building on the Khasmahal lands – the site of the proposed building. It took almost another decade to revive the status and glory of Ananda Chandra College. The Governing Body of the College started their search for a new site. Finally, after prolonged sittings, a vast plot of vacant land (about 100 bighas) in front of the Maskalaibari Colony and standing on the Jalpaiguri-Siliguri high road was selected. A part of the land was procured from the Relief and Rehabilitation Department and the remaining portion from a number of Jotedars. The total cost of the land stood at Rs.75,000/-. It is this site where our present College exists. The great day arrived and the long wait was over. On Thursday, the 7th day of June, 1956 at 7.45 a.m., the then Governor of the State of West Bengal, Honourable Late Dr. H.C. Mukherjee laid the first stone of the edifice. The new College building was erected at a huge cost of nearly Rs. Six Lakhs and the government contributing more than half of the amount. The new building was inaugurated by Late Dr. Bidhan Dr. H.C.Mukherjee, Governor of West Bengal going to lay the Chandra Roy, the then Honourable Foundation Stone of the College accompanied by Chief Minister of West Bengal (what a I.B.Majumdar, Principal; Kamini Kanta Rahut, Secretary; and B.C.Ghosh, Vice-President (from left) destiny!) on the 28th day of September, 07.06.1956 1958. The College got shifted to the new premises in July, 1959. “It is in experiencing and accepting the pain of defeat that we may truly acknowledge the joy of victory.” 2 The history of Ananda Chandra College in its new premises has been the story of continued progress, expansion and unflinching dedication of all its stakeholders to establish it as a centre of excellence. Over the decades, it has remained in the forefront of all the colleges of North Bengal in size and performance.