Sanskrit College and University

Sanskrit College and University
Motto in English
Keeping to the root, reaching for the future.
TypePublic
Established
  • February 25, 1824; 200 years ago (1824-02-25) (as Sanskrit College)
  • 2016; 8 years ago (2016) (as Sanskrit College and University)
AffiliationUGC
Budget₹0.6918 crore (US$83,000) (2021–22 est.)[1]
ChancellorGovernor of West Bengal
Vice-ChancellorRajkumar Kothari
[2]
Location
Kolkata
,
West Bengal
,
India

22°34′33″N 88°21′51″E / 22.5757°N 88.3643°E / 22.5757; 88.3643
CampusUrban
Websitesanskritcollegeanduniversity.ac.in
Entrance to the main building

Sanskrit College and University (erstwhile Sanskrit College) is a state university[3] located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It focuses on liberal arts, offering both UG and PG degrees in Ancient Indian and world history, Bengali, English, Sanskrit, Linguistics, and traditional orientation learning (Advaita Vedanta) except Pali in which only UG degree is being offered.

History

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A 1999 stamp dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the Sanskrit College

Sanskrit College was founded on 1 January 1824, during the Governor-Generalship of Lord Amherst, based on a recommendation by James Prinsep and Thomas Babington Macaulay among others.

Secretaries[4][further explanation needed]
  • 1824–1832: W. A. Price
  • 1832: Horace Hayman Wilson (offg)
  • 1832–1833: Leftt. Todd
  • 1833: Horace Hayman Wilson (offg)
  • 1832–1839: A. Troyer
  • 1835–1839: Ramkamal Sen
  • 1836–1837: Radhakanta Dev (interim)
  • ?: J. C. C. Sutherland (3 months)
  • 1840–1841: T. A. Wise
  • 1841–1851: Rasamoy Dutt
Principals
  • 1851–1858: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
  • 1858–1864: Edward Byles Cowell
  • 1864–1876: Prasanna Kumar Sarbadhikary
  • 1876–1895: Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya
  • 1895–1900: Nilmani Mukhopadhyaya
  • 1900–1908: Haraprasad Shastri
  • 1908–1910: Kaliprasanna Vidyaratna
  • 1910–1920: Satish Chandra Vidyabhusan
  • 1920–1923: Ashutosh Shastri
  • 1924–1931: Aditya Nath Mukhopadhyay
  • 1931–1942: Surendranath Dasgupta
  • 1944–1946: Anantaprasad Banerjee Shastri
  • 1947–1948: Jatindra Bimal Chaudhury
  • 1948–1954: Sadananda Bhaduri
  • 1954–1957: Prabodh Chandra Lahiri
  • 1957–1967: Gaurinath Shastri
  • 1967–1968: Kalicharan Shastri
  • 1968–1969: Tarashankar Bhattacharya
  • 1969–1983: Bishnupada Bhattacharya
  • 1983: Munishwar Jha
  • 1983–1985: Herambanath Chatterjee Shastri
  • 1990–1994: Dilip Kumar Kanjilal
  • 1997–1999: Sukomal Choudhury
  • 1999–2000: Manjula Mitra
  • 2000-2000: Pradip Kumar Majumdar
  • 2007–2012: Anadi Kumar Kundu
  • 2012–2016: Sanjukta Das
Vice Chancellors
  • 2016–2017: Dilipkumar Mohanta[5]
  • 2017-2019: Paula Banerjee
  • 2019-: Soma Bandopadhyay

Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, the scholar of Sanskrit, was the principal of the college for over 18 years. He was made a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.), and a member of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire.

He played a crucial role in colonial Bengal's educational reformation. He revived the tol system in Sanskrit education, and introduced titles or "Upadhi".

The institution rose to prominence during the principalship of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in 1851, who admitted students from other than the Brahmin and Baidya caste. In particular, the tol or traditional Indian training school model was incorporated as a department in the 1870s.[6]

From 1824 until 1851 the college did not have the post of principal but was headed by a secretary. From 1851 the college was headed by a principal.[4]

Transformation into a university

[edit]

The Sanskrit College and University, West Bengal Bill 2015, aimed at transforming Sanskrit College into a university was passed in West Bengal Assembly on 17 December 2015. [7] The university was established vide The Sanskrit College and University, West Bengal Act 2015 on 19 February 2016[8] and became functional on 15 June 2016 when the first vice-chancellor, Dilipkumar Mohanta, joined the institute.[9]

Campus

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The Sanskrit College and University is located on College Street in central Kolkata, India. Its centrality is heightened by its proximity to Hindu School, Presidency University, Kolkata, the University of Calcutta, and the Indian Coffee House.

Organization and Administration

[edit]

Governance

[edit]

The governor of West Bengal is the chancellor of the Sanskrit College and University. The Vice-chancellor of the Sanskrit College and University is the chief executive officer of the university. Soma Bandyopadhyay is the current Vice-chancellor of the university.

Departments

[edit]

Sanskrit College and University consist of the departments of Ancient Indian & World History, Bengali, English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Pali, Sanskrit, and Traditional Orientation Learning(Advaita Vedanta, Panini Vyakarana, and Sahitya). [10]

Academics

[edit]

Courses

[edit]

Sanskrit College and University offer different undergraduate and postgraduate courses: [11]

  • Three-year Undergraduate Degree (B.A. Honours) courses: Ancient Indian & World History, Bengali, English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Pali, Sanskrit, Advaita Vedanta, Panini Vyakarana, and Sahitya.
  • Two-year Postgraduate Degree (M.A.) Courses: Ancient Indian & World History, Bengali, English, Philosophy, Sanskrit, and Linguistics.
  • Two-year Acharya degree(equivalent to M.A.) in Traditional Orientation Learning (Advaita Vedanta).

Central Library

[edit]

The central library of the Sanskrit College and University is a veritable goldmine for researchers. It contains over 2,00,000 books and 25,000 manuscripts, including several very rare manuscripts. [11] The university has also started a massive digitization program such that it can place these 25,000 manuscripts in the cultural commons.

Sanskrit Charcha Kendra, Nabadwip

[edit]

The Sanskrit College and University has established a Sanskrit Charcha Kendra, in Nabadwip, Nadia, West Bengal. This state-of-the-art research center provides an opportunity to research scholars, and academics to harvest the traditional Indic knowledge base already present in University's repository and to take Indological and Sanskrit studies to the future. [12]

Notable alumni

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Detailed Demands For Grants For 2021-22" (PDF). 5 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  2. ^ "About the Vice-Chancellor". sanskritcollegeanduniversity.org.in. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  3. ^ "List of State Universities as on 29.06.2017" (PDF). University Grants Commission. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b Sanskrit College: About, sanskritcollege.co.in (archive version). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  5. ^ "About the Vice-Chancellor". sanskritcollegeanduniversity.org.in. The Sanskrit College & University. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  6. ^ Bayly, C. A. (2011). Recovering Liberties: Indian Thought in the Age of Liberalism and Empire. Ideas in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-1-107-01383-4.
  7. ^ "Sanskrit University bill passed". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  8. ^ "The Sanskrit College and University, West Bengal Act 2015" (PDF). Kolkata Gazette. 19 February 2016.
  9. ^ "History". sanskritcollegeanduniversity.org.in. The Sanskrit College & University. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Sanskrit College and University". Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Information Brochure of the University" (PDF). Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Sanskrit Charcha Kendra, Nabadwip". Retrieved 23 June 2021.
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