Principals of Bethune College

Bethune College, established in 1878 boasts of being the first women’s college in Asia. Today it continues to shape women who are not only self-reliant but also great achievers in their chosen fields worldwide. The journey from its inception to the present times is indeed fascinating and is interwoven with the history of women’s emancipation in Bengal.

John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune arrived at Kolkata in April 1848 on being appointed as the legislative member of the Supreme Council of India. Until then, the East India Company had taken little initiative to introduce female education in the country, although a demand for institutionalized female education had started, resulting in the setting up of a girl’s school. Bethune took charge of the unpaid office of President of the Council of Education and founded the Calcutta Female School in 1849. The foundation stone of Bethune School building was laid on November 6, 1850. The main ceremony was conducted by Sir John Hunter Littler, Deputy Governor of Bengal and saw the planting of Asoka Tree sapling by Lady Littler. This tree still stands at the college premises.

Bethune said:  "The choice of this particular tree has not been made unadvisedly or without a meaning. I am told its Bengali name may be not unfitly paraphrased as 'The Tree of Gladness.' It is commended for this day's ceremony not only by the gracefulness of its foliage, and the surpassing beauty of its flowers, but also because it is held in especial honour among Hindu women... I propose therefore henceforth that the Asoka tree be made the symbol of female education in India...I suggest that an Asoka tree be planted as a new tree of liberty to remind us of the bond of fellowship which unites our labour in one cause." On 12th August, 1851 the illustrious life of Sir J. E. D Bethune ended at the age of 50 years.

The year 1878 saw an unprecedented event when Kadambini Bose became the first woman to sit for the entrance exam. Owing to her success, Lieutenant Governor decided to appoint a lecturer qualified to teach the first arts course and consented to raise the status of the school to a higher academic order. Well-known male teachers were appointed to teach science and humanities. Kadambini Bose and Chandramukhi Basu (a student of the Dehra Dun School for Native Christian girls) passed the F.A. in 1880 and were awarded government scholarships to pursue studies for their degrees at Bethune School, and both received their B.A. in 1883, thus becoming the first female graduates. Kadambini Bose (married to Dwarkanath Ganguly) went on to become the first female student of Calcutta Medical College. Chandramukhi went on with further study, pursuing English literature and became the first woman M.A. in 1884.  The Bethune College building was established separately in 1888. Chandramukhi Basu later became the first Lady Principal of Bethune College, the post she held from 1886 to 1901. She was well known for her intellectual and administrative abilities.  In 1890, His Royal Highness Prince Albert Victor, eldest grandson of Queen Victoria, visited Bethune College. Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Mayar Khela” was staged for the first time by women of the Sakhi Samiti at the college in presence of the bard.

Chandramukhi Basu was succeeded by Kumudini Das (Khastagir) who was the Principal from 1902 to 1913 after serving for some time as Headmistress of Bethune School and later on became the Inspectress of the schools in Dacca Circle. Her notable contributions were creation of governing body for formulating college policies, acquiring land for expansion, establishment of hostel and obtaining library grants. She had an articulate, sociable and affectionate personality.  The Fifth Quinquennial Review of the Progress of Education in Bengal (1912-1913 to 1916-1917) stated that ‘The Bethune College is the oldest Government institution for the education of girls in India’ and saw steady increase in enrolment and imparted quality education.

Surobala Ghosh, a graduate and teacher of Bethune College, was selected as the temporary office bearer in 1913 and later permanently to the post till 1916. She was a dedicated history teacher who later became the Inspectress of Schools in Kumilla.

In 1916, Anne Louise Janau became the Principal of Bethune College. She held a graduation degree from London University and was known for her efficient and wholehearted devotion to college matters during its formative years. She concentrated on expansion of premises, academic excellence, and publication of college magazine and holistic development of women all during the tumultuous time of the First World War.

The next Principal Gertude Marian Wright (1918 – 1928) witnessed the extreme challenging times of Bethune College. A graduate from Oxford University, Wright dedicated herself to educating and empowering Indian women. Thoughts of freedom from the British Government was rising in the minds of native citizens. Miss Wright was caught amidst agitations arising due to students’ support of the hartal to observe the boycott of Simon Commission on one hand and the persuasion of D.P.I to keep college open on that fateful day. This hurt the nationalist sentiment of the students resulting in severe bitterness among all involved. Miss Wright painstakingly resigned from her post and subsequently left India.

Chandramukhi Basu’s youngest sister Rajkumari Das and the former Principal of the Eden High School, Dhaka took charge of Bethune College in 1928. She was known for her disciplinary measures against political expression among students. She set up vocational courses and worked for regularisation of payscale.

Tatini Das, a senior lecturer of philosophy, served in the capacity of Principal from1934 - 1950. She was renowned for her academic excellence, disciplinary measures, clear vision, sensibility and administrative capabilities. 

Mrinalini Emmerson, was the grand-daughter of the first President of the Indian National Congress. She obtained a masters degree in English literature, completed law studies and became the first Bengali lady to obtain a flying licence. After serving Lady Brabourne College, she was transferred to Bethune College where she was the Principal from 1950 – 1968. She actively participated in the promotion academic standards.

Nalini Das, the great granddaughter of Dwarkanath Ganguly worked towards the all-round development of the institution during her tenure from 1968 – 1974. Her vision was to create empowered women with a deep sense of social responsibility.

Bethune College has witnessed efficient steering in the hands of successive principals Prof. Dipti Tripathi (1974-1988), Prof. Nilima Misra (1988-1994), Prof. Amala Dutta (1994-1997), Prof. Pushpa Misra (1997-2002), Prof. Manimala Das (2002-2008), Prof. Manjusha Sinha Bera (OIC: 2008-2011), Prof. Sangeeta Tripathi Mitra (2012-2015), Prof. Mamata Ray (2015-2019) and Prof. Krishna Roy (2019 till date).

The motto of the College "Vidya Vindatey Amritam" means 'knowledge provides immortal bliss.' Bethune College Logo has the three glowing lamps - centrally for 'knowledge' side by side 'humanity' and "transparency", and the wheel for 'dynamism through exercise' constitute the emblem. Bethune College has shaped a long list of illustrious alumnae ranging from freedom fighters, scientists, academicians, artists, sports personalities, administrators and several other noteworthy professionals. Today, the college offers 17 undergraduate and 6 postgraduate courses and has been accredited at the 'A' Level by National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2015.



 Published in Calcutta Club magazine Elite 2021

References

1)                    Title: Bethune School & College centenary volume, 1849-1949.

Editor: Dr. Kalidas Nag Associate editor: Lotika Ghose

Author: Bethune School and College (CALCUTTA)

Publisher:  S.N. Guha Ray at Sree Saraswaty Press, 1949

https://archive.org/details/BethuneSchoolAndCollegeCentenaryVolume18491949/page/n31/mode/2up

2)                    Title: The Changing Role of Women in Bengal, 1849-1905

Princeton Legacy Library

Author: Meredith Borthwick

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2015

Originally published in 1984

3)                    Paper on “Womens’s Education and Empowerment in Colonial Bengal by Rachana Chakraborty Book Title : Responding to the West ; Editor : Hans Hagerdal ; Publshed by: Amsterdam University Press

4)                    http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bethune, John Elliot Drinkwater

5)                    https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Bethune, John Elliot Drinkwater_(DNB00)

6)                    http://www.bethunecollege.ac.in/

7)                    Title: In the footsteps of Chandramukhi

Editors: Uttara Chakraborty, Kumkum Chattopadhyay

Bethune College Publication, Kolkata

Originally published: 2004

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mirza Ghalib's connections with Kolkata

Image
Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan  (27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869) also known by the pen names of  Ghalib  and  Asad  was an Indian poet who wrote in Urdu and Persian and is renowned for his work Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula .   His works describes the fall of the Mughal empire, the establishment of the British East India Company Rule and the Sepoy mutiny – the political scenario during his lifetime.   Mirza Ghalib was born in Kala Mahal, Agra into a family of Mughals who moved to Samarkand (in modern-day Uzbekistan) after the downfall of the Seljuk kings. At the age of thirteen, Ghalib married Umrao Begum, daughter of Nawab Ilahi Bakhsh and settled at Delhi.   He visited Kolkata to appeal to the East India Company to restore the full pension in lieu of his family estate annexed by the British.     Ghalib had left for Kolkata on November 1826 and reached the ...
Read more

East Kolkata Wetlands

Image
‘ Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year’. The East Kolkata Wetlands are an amalgamation of natural and man-made wetlands  lying east of the city of Kolkata.  The wetlands cover 125 square km and include salt marshes, and agricultural fields, sewage farms and settling ponds. The primary utility of the area is to treat Kolkata's sewage. This functionality has earned the place its nickname – ‘ Kidney of Kolkata ’.  The nutrients thereby accumulated in the wastewater are used to sustain fisheries and agricultural lands .  This site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention , also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO, which was implemented in 1975.  The name East Calcutta Wetlands was coined by late Dhrubajyo...
Read more

Acharaya Girish Chandra Bose and Bangabasi College

Image
Girish Chandra Bose (October 29, 1853 – January 1, 1939) was an Indian educator and botanist who hailed from the village of Berugram in the Burdwan district of India.  After his graduation from Hooghly College in 1876, he was appointed as a lecturer of science at Ravenshaw College , where he worked until 1881. He was offered a state scholarship to study agriculture at the Royal Agricultural College (Cirencester, England). He took life membership of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1882, and in 1883 was elected a Fellow of the Chemical Society. He completed his degree at the Royal Agricultural College in 1884.  After visits to Scotland, France and Italy, he returned to India. A Manual of Indian Botany written by Bose, was intended as textbook containing plants of India, in contrast to the European textbooks commonly used at the time. He also started the first agricultural journal in India . The journal, founded in 1885, was published both in English (as Agricultural Gazette...
Read more