Compiled by our own Dr. Avdhesh Shukla (Former Associate Professor of Botany at Ramjas College, University of Delhi)
Introduction to Ramjas College of the University of Delhi
Introduction to Ramjas College of the University of Delhi
(Perhaps) INTERESTING ASPECTS ABOUT RAMJAS COLLEGE
- (Originally-the-commoners’ College) among the top-three-oldest colleges of the University of Delhi
Founded in 1917 by the educationist and philanthropist Lala Rai Kedarnath Gupta [at its pre-original site of Darya Ganj near (world-heritage-site) Red Fort and before its foundation-stone - now actually an untraceable stone - was laid by Mahatma Gandhi and Rai Kedarnath at Kala Pahad renamed Anand Parbat (near Karol Bagh) on the occasion by Mahatma Gandhi himself], RAMJAS COLLEGE is one of the oldest colleges of the University of Delhi, along with the now-neighbouring (due to its shifting necessitated by World War II) Hindu College and St. Stephens College at the Main campus of the University of Delhi. Its Anand-Parbat-site had to be then-handed-over to the Allied Forces of World War II. RAMJAS COLLEGE had to be relocated to its present location on the north campus (inaugurated by the first President of India - Dr RAJENDRA PRASAD, and sited adjoining GTB Nagar, Shakti Nagar and Kamla Nagar) of the University of Delhi. Rai Kedarnath begged from city's rich and secured part-money to buy new land of the present Ramjas-College-site ! In the India Today's Best Colleges 2009-survey, Ramjas College has been ranked as one of the best colleges in India and among the Top Ten in Delhi in all three streams- Arts, Science and Commerce. The college provides hostel facility with eighty seats for girls and one hundred twenty seats for boys. Along with a number of the Undergraduate courses and Postgraduate courses of Delhi University, the college also conducts Short-term Add-On courses and Language courses. Such has been the academic repute of the College that the First President of India Rajendra Prasad sent his daughter very discerningly to Ramjas College for her education!
The eminent alumni of Ramjas College include Choudhary Ranbir Singh Hooda (freedom-fighter and member of the first Constituent Assembly of India, and father of Haryana ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda), Chaudhary Brahm Prakash (the first Chief Minister of Delhi), Justice Y. K. Sabharwal (former Chief Justice of India), Justice A.P. Shah (former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court), Padmashree (Professor) Mushirul Hasan [Eminent historian, ex-Vice Chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia, writer and the ex-director general of the National Archives of India (NAI), Cambridge-University-Trinity-College-doctorate)], Professor Hiren Gohain (Miltonian scholar, eminent public intellectual, poet, author, lyricist and music director), Professor Swarup Singh (Ex-Vice Chancellor of University of Delhi), Ashok Saikia (former IAS-officer and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's points-man), Manoj Bajpai (film actor, known for films like Satya, Aks, Pinjar, etc.), Shekhar Suman (film actor and TV-personality), Prakash Jha (film director and known for his films like Dil Kya Kare, Gangajal, Rajniti and Turning 30, and currently engaged in making Aarakshan), Pathik Vats aka Uma Shankar Pathik (Filmfare-award-winning dialogue-writer and director of numerous ad-films, documentary films and feature films, more known for having scripted (Filmfare Award) and Co-directed (with Mathew-Mathai who won the Filmfare Award for the effort) the Amir-Khan-Sonali-Bendre-Nasiruddin-Shah-starrer – ‘Sarfarosh’, besides having directed Ajay-Devgan-Sunil-Shetty-starrer 'Quayamat' and Govind-Nihalani-scripted 'Khushboo', and wrote dialogues of the Punjabi blockbuster 'Chaar Sahibzaade' - a 'photo realistic' 3D Animation Film in S-3D), Manish Jha (film director, Cannes Jury award winner and known for movies like ‘Anwar’ and ‘Matru bhoomi’), Rahul Roy (documentary film-maker), Himanshu Joshi [lead-singer (for Hindi) and (off-and-on) manager of the music group 'Indian Ocean'], Pravesh Rana (TV-personality, TV-show Big Boss Season 3 Finalist, male model and winner of highly coveted Haywards-5000-Mr-India-2008 award), Sudhanva Deshpande (Editor with ‘LeftWord Books’, besides being a theatre personality, actor and director with Jana Natya Manch – associated with the Left-wing Street Theatre in Hindi), and Raj Kumar Gupta (Director of ‘Aamir’ starring Rajiv Khandelwal and ‘No One Killed Jessica’ starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, besides being Assistant Director to Anurag Kashyap in ‘No Smoking’ and ‘Black Friday’).
The College-alumni apart, perhaps only a few people know that Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee lived for many years, before he became India's Prime Minister, at Ramjas College with the family of the then Ramjas Hostel Warden late B.N. Kaul (a former Professor of Philosophy at the College, and Vajpayee's childhood pal). Mrs Kaul is still the caretaker of Atal Bihar Vajpeyee. Kauls' two daughters have been adopted by Shri Vajpayee.
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Extra-ordinary aspects about RAMJAS COLLEGE
1. RAMJAS COLLEGE is the only college in Delhi (besides Unani Tibbia College teaching Indian system of medicine) that was inaugurated by MAHATMA GANDHI at its earlier campus at Anand Parbat (near Karol Bagh) which was earlier called Kala Pahad and was termed Anand Parbat by MAHATMA on that occasion in 1924 ! Mahatma Gandhi travelled on a Tonga (a single-horse-cart for the commoner) to Kala Pahad (now, Anand Parbat) with Rai Kedarnath for this occasion ! Anand-Parbat-Campus of Ramjas College had to be handed-over to the Allied Forces (British-American) during the World War II necessitating the shifting of Ramjas College from Anand Parbat to its present site at Delhi University North Campus Enclave ! After the World War II, the original Anand Parbat site of Ramjas College was used to house the then-newly-opened Ramjas School number 2.
2. After the death of Rai Kedarnath, the founder of Ramjas College, BABASAHEB BHIMRAO AMBEDKAR (the architect of India's constitution) acted as a member of the Governing Body of our College - the only College of Delhi that had Bhimrao Ambedkar in its Governing Body !
3. Rai Kedarnath, as the counsellor of the Chief Commissioner of Delhi in Pre-independence India,was responsible for the naming of our University as Delhi University instead of what was decided earlier as Prince Charles University !
4. Ramjas College is the only College that Madamme Marie Curie (winner of two Noble prizes) visited during her visits to India in early 1930s !
5. In the Pre-Independence India, RAMJAS COLLEGE was the only college at Delhi admitting the wards of the masses solely on academic merit and virtually no-one wanting to study was refused admission (hence it was an Aam Aadmi, or commoner College), St. Stephens admitted wards of only the princes, British officers and the top (usually Indian Civil Service) elite who found it inconvenient to send their kids to Britain for higher studies while Hindu College took in the kids of the novo-rich Indians of trading community.
6. It is the only College of Delhi University that ran in two shifts after India's partition,morning shift affiliated to Delhi University whereas the evening shift to Lahore University. This helped displaced people finish their studies abruptly discontinued on account of migration. The students of College even worked part-time as porters/Coolies at Delhi Railway station and as news-paper vendors to contribute to College expenses, in contrast to the cash-rich and generally snobbish St. Stephens and Hindu !
7. Late Professor Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FRS (October 30, 1909 – January 24, 1966) – an eminent nuclear physicist, the founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and the founder of the Indian nuclear programme – was nominated (though, he preferred joining Physics at TIFR, instead of administration-job at DU) to be the Principal of Ramjas College in the beginning of 1940s before India’s independence in 1947.
