Hindu School, Kolkata

Hindu School is a government-administered school in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. It is located on College Street, in the vicinity of Hare School, College Square, Kolkata, Presidency College, Sanskrit College, Calcutta Medical College and the University of Calcutta. Established in 1817, the school is the oldest modern western-type school in India and one of the oldest existing schools in Asia. The school is declared as a "National Heritage in institutional education, History and Social Reform" by the Government of India. This institution is nicknamed as the Eton of the East from the British era for its academic excellence during the Bengali renaissance era and afterwards.

The school was established as Hindu College in 1817 by Raja Rammohan Roy, David Hare, Radhakanta Deb, Rasamay Dutt, Baidyanath Mukhopadhya, Sir Edward Hyde East and other educationists. In 1855, the pathsala part of Hindu College became Hindu School and the other part (mahapathshala) became Presidency College(now Presidency University). Before this separation the students under the age of 14 were taught in the junior section pathsala. The date of establishment of Hindu College is considered the establishment date of both Hindu school and Presidency College.

History

Situated in the heart of the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) – the cultural capital of India - opposite to Presidency College, amidst College Square, Sanskrit College, Hare School, Coffee House and University of Calcutta, Hindu School is reputed to be one of the oldest and leading institutions for education in India. It was established in 1817 by stalwart educationalists like Maharaja Radhakanta Deb, David Hare, Diwan Baidyanath Mukhopadhya and others in a visionary and ahead-of-era intention to impart modern education to the young students in European and Oriental subjects.

Prior to the advent of the British in India, the indigenous primary schools of Bengal taught very little beyond Bangla, simple Arithmetic and Sanskrit .The tolls (local small schools run by individuals) imparted lessons in advanced Sanskrit, grammar and literature, theology, logic and metaphysics. This was not enough to satisfy the aspiration of the enlightened Indians like Raja Rammohun Roy, who felt that the process would only “load the minds of youths with grammatical niceties and metaphysical distinctions” without having any practical use. The necessity of learning English was also keenly felt by people who had to carry on a constant interaction with the British businessmen.

At the same time, during the early nineteenth century there was a distinct intellectual awakening in Bengal Society. The luminous rays of modern knowledge, education and thought process, influenced by European culture and impacted by British rule, had affected the contemporary life very materially. Various protest movements, formation of societies and associations, religious reform movements, emergence of new styles in Bengali literature, political consciousness, and other socio-political phenomena were a few corroborative evidences of this changing mind-set. One of the most prominent outcomes of this Renaissance was the change in the curriculum taught in the schools and establishment of new schools imparting modern and practical education. The idea of establishing an English school was already prevalent. The plan of imparting English education by David Hare – one of the most prominent educationalists in the then Bengal - received general approbation and Diwan Baidya Nath Mukherjee was deputed to collect the subscriptions. Sir Edward Hyde East, Chief Justice of the Calcutta Supreme Court was invited to chair the committee and Joseph Baretto became the Treasurer. The committee succeeded in raising Rupees 1,13,179.00, the principal donors being the Maharajah of Burdwan (Tejchand Bahadur) and Gopee Mohun Thakur, each contributing Rupees 10,000.

On a wintry morning of January 20, 1817, a batch of 20 male students hailing from affluent Bengali Hindu families of Kolkata, met at the rented house of Gorachand Basak at Garanhata ( 304 Chitpur Road ) marking the first meeting day of Hindu School. In 1825, with the help of the British Government, a school building was built for 1 lakh 24 thousand rupees, towards the north of Goldighi (now known as College Square) on a land donated by David Hare. The Hindu College was originally divided into two sections - a school (pathshala) which imparted instruction in English, Bangla, Grammar and Arithmetic and a college (mahapathshala) teaching Languages, History, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Mathematics, Chemistry and other sciences. On 15 June 1854, the upper section of the school ( the Hindu mahapathshala or the Hindu College ) was made an open center for modern education including eastern and western philosophy and science and was separated as Presidency College and the junior section remained as Hindu School – a national heritage of institutional education, history and reform.

Affiliation and recognition

The school is administrated by the government of West Bengal. It is affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. The school is recognized as a "Center with Potential for Excellence" and graded as an "A++" institution. The school is officially recognized as a "National Heritage in History and Social Reform" for it's enormous contribution to the development of academic studies in British India and afterwards.

Library & Laboratory

This institution has a Central Library along with Departmental Libraries and Manuscript Section. This is the Largest School Library in India in number of rare books. There are different laboratories for the departments of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Statistics, Psychology, with possible modern facilities. There is a permanent Seminar and Art Gallery in the school premises. An auditorium, named after Satyendra Nath Bose, felicitates school programs. In addition to that, a Smart Class Room Project is going on as a Bi-centenary Celebration initiative.

Notable alumni

See also: Detailed Notable Alumni List of Hindu school people.

Here is a very short list of Notable Alumni People, specially from the time of Bengali Renaissance and British era mainly. But there are many more famous people, who glorified the existence of this institution. For more detailed list please visit the main article Hindu school people. Here is a short list of alumni, who are considered as the brightest of brights, specially from Bengal Renaissance era.

• Satyendranath Tagore.^[1]
• Jyotirindranath Tagore.^[2]
• Taraknath Palit
• Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee
• Satyendra Nath Bose
• Chhabi Biswas
• Meghnad Saha
• Michael Modhusudan Dutt
• Young Bengals
• Prasanna Kumar Tagore
• Rajendralal Mitra
• Peary Chand Mitra
• Dr. Pratap Chandra Chunder
• Keshob Chandra Sen
• Nisith Ranjan Ray
• Rishi Rajnarayan Bosu
• Anandamohan Bose
• Kaliprasanna Singha

References

Coordinates: 22°34′33″N 88°21′49″E / 22.575697°N 88.363713°E / 22.575697; 88.363713