Patna College

Patna College, established in 1863[1] during the British Raj, is one of the oldest colleges in the
state of Bihar, India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science, arts and
commerce as well as some vocational courses like BBA, BMC and BCA. The college is affiliated
to Patna University.[2] It is also considered to be the oldest institution of higher education in
Bihar.[3]
 Patna College

Seal of Patna College

Other name PC

Type Public

Established 9 January 1863

Affiliation Patna University

Principal Prof.(Dr.)Ashok Kumar

Location Patna, Bihar, India

25.62°N 85.16°E (https://geohack.toolforge.org/g

eohack.php?pagename=Patna_College&params=
25.62_N_85.16_E_type:edu)

Campus Urban

Website patnacollege.org (http://patnacollege.org)

History

Patna College is the oldest institution of higher education in Bihar. Nearly every major college of
Patna- Patna Law College, Engineering College (National Institute of Technology, Patna at
present), Patna Science College and Vanijya Mahavidyala, has their roots from this college.
Patna College was established on 9 January 1863, during the British Raj.
Patna College

After the split-up of old Patna University into Patna University and Bihar University on 2 January
1952, the institution saw a significant shift. Until January 1952, the college was a government
college and it functioned as an independent unit, but later it became an implied college of Patna
University and became responsible only for Undergraduate studies due to the shifting of the
burden of Post-graduate learning on University. After the centralization of two years of special
honours-teaching, the honours of all art subjects remained in this college. Honours teaching was
carried out by the nominated teachers of the Faculty of Arts from all the colleges of the
university. In the first two hours, the students of Arts of Honors classes, of other colleges also
used to come to study in this college.

But due to the gradual increase in the number of students, up to the end of the eighth decade,
honours classes of various art courses were conducted in their respective colleges.

In 1957, all but the Geography, Sociology and Psychology post-graduate departments were
shifted to Darbhanga House. However many teachers of Patna College still have been bearing
the responsibility of postgraduate education by attending the departments in Darbhanga House.

There is hardly any change in post-operative activities. Maximum old councils, clubs as well as
hostels are still under the Principal of the college.

On 9 September 1974, the Economics department was split from the Patna College and it took
form into Vanijya Mahavidyala. Presently Vanijya Mahavidyala is in the college's yard itself.

Patna College is the first college in Bihar that celebrated the centenary ceremony in 1963 itself.
The college is also associated with E. M. Forster's novel, A Passage to India. According to
Adwaita P. Ganguly, the institution known as Chandrapore College in the novel is "a replica of
Patna College". Forster met Charles Russell and V. H. Jackson, who were professors of the
college, in the course of writing his novel, A Passage to India. Forster had collected Hiuen
Tsang's Indian Diary from Russell before he made his visit to Barabar Caves that appear as an
important location in the novel. A hostel in the campus of the college is named after Jackson.

The legendary filmmaker, Satyajit Ray, used the picturesque campus of the college for his award-
winning film, Seemabaddha.[4]

Campus and buildings

View of Patna College, Administrative Block in the middle

Western Corridor Gateway of Patna College

View of college from Western Corridor

The administrative block of the college is the oldest of all the buildings. It used to be the site for
an opium storehouse and a Dutch factory in the 17th century, much before the college was
started. Other buildings were constructed gradually over a period of time.

Some of these are the western wing (1871), the eastern (1880), the portico and the present BA
lecture theater (1882) connected with the main building by the long western corridor named
after principal Ewbank. Later the hostels like Jackson, Minto, New and Iqbal and quarters for the
principal and professors were constructed.[5]

Western Corridor Patna College with the language wing in the far
Language Wing connected with Western Corridor

The college building has been declared to be a heritage site by the Archaeological Survey of
India.[5]

Ground Floor Stairway

Upper Stairway

Departments

Arts & Commerce

English

Hindi

Urdu

Maithili

Bangla
 Sanskrit

Arabic

Farsi(Persian)

History

Political Science

Economics

Psychology

Philosophy

Sociology

Geography

Mass Communication

Ancient Indian history and Archaeology

150th anniversary

A number of celebrations were organised during 2012 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the
college.[6] Coinciding with the anniversary is the centenary of the Bihar Legislative Council, which
held its first session in the seminar hall of Patna college in 1913 and returned there to mark the
occasion on 20 January 2012.[7][8]

Notable alumni

HMJ Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda bakhsh - Eminent Historian, Advocate and Former Chief Justice
of Nizam's Hyderabad State, Founder of Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar-The Hindi poet of national eminence.

Annada Shankar Ray – Noted Bengali novelist and an early Indian ICS

Ram Sharan Sharma – Reputed Historian, former chairman, Indian History Congress, Former
Head, Dept. of History, Delhi University

Jayaprakash Narayan- Known for his Concept of ‘Total Revolution’.

B C Roy (1897–1901) – First Chief Minister of West Bengal after Independence.

 Sachchidananda Sinha (1892) – One of the makers of Modern Bihar, first Chairman of
Constituent Assembly of India.

Krishna Sinha – First Chief Minister of Bihar after Independence.

Anugrah Narayan Sinha – Regarded among foremost builders of Bihar and first Deputy Chief
Minister of Bihar.

Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha – Chief Justice of Patna High Court (1943) and Chief Justice of
India (1959).

Kishore Kunal- IPS (Retd.), Ex-Vice Chancellor, K S S University, Darbhanga.

Ganesh Dutt(1895) – a Venerated personality of Modern Bihar

Uday Narayan Choudhary- Speaker, Bihar Vidhan Sabha

Mahendra Prasad- Member, Rajya Sabha

Binod Kumar Roy, Chief Justice of three High Courts of India

Notable faculty

Ram Sharan Sharma, historian, and also an alumnus of the college.[9]

R. K. Sinha, English,[10]

References
1. Chaudhary, Uday Narayan (8 January 2012). "Patna College turns 150" (https://archive.today/201207011
23542/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-08/patna/30604047_1_patna-college-higher-
education-ras-bihari-prasad-singh) . The Times of India. Patna. Archived from the original (http://article
s.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-08/patna/30604047_1_patna-college-higher-education-ras-bihari-
prasad-singh) on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.

2. "Colleges of Patna University" (http://www.patnauniversity.ac.in/colleges.html) . Patna University.

3. "CM promises all help to Patna College for growth" (http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/1142

9759.cms) . The Times of India. Patna. TNN. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.

4. " 'Oxford of the East' badly in need of restoration" (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/oxf

ord-of-the-east-badly-in-need-of-restoration/article5556271.ece) . The Hindu. 9 January 2014. Retrieved
18 May 2018.

5. "Of Dutch factory and Patna College" (https://archive.today/20130103090737/http://articles.timesofindi

a.indiatimes.com/2012-01-07/patna/30601448_1_patna-college-presidency-college-college-building) .
 The Times of India. Patna. TNN. 7 January 2012. Archived from the original (http://articles.timesofindia.i
ndiatimes.com/2012-01-07/patna/30601448_1_patna-college-presidency-college-college-building) on
3 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2012.

6. Kumar, Roshan (4 January 2012). "Lecture plan for college birthday" (http://www.telegraphindia.com/112
0105/jsp/bihar/story_14965407.jsp) . The Telegraph. Kolkata. Retrieved 28 March 2012.

7. Das, Anand S. T. (31 January 2012). "Bihar's oldest college to revive 'royal link' " (http://www.asianage.co
m/india/bihar-s-oldest-college-revive-royal-link-074) . The Asian Age. Kolkata. Retrieved 29 March 2012.

8. Singh, Abhay (20 January 2012). "Council holds centenary meet at Patna College" (https://archive.today/
20120707034420/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-20/patna/30646550_1_legislative
-council-nitish-kumar-ghulam-gaus) . The Times of India. Patna. Archived from the original (http://article
s.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-20/patna/30646550_1_legislative-council-nitish-kumar-ghulam-
gaus) on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.

9. Jaiswal, Suvira (23 September 2011). "Secular historian" (http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2819/stories/

20110923281910500.htm) . Frontline. Retrieved 14 February 2012.

10. Suresh Nandan Sinha. "Homage to Dr R.K.Sinha" (http://bihartimes.in/articles/snsinha/rksinha.html) .

article. The Bihar Times. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Patna College.

S K Sinha (1992). A Soldier Recalls (https://books.google.com/books?id=vHglFDHJi78C&q=pa

tna+college&pg=PA26) . Lancer International, New Delhi. ISBN 9788170621614. Retrieved
2 August 2012.

Sujit Mukherjee (1996). Autobiography Of An Unknown Cricketer (https://books.google.com/bo

oks?id=mbEy8dZYzjUC&q=patna+college&pg=PA34) . Ravi Dayal Publisher, New Delhi.
ISBN 9788175300019. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

Justice Harihar Mahapatra (2011). My Life, My Work (https://books.google.com/books?id=6oF

1W6N7sg0C&q=My+Life,+My+Work++By+Justice+Harihar+Mahapatra) . Allied Publishers
Private Limited. ISBN 9788184246407. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

Sudhir Kumar Jha (2005). A new dawn: Patna reincarnated (https://books.google.com/books?i

d=xCVuAAAAMAAJ&q=satyajeet+ray+patna+college) . Retrieved 2 August 2012.

Shreedhar Narayan Pandey (1975). Education and social changes in Bihar, 1900–1921: a survey
of social history of Bihar from Lord Curzon to noncooperation movement (https://books.google.
 com/books?id=9uAJAAAAMAAJ&q=patna+college) . Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-0-8426-
0986-9. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

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