Asutosh College

Asutosh College

Front view of Asutosh College main building, Kolkata (old campus at Hazra)
Motto	Jnān Jethā Mukta (Bengali)
Motto in English	Where Knowledge is Free
Type	Public
Established	c. 17 July 1916; 108 years ago (17 July 1916)
Academic affiliations	University of Calcutta
Principal	Dr. Manas Kabi
Undergraduates	5970 (As of 2021-22)
Postgraduates	294 (As of 2021-22)
Location	Kolkata , West Bengal , India 22°31′31.43″N 88°20′38.10″E
Campus	Urban
Website	asutoshcollege.in

Asutosh College, established in 1916, is a government undertaking college in Kolkata which is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious colleges under the University of Calcutta.^[1] It offers undergraduate level courses in various arts, commerce and science subjects and also postgraduate degrees in select science and arts subjects. This college is situated in Southern Kolkata, close to the Jatin Das Park Metro Station, gate No. 2. It is affiliated to the University of Calcutta and is considered as one of the best places to study Economics, Mathematics and Statistics in Kolkata.

History

Sir Asutosh Mukherjee

In 1916, This college was established as the South Suburban College,^[2] under the stewardship of educationist Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, who was the then vice-chancellor of the University of Calcutta.

In 1924, after the death of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, the college was renamed as Asutosh College.^[2]

In the year 2002, a post graduation course in Environmental Science was introduced. Post graduate courses in Applied Geology, Bengali, Computer Science, Information Science, Geography, Zoology were introduced in between 2009 and 2014. In 2013, add-on courses in Hospital waste disposal management, Industrial Chemistry and Travel & Tourism were introduced.^[3]

In 2012, the Mother Teresa International Award was conferred on Asutosh College for outstanding achievement and contribution in the field of Best College of the Year.^[4]

In 2014, University Grants Commission-approved free add-on courses on Tourism, Industrial Chemistry, and Hospital Waste Disposal Management were introduced by the college.^[5]

Campuses

A Second Campus of Asutosh College was planned in 2003.^[6] The Centenary Building of the college was inaugurated^[7] by the erstwhile President of India, Pranab Mukherjee^[8] on 1 April 2015. Asutosh college is the 12th college in Kolkata that was first to set up rooftop solar plant to produce 20 kW for its own use.^[9][10]

Departments and courses

The college offers different undergraduate and postgraduate courses and aims at imparting education to the undergraduates and postgraduates of upper-, lower- and middle-class people of Kolkata and its adjoining areas.^[11]

Science

Science faculty consists of the departments of Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science & Application, Biochemistry, Geology, Botany, Zoology, Physiology, Microbiology, Psychology, Environmental Science, Industrial Fish & Fisheries, Electronics, and Economics.

Arts & Commerce

Arts and Commerce faculty consists of departments of Bengali, English, Communicative English, Sanskrit, Hindi, History, Geography, Political Science, Philosophy, Journalism & Mass Communication, Sociology, and Commerce.

Accreditation

Asutosh College are recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC).^[12]

In 2015, the Government of West Bengal offered a financial incentive of up to Rs. 2 crore each, to colleges with NAAC grading of A or B. The Department of Higher Education wanted institutions like Asutosh College with a proven academic track record of renewing their NAAC grade. But many colleges, including Asutosh, was reluctant to get involved in the process which the Principal at the time called "long drawn and fund consuming, without having any real benefit". While the college was rated C++ in its inaugural assessment back in 2002, it did not apply in 2007 when the rating expired. The first college in West Bengal to be accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in 2002, it was given an A grade with a CGPA score of 3.22 in 2016, helping it secure its position among the top four affiliated colleges of West Bengal.^{[13] [14]}

Facilities

The college has a separate counselling cell for both victims of ragging as well as possible aggressors, as part of an anti-ragging initiative.^[15]

All the departments have their own libraries and well-organized laboratories for Science departments.

Controversies

In 1996, then Principal Subhankar Chakraborty was accused of moral policing after he asked female students to dress modestly.^[16]

In early 2018, sanitary pad dispensers, installed in the college back in 2015 were found to be not working. Many female students did not know about the machines while others felt self-conscious to use the machines which were placed in corridors and other public parts of the campus. However, the college alleged the quality of pads were so low that students gave them a miss. They also said the after sales service of the company roped in by the state government to install and operate the machines, were unpredictable and bad.^[17]

Notable alumni

• Bappaditya Bandopadhyay^[18]
• Sunil Chhetri
• Amitabha Chowdhury^[19]
• Usha Ranjan Ghatak^[20]
• Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury^[21]
• Tripti Mitra^[22]
• Rabi Ghosh^[23]
• Mahasweta Devi^[24]
• Anup Ghoshal^[25]
• Neel Dutt^[26]
• Dinesh Das
• Ditipriya Roy
• Ushasi Ray
• Mimi Chakraborty
• Dipsita Dhar
• Ritabrata Banerjee

Notable Faculty

• Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury

See also

• Jogamaya Devi College
• Syamaprasad College
• University of Calcutta

References

1. https://asutoshcollege.in/new-web/about-economics.html
2. Konar, Debashis (25 March 2013). "Grandson of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee upset at Mamata's silence on letter". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
3. "Untitled Document". www.asutoshcollege.in.
4. "History of the College". Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
5. "Asutosh College : Admission step". Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
6. "Joka campus for Asutosh planned". Times of India. 15 April 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
7. RMIC Golpark (11 April 2015), 323V Inaguration [sic] Centenary Building Asutosh College Shri Pranab Mukherjee 1 4 15, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 13 September 2017
8. "Pranab Mukherjee to visit West Bengal on April 1–2". www.netindian.in. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
9. "Ashutosh College among solar-compliant campuses". The Times of India. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
10. "Asutosh College has its own solar power". The Times of India. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
11. "Courses Offered, Asutosh College". Retrieved 13 November 2023.
12. Colleges in West Bengal, University Grants Commission
13. ":: ASUTOSH COLLEGE". asutoshcollege.in. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
14. "NAAC".
15. Mitra, Bishwabijoy (20 June 2017). "Colleges set up with anti-ragging initiatives". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
16. Dasgupta, Priyanka (2 May 2018). "I condemn moral policing in Kolkata: Asutosh College ex-principal". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
17. Mitra, Bishwabijoy (16 January 2018). "What Padman revolution ? Vending machines gather dust in city colleges". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
18. "Bappaditya Bandopadhyay Profile & Career". Retrieved 12 November 2012.
19. "biography". Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
20. "Prospectus_2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
21. "Notarized Affidavit of Education Qualifications".
22. "Tripti Mitra Biography by Chandi Mukherjee". Gomolo.com. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
23. "Ghosh, Binoy - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org.
24. Shubha Tiwari. "Writing as Social Service: The Literary Compass of Mahashweta Devi". boloji.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012. She attended Ashutosh College of Calcutta University (1943-44)
25. "Profile: Anup Ghoshal". via IMDB. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
26. "Neel Dutt Profile Family Education Career". Retrieved 12 November 2012.

External links

• Official website