Serampore College
Façade of the Serampore College
MottoLatin: Gloriam Sapientes Possidebunt
Established15 July 1818 (15 July 1818)
FoundersWilliam Ward, William Carey, & Joshua Marshman
Religious affiliation
Baptist
PrincipalVansanglura Vanchhawng
Administrative staff
79 (teaching), 30 (non-teaching)
Students2,277
Location
8, William Carey Road
Serampore – 712201
West Bengal, India

22°45′07″N 88°21′05″E / 22.7519011°N 88.3512874°E / 22.7519011; 88.3512874
CampusUrban
AffiliationsSenate of Serampore College (University) and University of Calcutta
Websitehttps://seramporecollege.ac.in/
Serampore College is located in West Bengal
Serampore College
Location in West Bengal
Serampore College is located in India
Serampore College
Serampore College (India)
NAAC 2004 report

Serampore College is located in Serampore, in West Bengal state, India. Established in 1818, it is the third oldest college in the country after CMS College, Kottayam and Presidency College Calcutta, and one of the oldest continuously operating educational institutes in India.[1] The college consists of two entities: The theological faculty and a separate college with faculties of arts, science, commerce.

The Senate of Serampore College (University) is in charge of the academic administration of all the theological colleges affiliated with it. The council of Serampore College holds a Danish charter and had the power to confer degrees in any subject, which it currently exercises only for conferring theological degrees as recommended by the senate.[2]

Degrees to students at the college in the fields of arts, science and commerce are awarded by the University of Calcutta.[3]

For theology, the college is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College, with which several theological colleges and seminaries all over India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are affiliated.

Motto

The college motto is from Proverbs 3:35 in the Vulgate: Gloriam Sapientes Possidebunt, "The wise shall possess glory."

Authority to issue degrees and accreditation

The Serampore Trio - William Ward, William Carey, & Joshua Marshman, started the college with 37 students in 1818.[4] King Frederick VI of Denmark[5] originally granted a Royal Charter giving Serampore College the status of a university to confer degrees on 23 February 1827.[6] It became the third Danish University after the ones in Copenhagen and Kiel.[7] With the later establishment of the University of Calcutta in 1857 the arts, science and commerce parts of Serampore College were affiliated to the University of Calcutta. However, Serampore College still today continues to enjoy the privilege of conferring its own degrees in theology under the power vested by the Charter and Act of Serampore College. It is a private Grant-in-aid Minority College and is recognized by the University Grants Commission under Section 2(f) and 12(b) of the UGC Act, 1956.[8]

History

Since Serampore was then a Danish colony, King Frederick VI, the King of Denmark, issued Serampore College its Royal Charter of Incorporation on 23 February 1827, in Copenhagen, Denmark (Charter, 1, Charter, 2, Charter, 3). The charter came in response to Joshua Marshman's visit to King Frederick in August 1826; the charter gave Serampore College the privilege of awarding degrees in Arts and Theology. William Carey, Joshua Marshman, and John Clark Marshman (Joshua's son) were designated as members of the first Council. At its opening, the Trio released a prospectus which proposed "A College for the instruction of Asiatic Christian and other Youth in Eastern Literature and European Science." The college was open to all persons of any caste or creed, and the founders ensured that no denominational test would apply to faculty members. The charter has also been confirmed by the Bengal Govt Act. IV of 1918.

The status accorded by the Danish Charter has since been re-affirmed for the study of Theology[9] and now forms the basis for degrees of all levels conferred by over forty theological colleges throughout India, and is administered by the Senate.It was incorporated by Royal Charter of 1827 and Bengal Government Act. IV of 1918.

Founding by English missionaries

Serampore College is the oldest university in India to be in continuous operation.[10] It was founded in 1818 by the English missionaries known as the Serampore Trio:[11]

Their aim was to give an education in arts and sciences to students of every "caste, colour or country" and to train people for ministry in the growing church in India (See: Christianity in India).

From its beginning the college has been ecumenical but this means that it has no automatic basis of support from any one branch of the Christian church. Prior to 1818, the Serampore Trio had worked together in providing education for their own children and the children, including females, of the native Indians.

Original charter from Denmark

Since Serampore was then a Danish colony, King Frederick VI, the King of Denmark, issued Serampore College its Royal Charter of Incorporation on 23 February 1827, in Copenhagen, Denmark (Charter, 1, Charter, 2, Charter, 3). The charter came in response to Joshua Marshman's visit to King Frederick in August 1826; the charter gave Serampore College the privilege of awarding degrees in arts and theology.[12] William Carey, Joshua Marshman and John Clark Marshman (Joshua's son) were designated as members of the first council. At its opening, the Serampore Trio released a prospectus which proposed "A College for the instruction of Asiatic Christian and other Youth in Eastern Literature and European Science." The college was open to all people of any caste or creed, and the founders ensured that no denominational test would apply to faculty members. The charter has also been confirmed by the Bengal Government Act IV of 1918.

The status accorded by the Danish charter has since been reaffirmed for the study of theology and now forms the basis for degrees of all levels conferred by over forty theological colleges throughout India and is administered by the senate. It was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1827 and the Bengal Government Act IV of 1918.

Serampore College

Control passed back to the British

After 22 February 1845 when Denmark sold all of its Indian assets to Britain, the management and operation of the college continued without interruption under the direction of a master and council. In 1856 the Baptist Missionary Society in England took over the management of the college and, in 1857, the college became affiliated with the newly established University of Calcutta and became a constituent college of that university. In 1883 the college closed as an arts college and began functioning as a Christian Training Institution and a theological institute for the Baptist churches in Bengal. Affiliating again with the University of Calcutta in 1911, Serampore College, in 1913, was authorised to award the Bachelor of Arts degree. The college faculty was interdenominational.

Twentieth century

On 4 December 1915, the first group of Bachelor of Divinity students graduated:

  • I. W. Johory, professor in the Canadian Mission College, Indore;
  • N. G. Kuriakos, a priest in the Orthodox Syrian Church; and
  • D. M. Devasahayam, London Missionary Society, South India.

Between 1916 and 1927, sixty-nine further students earned their Bachelor of Divinity degrees through Serampore College.

During the centenary year of the college, in 1918, the Bengal Legislative Council passed the Serampore College Act (1918 Act, i, 1918 Act, ii, 1918 Act, iii, 1918 Act, iv) for the purpose of enlarging the college council and forming a new interdenominational senate that would confer theological degrees for all Christian denominations in India. By 1960 twenty other Indian colleges and seminaries affiliated themselves with Serampore.

The name of the college and its founders are honoured today more widely than just within Christian circles – the Carey Library at Serampore houses 16,000 rare volumes and is used by scholars from across the world.

Principals

YearsNameAcademic credentials
1818–1832✝William Carey
1832–1837✝Joshua MarshmanD.D
1837–1845✝John Mack
1845–1858✝W. H. Denham
1858–1879✝John TraffordB.A. (Glasgow)
1879–1882✝Albert WilliamsB.A. (Glasgow)
1883–1906✝E. S. SummersB.A.
1906–1929✝George HowellsPhD (Tübingen)
1929–1949✝G. H. C. AngusM.A.
1949–1959✝C. E. AbrahamM.A. The First Indian Principal
1959–1966✝William StewartM.A.
1966–1968✝S. J. SamarthaPhD (Hartford)
1968–1969A. K. MundleM.A.
1969–1972M. N. BiswasM.A.
1972–1976S. K. ChatterjeeM.A.
1976–1977R. L. RodriguesM.A.
1977–1987S. MukhopadhyayPhD
1988–1989T. K. SwarnakarM.A.
1990–1998J. T. K. DanielPhD (Madras)
1999-2011LalchungnungaPhD (NEHU)
2011-2015Laltluangliana KhiangtePhD (NEHU)
2015-presentVansanglura VanchhawngPhD (Mizoram)

Departments and courses

The college offers different undergraduate and postgraduate courses and aims at imparting education to the undergraduates of lower- and middle-class people of Srerampore and its adjoining areas.[13]

Science

Science faculty consists of the departments of Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Botany, Zoology, Physiology, and Economics.

Arts & Commerce

Arts and Commerce faculty consists of departments of Bengali, English, Communication English, Sanskrit, History, Geography, Political Science, Philosophy, Education, and Commerce (Finance & Accounting).

Theology

This faculty consists of different christian religion related subjects.

Honours

On 7 June 1969, the Indian Department of Posts issued a stamp[14] and a first day cover[15] depicting Serampore College. In 2017, to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the university, Denmark's ambassador to India, Mr. Peter Taksøe-Jensen announced that the Danish Government decided to grant 18 outstanding students of Serampore College through the King Frederik VI Scholarship.[16]

Accreditation

The college is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC). This college was accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, and awarded A grade.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Seven oldest universities in India: All you need to know
  2. ↑ World Council of Churches, Ministerial Formation, July 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2006.
  3. ↑ Education Info India Colleges under University of Calcutta, July 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2006.
  4. ↑ http://www.hooghly.gov.in/ser_hist.htm
  5. ↑ "Faculty of Arts Science Commerce – Serampore College – "Glorious 200 years: Established in 1818"". Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Faculty of Arts Science Commerce – Serampore College – "Glorious 200 years: Established in 1818"". Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Historical background". Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "UGC Act-1956" (PDF). mhrd.gov.in/. Secretary, University Grants Commission. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  9. ↑ Sankar Ray, The Hindu (Business Line), 11 April 2008 Almost a century later, the charter was endorsed officially under the Bengal Govt Act IV of 1918.
  10. ↑ List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Asia
  11. ↑ "The Story of Serampore and its College". mergingcurrents.co. p. IVth edition 2006 page 174. Archived from the original on 22 October 2003.
  12. ↑ "Council of Serampore College". councilofseramporecollege.org. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Courses Offered, Srerampore College". Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  14. ↑ Postal Stamp
  15. ↑ First Day Cover
  16. ↑ "Presenting the King Frederik VI Scholarship for Students of Serampore College". Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2019.

Further reading

  • John Clark Marshman (1859). "The Life and Times of Carey, Marshman and Ward". I & II. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • J.T.K.Daniel and Roger E. Hedlund (1993). "Carey's Obligation and India's Renaissance". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2006). "Hannah Marshman - The first woman missionary in India". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2002). "Family Letters of Dr. William Carey". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2005). "William Carey - The Father of Modern Missions in the East" (New Edition). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2004). "William Carey and Serampore" (2nd Edition). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Sunil Kumar Chatterjee (2001). "John Clark Marshman (a trustworthy Friend of India)" (2nd Edition). Archived from the original on 26 August 2004. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • The Council of Serampore College (2006). "The Story of Serampore and its College" (Fourth Edition). Archived from the original on 22 October 2003. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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