History of the College

History

The pressing demand for women's education in South Calcutta led the authorities of Asutosh College to open the Women's Section in July, 1932. On completion of its 25th year of existence, it was felt that this section of the College should be run as a separate Women's College, with a separate establishment of its own. In 1957 the College was separated from the Men's College and affiliated to Calcutta University as Asutosh College for Women (1958), subsequently renamed Jogamaya Devi College, in the hallowed memory of Lady Asutosh Mukherjee, wife of Sir Asutosh Mukherjee and mother of Sri Shyamaprasad Mukherjee.

Objectives

The guiding principle of the College is - Empowerment of women with education. We believe that educating one girl amounts to educating a whole family. Our aim is to disseminate education through students and transform our society into a cohesive, prosperous and mutually beneficial one. Our students are encouraged to work constructively. The 80-year old history of this College and its innumerable alumni who have achieved distinction in diverse fields bears testimony to the fact that our students have contributed generously to the betterment of not only our society but also of the wider world. The college encourages students to establish themselves in any station of life and work with confidence, independence and dedication.

GLIMPSES OF THE PAST

A Few words about the College

Jogamaya Devi College has come a long way since its inception in 1932. Dr. Shyamaprasad Mukhopadhyay founded this Girls College taking advantage of and utilising the space available in Asutosh College, in the morning hours. It started with 155 students for the I.A. Course in 1932. The first Principal was Sri Panchanan Sinha and the Vice Principal Sri Kalidas Sen. The College had the honour to have Smt. Lila Majumdar as its first Professor. Many renowned personalities like Sri Satyendra Nath Sen, Sri Shibnath Chakraborty and Sri Nirod Kumar Bhattacharya have taught here in the early days of the College. The girls section started expanding after 1935. It is a matter of pride that six students out of the first ten in the I.A. Exam, in 1946 were students of the morning section of Asutosh College: Smt. Gouri Sen stood first in the Exam. She became the Principal of Lady Brabourne College and DPI of West Bengal later on. The girls' section was initially known as Asutosh College for Women and in 1956-57 was renamed as Jogamaya Devi College after the demise of Lady Jogamaya Devi, wife of Sir Asutosh Mukhopadhyay. It was the first Girls' College in West Bengal to start the Geology Honours course in 1956 along in its fold a few other science Departments, from the beginning. It also opened the NCC Training course during the same period under the Leadership of Sri Jyotish Chandra Banerjee, the then Principal of the College. Smt Arundhati Sen, the next Principal of the College, started the Zoology Honours course and it was Dr. Subrata Gupta who introduced the Botany Honours, Statistics General, Sociology General, B.Com. General, Communicative English Major and the Computer Training centre. Smt. Gargi Nath, the present Principal of the College has started the Psychology Honours and Sociology Honours courses. She has taken initiative to open P.G. Study Centre in collaboration with Vidyasagar University.

The College has built a separate building to accommodate the students of the new subjects. It has a well equipped Central Library and Seminar Libraries for individual departments offering Honours Courses despite the constraints of space.

This College has been making remarkable contribution in the field of literature and culture of Bengal as it has the pride of presenting a long list of luminaries of past pupils like Smt. Amala Sankar. Smt. Karuna Bandopadhyay, Smt. Bijoya Roy and Smt. Uma Das Gupta, renowned literary figures like Maitreyee Devi, Mahasweta Devi and Suchitra Bhattacharya, singers like Purba Dam, Bandana Sen, Bani Ghosal and Sriradha Banerjee. In the recent past Kaushiki Chakraborty has made a new mark in the field of classical Music. Some Hon'ble Judges of Calcutta High Court like Justice Bijaya Nag and Justic Padma Khastagir, members of Parliament, like Smt. Gita Mukherjee, Smt. Purabi Mukherjee and Smt. Mamata Banerjee add colours to the list of our ex-students. The present VC of Rabindra Bharati University, Smt. Bharati Mukherjee and former legislator Smt. Maya Banerjee are also ex-students of this college. Several prominent figures in the world of cine entertainments have passed through the portals of this great college like Rupa Ganguli, Indrani Halder, Shatabdi Roy, Locket Chatterjee, Tanusree Ganguli, Soumile Biswas. Poulomi Ghatak, the famed T.T. Champion is an ex-student of this College.

Professors Satyendra Nath Sen (former VC, Calcutta University), Dr. Amlan Dutta (former VC Vishwa Bharati University) and Dr. S P Gupta (ex-member of Planning Commission) have once been part of the teaching faculty of this College.

We are proud to add, in this connection, that various important posts in different organisations both public and private, home and abroad are held by ex-students of either Arts or Science of this institution like different Scientific Research Institutes, National Laboratories and Academic Institution in both India and Abroad.

The students of this institution have several accomplishments to their credit in the world of extracurricular activities as well; one of its girls was a member of the National Women's Cricket Team, many of the NCC Cadets have participated in the Republic Day Parade at New Delhi. Alpana Dam has made her mark in the field of mountaineering.

The teacher student relationship in this college is a pleasant, friendly and cordial one. The teaching and non-teaching staff and students proudly bear forth the rich tradition of this college at all times and strive towards a glorious and bright future for the college.

Achievement

From a modest beginning, the College is now one of the largest Women's Colleges in West Bengal and attracts students from all the states of our country. Students from Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan also choose to study in this College. Its cosmopolitan character and its emphasis on a holistic development centering on academics have contributed to the College attaining a unique position in the sphere of women's education. Persistent efforts are made towards value-oriented education.