Hindu College

1899 1908 Late Shri Krishna Dassji Gurwale founds the College in the historic Kinari Bazar (Chandni Chowk), with prominent Delhi citizens as trustees. A boarding house serves as student residence since 1899. In 1908 the College shifts to a building donated by Rai Bahadur Sultan Singh in Kashmiri Gate, and a Hostel is added. 1910s From inception, the College is deeply connected to the national movement for independence: some Governing Body members and trustees are directly involved in the Swadeshi and Boycott movements. Board member Master Ameer Chand, associated with Lala Hardyal and Ras Behari Bose, is hanged by the colonial government in 1915. 1922 Earlier affiliated to Panjab University, the College now becomes affiliated to Delhi University, and sanctioned to teach M.A. classes. 1920s Democratic student governance: College Parliament is instituted with a PM and LO. Honorary Members- Annie Besant, M.A. Jinnah, Babu Rajendra Prasad, Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali. College Hostel gives refuge to revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad. Students, both boys and girls, join Non-cooperation Movement and ?Simon Go Back? processions in Chandni Chowk area. 25th January 1930 Mahatma Gandhi visits the College. 1930s College students found the Harijan Service League. The Hostel Warden N.K. Nigam is tried for supporting ?terrorist? activities. As national resistance grows, College Parliament continues to host addresses by national leaders?Pt. Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, C.F. Andrews, Motilal Nehru. Sarojini Naidu attends Tarun Samaj (Social Reform Society) meetings. Surya Sen and Anant of the famous Chittagong Armoury Raid visit the Hostel. The Hindi Sahitya Sabha hosts Munshi Premchand. Two College students excel in the Indian Civil Services Examinations. K.K. Birla takes his Intermediate Science degree from College in 1937. 1940 The College remains a site of anti-colonial agitation. Students and teachers join the ?Quit India!? movement. Students, in particular, participate in ?unlawful? picketing, processions and other civil resistance. 1941 Ghanshyam Das Birla, the famous industrialist, joins the College Board. Rabindranath Tagore visits the College. 1947 'Double shifts are organized to help Partition refugees in Delhi. 1950s Dr. Raj Narayan Mathur, alumnus, becomes Principal. The first lady lecturer, Satya M. Rai, is appointed. Debaters produced by the College Parliament Inder Sharma, Giri Lal Jain, Lalit Bhasin?impress many; BBC documentary on grassroots democracy records Parliament proceedings. 1953 College shifts to its permanent E-shaped building. The 25-acre campus houses classrooms, laboratories, a library, playing fields, a sports pavilion, a seminar hall, an auditorium, computer rooms, a canteen and halls of residence. 1960 State-of-the-art auditorium is constructed, with stage designed by Ebrahim Alkazi. First qualified librarian, C.P. Vashishtha, is appointed and 29,000 books acquired. Wins DU water-polo title 6 times in a row. Naresh Trehan is a pre-med alumnus of College. 1965 Indo - Pak War College donates generously to National Defence Fund. New Student Parliament Constitution enfranchises all students. 1970s - 1980s Student Parliament continues to launch reputations Subramanian Swamy, Bhikhu Ram Jain, Kapila Vatsyayan. Savita Datta is elected first lady Prime Minister. Hardip Puri, Siddharth Basu, Mahesh Rangarajan win debating laurels. Animesh Srivastava, Mahesh Rangarajan, and Sanjay Chouhan become Rhodes Scholars. Sports Complex is inaugurated by Minister Margaret Alva. President Giani Zail Singh lays foundation stone of new canteen. A new Science Block is added, after which Honours classes begin at the College. Amitabh Bachchan is Chief Guest at launch of commemorative souvenir, at the Le Meridien. Platinum Jubilee is celebrated with the launch of MECCA (annual festival).Administration appoints the first women in the office staff, Rajesh Sharma and Suman Dutt Sharma. College receives the status of ?Extended College.? 1990s The first lady Principal, alumna Dr. Kavita Sharma, is appointed. Infrastructure is expanded new computer laboratories, a new seminar hall, a common room, a photocopy shop, and a bank branch. Green initiatives are begun?installation of solar lights, solar-powered heating system, and introduction of rainwater harvesting. Best practices are established, such as the repair and restoration of 1825-vintage colonial guardhouse, eventually the Bharat Ram Centre for the Arts.Vyjayanthimala Bali visits the College. The Colleges Centenary celebrations are graced by Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Chief Guest, who releases a commemorative stamp featuring the iconic College building. 1999 The Old Students Association (OSA) releases the Alumni Directory. The first Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to the oldest living alumnus, Jivan Lal Seth (Advocate) at 99 years of age. 2000 2006 Arun Jaitley, Justice Adarsh S. Anand, Jairam Ramesh, Javed Akhtar, Tavleen Singh, Ashok Vajpayee, and Amitav Ghosh visits College.The NSS and NCC works consistently to serve the College and the nation. Womens Development Cell started to generate awareness and initiatives for gender parity. The College starts part-time classes in foreign languages German, French, Spanish and Russian. Many extracurricular student societies emerge, successfully organise events and represent the College?Abhirang, Alankar, Masque, Ibtida, Panchtatva, and Earthlings. Disha, the placement cell, is established. Departments develop own festivals, lectures, debates and cultural events. Third Premchand Memorial Debate First International Event at College, with teams from Australia, Singapore and Pakistan. Writers Meet is organized with four Pakistani writers as panel experts. Global Action Day is held to honour Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims, and against corporate crime and environmental disasters. 2007 2014 Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is Chief Guest on Founders Day.Gulzar (Films), Dr. Kiran Bedi and Somnath Chatterjee (Politics), Arnab Goswami (Journalist), Binalaxmi Nepram (Activist), Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Olympian) are Chief Guests/ panel discussants in different events. Campus becomes wi-fi equipped. New ICT laboratories and a Central Computer Lab are installed. The College is connected to the University network through optical fibre. Symposium, Caucus, and the International Hindu College Model United Nations (IHCMUN) emerge. IHCMUN organizes an international event. The campus is one of the venues for the Commonwealth Games. It is also a location for prominent films Sarfarosh, Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi and Rock Star. Prime Ministers Debate is started, to enhance accountability in student elections. 2015 Dr. Anju Srivastava takes over as Officiating Principal, the second College alumna to hold the office. Construction begins on four-storey building for Girls Hostel and a new Academic Block having, with foundation stone laid by Lt. Governor of Delhi. More than 600 students and teachers participate in the National Knowledge Network Video Conference in auditorium. College participates in launch of MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) of Delhi University. The College joins the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and launches an e-waste-reduction drive. Rashtriya Ekta Diwas and Good Governance Day are celebrated. The College continues to excel, evolving while remaining true to its founding ideals.