Patna College turns 158, here are 10 facts about this college

Patna college turned 158 years old today. One of the oldest colleges of Bihar holds a good history and facts about its existence. PatnaBeats comes with few facts about Patna College you should know.

• Patna College was established on 9th January 1863 under British Raj.
• It is the oldest organisation to provide 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 Mahavidyalaya, has their roots from this college.

• PATNA COLLEGE has been known for postgraduate courses in humanities, later on, it offered intermediate, other graduate and postgraduate courses too.
• On 2nd January 1952, ripped of Patna University and Bihar University changed the pattern of the college courses. After the centralization of two years of special honours-teaching, the honours of all art subjects remained in this college.
• In 1957, the college shifted the postgraduate programmes of Geography, Sociology and Psychology to Darbhanga House. Till today, these courses are running at Darbhanga House only.
• On 9 September 1974, Economics department was split from the Patna College and it took form into Vanijya Mahavidyalaya. Presently Vanijya Mahavidyalaya is in the college’s yard itself.
• The administrative block of the college is the ancient building which used to be the site for an opium store-house and a Dutch factory in the 17th century, much before the college was started. Other buildings got constructed later on.

• 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 on the campus of the college is named after Jackson.
• Satyajit Ray, used the campus in his award-winning movie- Semmabaddha(1971) impressed by the visually attractive look of the campus.
• Famous Indian Writer, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar is the alumni of the college. Jay Prakash Naraya, Anugrah Narayana Singh, First C.M of Bihar Krishna Singh holds the degree of this college.

[divider]Also Read- Lesser known facts about Rashtrakavi ‘Dinkar’[/divider]

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