Bethune College

For the constituent college of York University in Toronto, Canada, see York University § Colleges and residences. For the college in the United States, see Bethune-Cookman College.

Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India.^[1] It was established as a girls' school in 1849,^{[2]: 11–12} and as a college in 1879.^[3]

Bethune College

Bethune School Building, c. 1949
Motto	Viddaya Vindatey Amritam
Motto in English	knowledge provides immortal bliss
Type	Women's college
Established	1879; 145 years ago (1879)
Accreditation	NAAC
Affiliation	University of Calcutta
Principal	Dr. Anushila Hazra Bhattacharya
Location	Kolkata , West Bengal , India 22°35′18″N 88°22′04″E
Campus	Urban
Website	www.bethunecollege.ac.in
Seal of the Bethune College

History

Laying of the foundation stone at Cornwallis Square, November 1850

A 1999 stamp dedicated to the Bethune Collegiate School

The college was founded as the Calcutta Female School in 1849 by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune,^[4] with the financial support of Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee. The school started in Mukherjee's home in Baitakkhana, with 21 girls enrolled.^[5] The following year, enrolment rose to 80.^[6] In November, on a plot on the west side of Cornwallis Square, the cornerstone for a permanent school building was laid. The name "Hindu Female School" was inscribed on the copper-plate placed in the stone and on the ceremonial silver trowel made for the occasion.^[7] Support for the school waned after Bethune's death in August 1851.^[6]

Postage stamp of 1978 commemorating the centenary of Bethune College

The government took it over in 1856, renaming it Bethune School after its founder in 1862–63.^[4] In 1879 it was developed into Bethune College, the first women's college in India and Bethune school was Second (First being in Bhidewada Pune, by Jyotirao Phule) women's school in whole Asia.^[1]

Rankings

College rankings
General – India
NIRF (Colleges) (2021)[8]	77

The college is ranked 91st among colleges in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2024.^[9]

Notable alumnae

• Kadambini Ganguly (1861–1923), one of the first two female graduates of the British Empire^[10]
• Chandramukhi Basu (1860–1944), one of the first two female graduates of the British Empire^[10]
• Abala Bose (1864–1951), social worker^[11]
• Meenakshi Chatterjee (1957–2022), Applied Mathematician, and the 5th Indian Woman in Antarctica (as part of the Xth Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica, 1990–91); also the first scientist to represent the University of Calcutta
• Sarala Devi Chaudhurani (1872–1945), promoter of female education
• Anwara Bahar Chowdhury (1919–1987), social activist and writer
• Kamala Das Gupta (1907–2000), freedom fighter nationalist^[12]
• Amalprava Das, social worker
• Bina Das (1911–1986), revolutionary and nationalist^[12]
• Tista Das (born 1978), transsexual actress
• Kalpana Datta (1913–1995), independence activist^[12]
• Mira Datta Gupta (1907–1983), freedom fighter and activist
• Swarnakumari Devi (1855–1932), poet, novelist and social worker
• Begum Khaleda Zia, first female Prime Minister of Bangladesh
• Ashoka Gupta (1912–2008), freedom fighter and social worker
• Neena Gupta, (b. 1984) mathematician, who has provided a solution to the Zariski Cancellation Problem
• Narmada Kar (1893–1980), completed her graduation in 1914 and became the first women graduate of Odisha.
• Aditi Lahiri (born 1952), academic linguist
• Abha Maiti (born 1925), politician
• Kanak Mukherjee (1921–1995), political activist
• Khanto Bala Rai (born 1897), teacher, school head in Midnapore
• Shukhalata Rao(1886–1969), social worker and children's author
• Kamini Roy (1864–1933), poet, social worker and feminist^[11]
• Leela Roy (1900–1970), politician and reformer
• Shobha Sen, actress
• Amiya Tagore (1901–1988), singer
• Pritilata Waddedar (1911–1932), revolutionary nationalist

See also

• List of colleges affiliated to the University of Calcutta
• Education in India
• Education in West Bengal

References

1. LBR, Team (5 May 2018). Limca Book of Records: India at Her Best. Hachette India. p. 161. ISBN 9789351952404.
2. Bagal, Jogesh Chandra (1949). "History of the Bethune School & College (1849–1949)". In Nag, Kalidas; Ghose, Lotika (eds.). Bethune School & College Centenary Volume, 1849–1949. Bethune College. pp. 11–12.
3. Bose, Anima (1978). Higher Education in India in the 19th Century: The American Involvement, 1883-1893. Punthi Pustak. p. 249.
4. Acharya, Poromesh (1990). "Education in Old Calcutta". In Chaudhuri, Sukanta (ed.). Calcutta: The Living City. Vol. I: The Past. Oxford University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-19-563696-3.
5. Bagal, Jogesh Chandra (1949). "History of the Bethune School & College (1849–1949)". In Nag, Kalidas; Ghose, Lotika (eds.). Bethune School & College Centenary Volume, 1849–1949. Bethune College. pp. 11–12.
6. Forbes, Geraldine Hancock (1999). Women in Modern India. The New Cambridge History of India. Vol. IV.2. Cambridge University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-521-65377-0.
7. Bagal, Jogesh Chandra (1949). "History of the Bethune School & College (1849–1949)". In Nag, Kalidas; Ghose, Lotika (eds.). Bethune School & College Centenary Volume, 1849–1949. Bethune College. pp. 15–16.
8. "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2021 (Colleges)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 9 September 2021.
9. "2024 NIRF Ranking" (PDF).
10. Ray, Bharati (1990). "Women in Calcutta: The Years of Change". In Chaudhuri, Sukanta (ed.). Calcutta: The Living City. Vol. II: The Present and Future. Oxford University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-19-563697-0.
11. Southard, Barbara (May 1993). "Colonial Politics and Women's Rights: Woman Suffrage Campaigns in Bengal, British India in the 1920s". Modern Asian Studies. 27 (2): 405–406. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00011549. JSTOR 312775. S2CID 145276788.
12. Ghosh, Durba (August 2013). "Revolutionary Women and Nationalist Heroes in Bengal, 1930 to the 1980s". Gender & History. 25 (2): 355–375. doi:10.1111/1468-0424.12017. S2CID 143325110.

Further reading

• Borthwick, Meredith (2015). The Changing Role of Women in Bengal, 1849-1905. Princeton University Press. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-1-4008-4390-9.
• Ray, Bharati (2005). Women of India: Colonial and Post-colonial Periods. SAGE Publications. pp. 187–. ISBN 978-81-321-0264-9.
• Tattwabhushan, Sitanath (1904). Social Reform in Bengal: A Side Sketch. Calcutta: City Book Society. pp. 43–.

External links

• Official website