Muir Central College

Last updated

Muir Central College, c. 1877 Muir Center College.jpg
Muir Central College, c.1877

Muir Central College in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) in northern India was a college of higher education founded by William Muir in 1872. It had a separate existence to 1921, when as a result of the Allahabad University Act it was merged into University of Allahabad. [1]

Contents

The buildings (1872–1886) were a design by the British architect William Emerson. [2] Initially the college was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. [3]

The Muir Central College and the university were conceived to train, equip and mould the youth of the country to shoulder the responsibilities of life. Its students as the time passed by were spread all over the country and abroad filling up learned professions, the public and social services the world of trade and industry and the spheres of politics and diplomacy. Besides, it was conceived as a centre of research and academic advancement. [4]

According to historian Avril Powell, certain debates between Saiyid Ahmed Khan, the founder of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, and William Muir led to the founding of Muir Central College. Whereas the universities at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras (the first in India) had classes taught in English, "Muir College opened in 1872 with three departments of equal standing, teaching respectively through the vernaculars, the 'oriental' classics and English." [5] There was Maulawi Zaka Allah, Professor of Vernacular Science and Literature, who taught Arabic, Persian, Urdu and mathematics. One of the students' favorites was Aditya Ram Bhattacharya, professor of Sanskrit. Arthur Reid was professor of law from 1883 to 1895, and Homersham Cox came to teach mathematics in 1891.

"For its first 15 years the Muir College was able to prove itself a valuable half-way house situated rather precariously between the near monopoly of English in Calcutta University and the uniqueness of the new Punjab University’s fully fledged Oriental Department." [5]

"By the late 1880s the Muir Central College examination results marked it as north India’s most academically successful college outside Calcutta. It would remain the nerve centre of Allahabad University until 1922, academically, socially, politically and on the games field, its 'Muir hostel', added in 1911, contributing to an espirit de corps that was to prove long-lasting."

In 1922 Allahabad University merged with Muir Central College and English became the standard medium.

Allahabad University, with Muir College at its core, was to become renowned from the late 1920s to the late 1950s as the 'Oxford of India' during a 'golden era' of teaching and research. [5]

Principals

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Muir</span> Scottish Orientalist and colonial administrator (1819–1905)

Sir William Muir was a Scottish Orientalist, and colonial administrator, Principal of the University of Edinburgh and Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Provinces of British India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chittaranjan Das</span> Indian politician, poet and author and leader of the Bengali Swaraj Party (1870-1925)

Chittaranjan Das, popularly called Deshbandhu, was an Indian freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the Political Guru of Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He is the founder-leader of the Swaraj Party in undivided Bengal during the period of British Colonial rule in India. His name is abbreviated as C. R. Das. He was closely associated with a number of literary societies and wrote poems, apart from numerous articles and essays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Allahabad</span> Public university in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

The University of Allahabad is a collegiate central university located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is one of the oldest modern universities in India. Its origins lie in the Muir Central College, named after Lt. Governor of North-Western Provinces Sir William Muir in 1876, who suggested the idea of a Central University at Prayagraj, which later evolved to the present university. It was known as the "Oxford of the East". Its Central University status was re-established through the University of Allahabad Act 2005 by the Parliament of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Thibaut</span>

George Frederick William Thibaut was a German Indologist notable for his contributions to the understanding of ancient Indian mathematics and astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Byles Cowell</span> English professor of Sanskrit

Edward Byles Cowell, was a noted translator of Persian poetry and the first professor of Sanskrit at Cambridge University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government Mohindra College</span> College in Punjab

Established in 1875, Government Mohindra College Patiala, Punjab, India is the oldest institution of contemporary higher learning in Northern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's College, Agra</span> Indian Christian college

St. John's College is a constituent college of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, located in Agra. It is a Christian college under the Church of North India. It was established by the Church Mission Society to Agra. The college admits both undergraduates and postgraduates and awards degrees in liberal arts, commerce, sciences, business administration and education under the purview of Agra University.

<i>Amrita Bazar Patrika</i> Bengali and English newspaper from 1868 to 1991

Amrita Bazar Patrika was one of the oldest daily newspapers in India. Originally published in Bengali script, it evolved into an English format published from Kolkata and other locations such as Cuttack, Ranchi and Allahabad. The paper discontinued its publication in 1991 after 123 years of publication. Its sister newspaper was the Bengali-language daily newspaper Jugantar, which remained in circulation from 1937 till 1991.

Brajendranath Dey was an early Indian member of the Indian Civil Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya</span>

Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya (1896–1974) was a distinguished scholar of Sanskrit from India. A scholar of Sanskrit, Veda, grammar, Pali, Prakrit and philology, he was born on 27 October 1896 in village Nimta of North 24 Parganas in what was then Bengal. He came from an illustrious family of Kulina Brahmans of Deshmukho in District Hooghly. The Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay belonged to the same family and Kshetresa Chandra Chattopadhyaya inherited the spirit of Indian renaissance from him.

Mahamahopadhyaya Sir Gaṅgānāth Jhā was a scholar of Sanskrit, Indian philosophy and Buddhist philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satish Chandra (historian)</span> Indian historian (1922–2017)

Satish Chandra was an Indian historian whose main area of specialisation was medieval Indian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syed Mahmood</span> Indian barrister (1850-1903)

Justice Syed Mahmood was Puisne Judge of the High Court, in the North-Western Provinces of British India from 1887 to 1893, after having served in the High Court in a temporary capacity as officiating judge on four previous periods since 1882.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganesh Prasad</span> Indian mathematician

Ganesh Prasad was an Indian mathematician who specialised in the theory of potentials, theory of functions of a real variable, Fourier series and the theory of surfaces. He was trained at the Universities of Cambridge and Göttingen and on return to India he helped develop the culture of mathematical research in India. The mathematical community of India considers Ganesh Prasad as the ′Father of Mathematical Research in India′. He was also an educator taking special interest in the advancement of primary education in the rural areas of India.

Sir William Emerson was a British architect, who was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) from 1899 to 1902, and worked extensively in India. He was the original architect chosen to build Liverpool Cathedral.

Tara Chand was an Indian archaeologist and historian specialising in the ancient history and culture of India. He taught at Allahabad University and served as vice-chancellor in the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atul Prasad Sen</span> Bengali composer

Atul Prasad Sen was a Bengali composer, lyricist and singer, and also a lawyer, philanthropist, social worker, educationist and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes de Selincourt</span>

Agnes de Selincourt (1872–1917) was a Christian missionary in India, responsible for the founding of missions, becoming the first Principal of Lady Muir Memorial College, Allahabad, India and then Principal of Westfield College, London, UK from 1913 until her death in 1917.

Subodh Chandra Sengupta was an Indian scholar, academic and critic of English literature, known for his scholarship on Shakespearean works. His books on William Shakespeare, which included Aspects of Shakespearian Tragedy, Shakespearian Comedy and Shakespeare's Historical Plays are critically acclaimed for scholarship and academic rigor. He was a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Presidency College, Calcutta, and after retirement from Presidency College, became Professor of English Language and Literature at Jadavpur University, Calcutta, as well as a professor of English literature at Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, an autonomous college in Greater Calcutta under the University of Calcutta. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1983, for his contributions to literature and education.

References

  1. Ameeta Gupta; Ashish Kumar; Ashish Kumar (Chartered Accountant.) (1 January 2006). Handbook of Universities. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 17. ISBN   978-81-269-0607-9 . Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  2. Jonathan M. Bloom; Sheila Blair (2009). The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture. Oxford University Press. p. 57. ISBN   978-0-19-530991-1 . Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  3. B. V. Subbarayappa (2013). Science in India: A Historical Perspective. Rupa Publications. p. 265. ISBN   978-81-291-2096-0.
  4. Yogeshwar Tawari (2013) 126 year commemoration, from Active India TV
  5. 1 2 3 Avril A. Powell (2010) Scottish Orientalists and India: The Muir Brothers, Religion, Education and Empire, pages 237 to 41, Worlds of the East India Company, volume 4,Boydell Press, ISBN   978-1-84383-579-0
  6. "Harrison, Augustus Spiller (HRY843AS)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  7. s:Page:The Indian Biographical Dictionary.djvu/205
  8. The India List and India Office List. Harrison. 1905. p.  58.
  9. s:The Indian Biographical Dictionary (1915)/Thibaut, George Frederick William
  10. 1914-1947. Universities Press. 2003. p. 46. ISBN   978-81-7371-432-0 . Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  11. "Jobson, William Arthur (JB884WA)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  12. "Durack, Jeremiah Joseph Ernest (DRK900JJ)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.

The Calcutta University Calendar, 1888,1889,1890 Atul Krishna Ghosh Medalist 1887 MA English Muir Central College, CU Atul Krishna Ghosh, Muir Alumni, Principal Maharajah Mohindra College Patiala 1888-1907