N.J.S.A Govt.College, Kapurthala

It comes to the honour of very few institutions to celebrate golden, platinum or diamond jubilees of their existence, but celebrating post-centenary golden jubilee is a rarity. Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Government College, erstwhile known as Randhir College, Kapurthala is one such institution, and rather only one in the whole of Punjab which has entered in the 150th year of its establishment. It was established as a Sanskrit Vidyalya and named as Randhir School in the year of 1856 by the visionary ruler of Kapurthala, His Highness Raja Randhir Singh. It happens to be the same year in which three universities in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay were established under the new education policy based on the Woods Dispatches of 1854. The students used to sit under a Peepal tree, under which a Havan Kund was erected, and get education in the traditional Guru-Shishya Prampara. This 200 year old Peepal tree still adorns the college premises. In 1864 teaching up to the entrance standard was introduced and an European Mr. Hudsen was appointed as principal in 1871.

Four languages, Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit and English were taught by this time. Apart from Sanskrit education of Priyjna, Visharad and Shashtri, it taught up to matriculation standard and was affiliated to Calcutta University in 1877. Till the year of 1882, when Punjab University Lahore was set up, it remained affiliated to the Calcutta University. Being the only institution of higher learning in the region, the students from other princely states and neighbouring British ruled districts of Jullundur and Hoshiarpur were also studying here, whose number had swelled to 280 by 1878-79. Most of these students were staying in the boarding. The institution made rapid strides in the field of education under the able guidance of three European principals, Mr Hudsen, Mr A.R.Wood and Mr A.W. Healy till the year of 1890 as Maharaja was a minor and the control of the state was in the hands of English administrators.

On assuming active control in 1890, H.H. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh Started taking keen interest in the education system of the state and raised it to intermediate college in 1896. The subjects of natural sciences were also added to the curriculum of the college during this period. Maharaja having a great love for French, introduced the language in college in 1916 and this became the only institution teaching French in the region. To accommodate the rising number of students, a new U-shaped building was constructed around old Peepal tree, consisting of modern day classrooms and verandas in the year of 1912, commemorating the visit of H.H. the king emperor of India and was inaugurated on April 7, 1913 by Sir Louis Dane, the then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab. This building is known as U-block and the classes are held in this even today, with the old Peepal tree still being intact and witness to the old as well as the modern methods of teaching in one

In the year of 1916, the college Jubilee Hall was constructed in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of installation of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh to the throne. It is a magnificent building with the touches of French architecture. It was constructed with multipurpose use as examination hall, conference hall and reading corridors of the library. In 1930 the college library was also housed in this mammoth building and remained there for a long time.

According to the Punjab University Lahore’s Calendar of 1918-19, total 27 institutions of higher learning were affiliated to it by the time. Apart from 24 intermediate and degree colleges, two were medical and one agriculture institution. Randhir college stands oldest in the region established as an institution. The two other prominent institutions of the area, Mohindera College, Patiala and Khalsa College Amritsar were established as schools in the years of 1870 and 1893 respectively and promoted to intermediate and degree colleges in the later years. Only exception was Edwards college Peshawar which was established as school in 1855. Even the most famous of the times Government College Lahore and Foreman Christian College Lahore were established as schools in 1864 and 1866 respectively.

The college was reorganized on the lines suggested by Lord Curzon’s commission in 1905 and Mr. Manohar Lal was appointed the Principal cum DPI of all the educational institutions of the state. Principal Manohar Lal was succeeded by Mr. H.Y.Langhorne, M.A. Cantab in 1910. It was during his tenure that the number of students increased drastically in the schools and college of the state. The high priority and the status attached to the education by state rulers is evident from the fact that the salary paid to the principal and teachers was much higher than the other functionaries of the state. Principal Langhorne was getting a monthly salary of Rs. 400 per month plus Rs. 100 as special allowance, where as the professors were paid a monthly salary of Rs 275 per month. In comparison, the salaries drawn by the Sessions Judge, Magistrate, A.G., S.P. and CMO were Rs. 425, Rs. 325, Rs 275 and Rs.250 respectively. Only Chief Judge was getting a salary of Rs. 550 per month, higher than the principal. In these days the normal salary of the clerks and other lower rung functionaries used to be in the range of Rs. 15 to 30 per month. Lala Mathura Dass, who succeeded as principal of the college in the year of 1914, on October 29, 1914 to be more precise, was appointed in the grade of 150-15-325. He was a remarkable scholar and a school after his name was established in the city and is still functional as MDSD senior secondary school. The other prominent teachers of the time included Lala Tej Ram, of maths, S. Arbel Singh, (later principal of the college), Sh Jagmohan Lal of English and History, Mr Mohamad Ali of Persian and Arabic and Pandit Shri Ram of Sanskrit

Since a large number of students were from other states and far flung areas, a majority of them were staying in the boarding. A serai, named Victoria Serai was erected for their accommodation and later on a massive boys hostel, exclusively for the college students was constructed in the year of 1920. The education was free for Oriental students and even the lodging and boarding expenses of them were borne by ‘Dharam-Arth’ department of the state. Till the construction of hostel, these students used to be accommodated in the Panj Mandri, an old mandir in the city. The poor, but otherwise meritorious students were given a stipend of Rs. 4 to 10 per month by Kumar Amarjit Singh, B.A. (Captain), son of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh.

How popular the institution became in the region is evident from the rise in number of students, which was 110 in 1912, 37 being in Oriental section and 73 being in college. It rose to 175 in 1915 and 272 in 1925. The strength remained steady in the coming years, with about 200 students being in the college and around 40 to 45 in the oriental section. Four more languages, Urdu, French, Hindi and Gurmukhi were added in 1916-17 apart from English, Arabian, Persian and Sanskrit taught earlier, taking the total to eight. Majority of the students were offering English, Persian and Urdu. Those taking Arabic, French and Gurmukhi were comparatively lesser. Usually half of the students were Muslims as about 60 per cent of the population of the state consisted of Muslim population prior to the partition of the country. In 1935 the evening classes were also started in photography, shorthand and type writing and many working students availed this facility to rise up in the career.

The co-education classes were started in 1943 with only 12 girls joining the college at that time. However, their number grew to 21 in 1945-46, which was too meager in the total strength of 233 students. How orthodox the society was, is apparent from the fact that there used to be a veil in the center of the classroom, which separated the girl students from the boys. But Maharaja Jagatjit Singh was committed to women education and opened exclusive schools for girls in the other towns of the state.

Taking further strides, degree classes in Arts and Science were started in 1946 and the college became a post-graduate institution in 1976 by introducing M.A. English. At present the college has post-graduation in three subjects, viz. English, Economics and Commerce. Three new courses, PGDCA, B.Sc. Computer Science and B.Sc. Economics have been introduced in 2006 on self-finance basis and a computer lab with 20 terminals has been provided for.

The college also excelled in the field of sports and teams in Football, Hockey, Cricket and Tennis participated in various university tournaments. A valuable trophy in Cricket and Football was started in 1909 to encourage the sports. As a result of these efforts, the college Football team got very strong and became champion by winning Intermediate College University Tournament for the first time in 1929 defeating Government College, Ludhiana and Government College, Hoshiarpur. Boxing, Baseball and Basketball were introduced in 1931 and many good players were produced. It became a nursery of Basketball in the later years and produced a number of international players, like Arjuna Awardee Sajjan Singh Cheema, Arjuna Awardee Parminder Singh Bhandal and many more, who represented India in Asia and other international matches. Kabaddi was another game in which the college has the distinction of producing the likes of Sarwan Singh Bal, international player and Kabbadi coach.

An annual Education Durbar used to be held every year in the month of February or March in the college campus with H.H. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh presiding over it. Annual report of the college used to be read by the principal of the college-cum-DPI of the state. The results and performance of the other educational institutions in the state was also presented on the occasion. A gold medal, worth Rs.100 was awarded by Maharaja to that student who stood first in F.A. exam in the college and Silver Medal was given to the topper in Oriental Section. All the higher authorities of education department used to be present and prizes were given to the students who excelled in the field of education or sports. At the close of the function, H.H. Maharaja Sahib used to address the students and make major announcements concerning the education.

Randhir College with a rich alumnus has the honour of producing some of the finest students in its long history of 150 years. They include Late. S. Swarn Singh, Ex- foreign Minister of India, Ghulam Mohammed, Ex-Governor of Pakistan, S. Balwant Singh, Ex-Finance Minister of Punjab, S. Gulzar Singh and S.Jagtar Singh Multani both Ex-Ministers of Punjab, S. Kirpal Singh Dhillon, an Ex-MLA, Dr. Upinderjit Kaur MLA & Ex-Minister, S. Raghbir Singh, Ex-Minister, Mr. Jaspal Singh Ex-IPS officer and later minister in Govt. of Gujrat. A large number of Civil Servants and other higher officials, including Mr. A.N. Kashyap, Ex-Chief Secretary of Punjab, Mr. D.S. Jaspal, Principal Secretary, Information and Public Relations, Ms. Bhavna Garg, IAS, Dr. Inderjeet Kaur Barthakur, Ex- Consultant to Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India, Mr. G.S.Aujla, IPS DGP Punjab, Mr. D.L. Kashyap, IPS, Mr. Mr Jaspal Singh IPS, Mr. R.P Mittal, IPS and many others remained on the rolls of this prestigious institution. Players of the international fame in the Basketball, Arjuna Awardee Sajjan Singh Cheema, Parminder Singh Bhandal, Mubark Ali of Pakistan, and many others were the products of this college. In the intellectual and literary field, it has to its credit Sohan Singh Meesha and Surjit Pattar, the two great poets, apart from Rajwinder Singh, the German poet laureate. In cinema and theatre, the film actor Promod Moutho and Harvinder Kaur Babli of National School of Drama and many other screen performers are proud products of the college. In the field of education, this institution produced a large number of teachers, lecturers and principals.

But alas, this institution with a glorious past, today is in neglect. Many others that came years later are far ahead of it because of the infrastructural deficiencies. The college hostel, which once accommodated more than 70 students from far-flung areas was demolished and acquired by PUDA in 2000 with the promise of building a new one, but it still remains a promise. The college needs urgently a modern academic block, which too has not transcended from the laying of a foundation stone in 2004. With tears in its eyes, this alma-mater begs from its alumnus, who are high-ups and occupying respectable positions in various fields, to return it her previous shine and glory in form of new building, equipment, sports complex and plenty of funds so that it may produce many others like them. In this hope, it invites them all to join the celebrations of its 150th year of establishment on 27th & 28th September 2006.

I feel extremely honoured and privileged to extend a warm and hearty welcome to a person of eminence, the Chief Guest for today Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Govt of India. We are grateful to you, Sir, for having magnanimously acceded to our request and sparing your precious time to grace the commemoration of 150th year of this college.

Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia has been a key figure in India’s economic reforms from the early 1980’s onwards and needs no introduction, but I would like to place before the august audience some of his achievements so that our students can get inspiration from him.

Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia earned his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from St. Stephen’s College New Delhi, and his Master of Arts and M.Phil. degree as a Rhodes scholar from the University of Oxford.

• Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia has been holding very important assignments starting with the first director of Independent Evaluation Office, IMF Washington from June 2004


• He worked as an economist, Deputy Division Chief and then Chief, Income Distribution division of the World Bank Washington DC from 1968 to 1979.


• Thereafter, he became Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi from 1979 to 1985. He was appointed Additional Secretary to Prime Minister in the year 1985 and Special Secretary to Prime Minister from 1988 till 1990.


• He became Commerce Secretary in 1990 and Secretary, Department of Ecnomic Affairs, Ministry of Finance in 1991


• He remained Finance Secretary from 1993 to 1998. He was member, Planning Commission, Government of India from 1998 to 2001.


• Presently Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia is holding a key post of Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India since July 2004.


• He has to his credit a number of papers published in professional journals and contributions to books.

Sir, we are honoured to have you amongst us today on this Historic Occasion of Post Centenary Golden Jubilee Celebrations of N.J.S.A. Government College Kapurthala and we are sure that your multifaceted personality will leave an indelible mark on many minds and will encourage them to emulate your rare qualities.

On behalf of all the staff members and students, I extend a warm welcome to Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Rana Gurjit Singh (MP) Jalandhar, S. Raminder Singh, D.C. Kapurthala, Sh. Rajiv Ahir, S.S.P. and all the distinguished guests who have graced this occasion with their august presence.

Once again heartiest welcome to the chief guest of today Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Government College, Kapurthala has the honour of being the oldest educational institution of Punjab and also has the proud privilege of celebrating 150th year of its inception this year.

It gives me immense pleasure and sense of pride to say that the glorious history of this institution has been blended into evolving excellence of present academic atmosphere. To state it in brief, initially it was set up as a Sanskrit Vidyalya in 1856 by Raja Randhir Singh. It was upgraded to intermediate college in 1896 and to a degree college in 1945. Commerce faculty was started in 1986 and B.Sc. (Medical) was introduced in 1991. Post-Graduate classes in English, Economics and M.Com. were introduced in 1968, 1978 and 2004 respectively. It is a matter of great pride that this is the only Government College, affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar providing the facility for the study of M.Com. From this academic session three new courses have been introduced in the college, i.e. B.Sc. (Economics), B.Sc. (Computer Science) and Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Application.

In the changing scenario of the 21st century, the mission of the college is to provide theoretical and practical knowledge of science, commerce and social sciences to empower educationally weaker sections of the society with the tools to achieve all round development, to inculcate social and civic responsibilities amongst the students so that they become responsible citizens and the pride of future India.

Here, I would like to mention that the institution has produced a large number of illustrious personalities in almost all the fields. To name a few, S. Swaran Singh, Ex-foreign Minister of India, S. Balwant Singh, Ex-Finance Minister of Punjab, Mr. A.N. Kashyap, Ex-Chief Secretary of Punjab, Sh. Govardhan Lal Bakshi, Ex-Director Public Instruction, S. Damanbir Singh Jaspal (I.A.S.), Principal Secretary, Govt. of Punjab, Ms. Bhawana Garg (I.A.S.), Dr. G.S. Aujla, Director General of Police (rules), Punjab, S. Surjit Pattar and S.S. Misha renowned poets. The College also has the honour of being known as the nursery of Basketball and has produced many a renowned sports persons of international repute; prominent amongst whom are Arjuna Awardees Mr. Sajjan Singh Cheema and Mr. Parminder Singh Bhandal. There is a prolific list which goes on and on. Keeping in mind the rich tradition of sports a Basketball court of international standards has been constructed this year, the sole credit of which goes to Late. Mr. Bhagat Singh Bhandal, distinguished member of OSA (Old Students Association) of this college. Mr. Sarwan Singh Bal, Kabaddi player and coach of International repute also belongs to this college.

Ladies and gentlemen, intense efforts are being made to expand the academic and infrastructural scope of this college but innumerable challenges still lie ahead as the institution lacks many basic and modern facilities.

Some buildings of the college are historical whereas some were constructed later and some are still in the process of being constructed. Recently, the foundation stone for a new academic block has been laid by Honorable Member Parliament Rana Gurjit Singh. The construction of the new Academic Block is the immediate need of the college as the college lacks a Post-Graduate wing, departmental rooms and departmental libraries. Multi-Media Lab, Computer Labs, Conference Hall, Student Canteen, Hostels and Toilet’s for boys and Girls, Multipurpose Indoor Hall, Sports Facilities like Synthetic Track, Gymnasium Hall, Shooting Range, Student Centre and above all a new Library Building are also the urgent need of the college. The existing college library needs to be computerized and air-conditioned. The historical Jubilee Hall of the college is in a dilapidated condition and declared unsafe. Its preservation is the need of the hour. I make a humble request to all to join us in this noble endeavour to develop this institution with rich history and help us to achieve our goals in the coming years so that it may continue to be recognized as a seat of educational excellence.

Like previous years, in this year too the Staff of our college has made remarkable achievements in different fields and have been appointed members of academic bodies of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

• Prof. Ms. Saroj Bala Verma, Head, Sanskrit Department attended Sanskrit Seminar on 23rd and 24th of March 2006 organized by Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar (Punjab).
• Prof. Pritpal Singh, Head, Economics Deptt. has been appointed Member of Board of Studies (Postgraduate) of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Member, Board of Moderation (Postgraduate) of the same university.
• Dr. Gurbaksh Singh Bhandal, Head, Physics Department, published his 8th book of essays entitled Ghar Ardaas Kare.
• Dr. Jaswant Singh presented a research paper on “Partition of the Punjab and its Impact on the Lubana Community” at Punjab History Conference Patiala in March 2006.
• Prof. (Ms.) Jatinder Kaur Dhir attended an International Conference on “World Peace” organized by Inter religious International World Peace Foundation at Red Cross Bhawan, Jalandhar. She is also an active member of an NGO of great repute, PAHAL.
• Prof. Varinder Kumar, Head, Deptt. of Commerce, has 25 books to his credit. His books have been prescribed for various classes of Banglore University, Karnataka University, Jammu University, ICSI.
• Prof. Jaswinder Singh of Commerce Department presented research papers “Forensic Accounting: A Profession of New Millennium” at an International Conference, organized by PCMA at Ludhiana, “Globalisation: Its Impact on Financial Reporting” at International Conference on Management, organized by Lovely Institute of Management Phagwara and “Service Sector Off shoring; India’s Opportunities” at 2nd International Conference, organized by PCMA at Jalandhar.
• Dr. Bikram Singh Virk of Deptt. of Commerce, presented three research papers at National Level Seminars. He has published at least 12 papers in various newspapers and magazines. He is a regular columnisist writing for six national and international newspapers including Frontier Post of Pakistan, Door Des of Canada, Ajit Jalandhar, Magazine Advisor, Desh Sewak and Punjabi Tribune. He attended a three day conference of South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) at Hyderabad in January 2006. He delivered four extension lectures in various institutions. He was appointed member of board of studies (Under Graduate Classes) of Commerece Faculty GNDU in 2006.
• Prof. Ms. Satvinder Kaur of Economics Department submitted a research paper on “State’s Role in Higher Education” for International Conference on Higher Education. She has also been invited to present a paper in a seminar on “Service Sector in India- Growth, Problems and Prospects” to be held in November 2006.
• Prof. Ms. Navjot Kaur Kang has been appointed member of the Board of Moderation in the subject of English for the term 01-07-06 to 30-06-07.
• Prof. Ms. Chander Kanta of History Deptt. gave the key lecture as a resource person at In-Service Teachers’ Training Centre Kapurthala on 4/9/2006. Her paper “Role of Kapurthala State in World War I” was published in the Punjab History Conference Proceedings.
• Prof. Tirath Ram Basra of Commerce Department, presented research papers on “Changing Leadership Styles in New Millennium” at PCMA Conference held at Ludhiana, “India’s Export Potential in Education Services” at PCMA Conference held at Jalandhar and “Globalization and Cross-Border Mobility of Labour” at National Conference at Lovely Institute of Management at Phagwara. He was also made member of Faculty of Economics and Business of Guru Nanak Dev University.
• Prof. Anita Sagar, lecturer in Philosophy, has been appointed member in the faculty of Humanities and Religious Studies of GNDU Amritsar.
• Dr. Harbans Singh Chahal of English Department has been appointed Honorary Editor of Nirmal Noor, a renowned trilingual environmental magazine.
• Dr. Meena Sethi took part in a national conference on “Chemistry and Environment” at Khalsa College Amritsar and an International Conference on “Conservation of Water Resources” at Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar.
• Dr. Sukhpal Singh Thind of Punjabi Deptt. presented his papers in various literary seminars and conferences. Recognizing the value of his work in the field of literary criticism, Kurukshetra University has included his name in the panel of writers for Postgraduate classes. His famous travelogue about Canada, after being published in book form, is now being serialized in an international Punjabi magazine “South Asian Review”.
• Prof. Prabhjot Singh of Physics Department took part in International Conference at Nuclear Science Centre New Delhi. Dr. Bhandal and Prof Prabhjot Singh attended a two-day Workshop held by Education Department for orientation in Edu-sat in Mohali.
• Dr. Jasmeet Sethi of Chemistry Deptt. and Monika Mehra of Music Department have been nominated as members of the Guru Nanak Dev University Senate for the period from 1/7/2006 to 30/6/2008.
• Prof. Prem Lata Mittal has been appointed Member of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University for a period from 01/07/06 to 30/06/08. She gave an extension lecture on Human Rights at In-Service Training Centre Kapurthala.
• Prof. Soni Devi, Head, Music (Vocal) Deptt. and Prof. Monika Mehra, lecturer in Music (Instrumental) have been appointed members of Faculty of Visual and Performing Arts of Guru Nanak Dev University for a period from 01/07/2006 to 30/6/2008.
• Prof. Usha Shetre of Hindi Department was appointed member of Board of Hindi Studies of Guru Nanak Dev University.
• Besides, the faculty members keep on attending refresher and orientation courses and updating their knowledge.