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St. Xavier's College, Kolkata

Coordinates: 22°32′54″N 88°21′21″E / 22.54837°N 88.35596°E / 22.54837; 88.35596
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St. Xavier's College (SXC)
Image of the campus
The Campus
MottoNihil Ultra (Latin)
Motto in English
Nothing Beyond
TypePrivate
Established16 January 1860
Religious affiliation
Jesuit (Roman Catholic)
Academic affiliation
University of Calcutta
RectorGeorge Ponodath S.J.[1]
PrincipalFelix Raj S.J.[1]
Administrative staff
550
Students5,000
Undergraduates4,500
Postgraduates500
Location
30, Park Street
Kolkata – 700016
India
(Map)
CampusUrban
ColoursBlue and White    
NicknameThe Xaverians
WebsiteSXCcal.edu
File:Logo of St. Xavier's College.gif
College Logo

St. Xavier's College is an Indian private master's college located in Kolkata, India. Founded in 1860, it is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. In 2006, it became the first autonomous college in West Bengal, India,[2] and is affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is a prestigious undergraduate and post-graduate college.[3] The college has repeatedly featured on the list of Top Ten colleges in India in surveys conducted by both India Today and Nielsen.

History

The College was founded in 1860 under the leadership of Fr. Henri Depelchin. The Society of Jesus (whose members are known as Jesuits) is an all-male Catholic religious order founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, along with his early companions (including St Francis Xavier), in 1540. Education has historically been an important ministry in the Society, some even calling them the "school-masters of Europe", for their extensive network of Seminaries, High Schools and Universities on that continent.[4] Jesuit Education has a long history in India, stretching back to 1542, when Saint Paul's College, Goa was founded by Jesuit missionaries, headed by St Francis Xavier.

The college campus is located at 30 Park Street (now Mother Teresa Sarani), Kolkata-700016 where the San Souci theatre was previously located, the theatre was burnt by the students in order for the college to be constructed and the Jesuits were handed the premises to start the college by the then bishop of Calcutta, Mgr Olliffe. These were very humble beginnings, with only about 40 students spread over three classes. In 1862, two years after its inception, the college was affiliated to the Calcutta University.

The present 30, Park Street address where the College is situated is an amalgamation of numbers 10 and 11 of Park Street, which is located in central Calcutta and is a landmark street in the city, a melting pot of its diverse cultural, culinary, social and intellectual milieu. The rich Anglo-Indians donated generously to the efforts of the Jesuits. And with a donation from the home Province of Belgium, premises no.11 was bought for Rs 45,000.00 in 1864, by Fr Depelchen. However there was a paucity of funds for expansion work in terms of class rooms and to accommodate the Jesuits fathers. So The Rector appealed to the public of Calcutta in newspapers for generous assistance and was responded with magnanimity by well wishers of the city in 1864. Besides Fr Depelchin and his assistant and Br. Koppes the builder went around personally collecting funds. The present imposing 5 storied building was built in an interval of 6 years, from 1934 to 1940 at a cost of Rs 9 lakhs, which was collected partly from the public of Calcutta, assistance from Belgium, and the huge rental received from the American army that occupied the building during the second war.[5][6] Expansion of the college has been a ceaseless effort, with a campus slated to come up in Salt Lake City, Kolkata and a second boys' hostel not far away from the existing one.

A commemorative stamp was issued by the Indian Post on 12th, April 1985 depicting the college campus.[5]

The first convocation ceremony of the college was held on 18 January 2008. The first batch of Master's programme student in Computer Science was awarded its degrees in the presence of Mr. M. Hamid Ansari, the Vice-President of India and an alumnus of the College.[7][8]

Past Principals of the College:

1) Fr. Verstraeten, SJ (1959 - 1966), 2) Fr. De Bonhome, SJ (1966 - 1977), 3) Fr. Joseph D’ Souza, SJ (1977 - 1995), 4) Fr. P.C. Mathew, SJ (1995 - 2009) 5) Fr. J. Felix Raj, SJ ( 2009 onwards )


Dignitaries who have visited St. Xavier's College in recent years:

Shri Ginai Zail Singh in 1985, H.H. Pope John Paul II in 1986, Mother Teresa in 1991, Dr. Abdul Kalam in 2004 and in 2011. Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi in 2006, Shri Hamid Ansari, an Alumnus, in 2008, Shri Pranab Mukherjee in 2009, Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2010, Shri P. Chidamparam in 2010, Shri M.K. Narayanan in 2011, Shri Amitabh Bachan in 2011, Mamata Banerjee in 2012

Courses

The college has Morning batch for boys only, that offers the Bachelors of Commerce degree. The Day section of the college houses the Arts and Science departments which offer undergraduate (honours) degrees in various subjects like English, Bengali, Political Science, Sociology, Microbiology, Computer Science, Animation and Multimedia, Mass Communication and Videography, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, and Economics. Masters programs in Commerce (evening session), Biotechnology (integrated 5 year M.Sc), Physics, Microbiology and Education are housed in the college along with the co-educational Bachelors of Commerce and Bachelors of Business Administration programs.[9]

The college, in its first ever foreign collaboration, has entered into a tie-up with the University of Manitoba, Canada. The MOU was unveiled on 4 Feb 2008 by the principal of the college, Father PC Mathew and the dean of the faculty of food and agricultural sciences at Manitoba University, Professor Michael Trevan.[10]

Infrastructure

The college classes are spread over four floors across two buildings. There are over 50 classrooms, half a dozen audio-visual rooms and three computer laboratories, each with a capacity to seat over 70 people. The college also has well-equipped physics, chemistry and biotechnology laboratories to support the requirements of their respective departments; the Mass Communication and Videography department has a video library to assist its film students. The Central Library, spread over two floors, houses reference books from a gamut of different subjects, in addition to numerous periodicals, again from diverse fields; scientific journals and archives are also available as are books on fiction. The auditorium, equipped with state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, has a seating capacity of over 800 people. The football, tennis and basketball courts are located behind the main college building and are shared between the college students and the students of St. Xavier's Collegiate School, the secondary section of which is housed in an adjacent flank of the college building. The canteen, the "Green Benches" - a popular, wi-fi enabled, student hangout area and Fr. Joris's Corner- an in-house stationery shop, are located parallel to the sports grounds.[11]

The college has a culture of festivals- inter- and intra-college that span its academic calendar; that apart, the college campus and auditorium are often chosen as venues by outsider parties, in collaboration with the college, to host discussions and events. The NDTV debate on the Rizwanur Rahman episode is a case in point.[12] The college has also played host to numerous celebrity guests: Amitabh Bachchan and Prakash Jha visited the campus to promote their film Aarakshan in the year 2011; Former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has been a part of the college's annual Earth Summit more than once; Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Home Minister and current Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have graced the college on successive convocation and valedictories.[13]

Community

Apart from doing service to the community in the educational sphere, it is also involved in the environmental issues, youth welfare, women's welfare and poverty reduction.

The college has an elected non-political student body called St. Xavier's College Student Union (SXCSU) which co-ordinates all the cultural activities on the campus. The union is elected by representatives from all classes, clubs, and associations, and is led by the General Secretary. All cultural events including Xavotsav are organised by the Cultural Secretary.

The College also has many active clubs, which are aimed at building leadership, creativity and managerial qualities in students. A list of clubs and societies are mentioned bellow:[14]

  • Leadership Training Service (LTS)[15]
  • Fine Arts Society
  • National Cadet Corps (NCC)
  • National Service Scheme (NSS)
  • Hindi Literary Society (HLS)
  • Bengali Literary Society (BLS)
  • Xavierian Theatrical Society (XTS)
  • Xavierian Association of Photography
  • Xavier's Academy of Dance & Music (XADAM)
  • Xavier's Commerce Society (XCS)
  • The All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF)
  • The Debating Society (XDS)
  • The English Academy

XDS also coordinates quizzing, is one of the most well known clubs, owing to Xavier's' heritage of producing excellent speakers.[16]

Festivals

St.Xavier's College has some of the best festivals at the Undergraduate level in the country.

  • Xavotsav, the cultural festival is held annually in late January or early February.[17] Most colleges of Kolkata are invited to participate in events like Band Performance, Neon Dance, Classical Dance, Singing etc. This festival is organized by the Students Union along with the alumni body of the college.
  • Inertia, the marketing festival is held annually in February or March.[18] The events comprises Ambush Marketing, Ad Spoof, Brand Manager and International Trade. The participants of this festival are Undergraduate as well as post-graduate students from around the India and neighboring countries. This festival is organized by the students and professors of the Department of Management (Commerce).
  • Insignia, the commerce festival is held annually in mid February.[19] The top ten commerce colleges of India are invited to fight it out in events like Human Resource Management (HRM), Best Manager, Business Quiz and Entrepreneurship Development (ED)among many other events . This festival is organized by the students of the Bachelors of Commerce (B.Com).
  • Xavier's Management Convention (XMC), the management festival is held annually in February or March.[20] XMC is a national festival. It includes events like Stress Interview (SI), B-Quiz (BQ), Business Plans(BP) and Advertising. This festival is organized by the students of the Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA).

St.Xavier's is the only English medium college to have a separate festival for Hindi and Bengali.

  • Vividha, the Hindi festival, comprises events like Drama Competition, Extempore, Elocution etc.[21] The mode of communication throughout the festival is Hindi.This festival is organized by the members of the Hindi Literary Society (HLS).
  • Xavullash, the Bengali festival, comprises events like Debate, Extempore, Elocution etc. The mode of communication throughout the festival is Bengali.This festival is organized by the members of the Bengali Literary Society (BLS).

Publications

A list of magazines that college students publish every year. These magazines are widely appreciated in academic circles:

  • Xaverian: includes articles of students and staff members sharing their experiences of college.[22] It also includes interviews from famous alumni members and photos of passing out batches.
  • Youthink, the annual commerce journal includes articles from students and staff members on current commerce related issues.[23] The topics in the past volumes were The Business of Sports, Turbulent Times, Superpowers, and Change. The theme for Vol. 7 is "The Gamble" which reflects the underlying risks in today's world.
  • Eco Echoes is the annual economics journal published by the Economics Department.[24]

Philanthropy and social activities

St.Xavier's College indulges in many social activities.

The college has adopted several villages in West Bengal. It funds for the building of proper infrastructure in these villages. It also provides food and shelter to the needy residing in these villages. The whole activity is funded by the students and alumni members. This project is called Prayas and was started by Rev. Felix Raj, S.J, the principal of the college.[25]

The college has a tie up with the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP) . Students of the college go to teach the special children of IICP every week.[26]

Village to College Camp, the social service festival is held annually in early January. Underprivileged children are brought to the college campus from nearby villages and slums for a fun filled day of activity and entertainment. The children are provided with free meals and gifts. This festival is organized by the National Service Scheme (NSS).[27]

Alumni Association (SXCAA)

The college has a very active Alumni Association with the Principal of the college as its President.[28] The association supports the college in several projects by extending financial and managerial assistance. SXCAA is registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act.[29] It was the first alumni association in Kolkata to be granted 80G Certification from the Income Tax Department. Thus acknowledging SXCAA's philanthropic activities.

SXCAA,off late, has been expanding its reach to ex-students, by opening chapters of itself, in several cities around the world. Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, London, Dubai, New York, Dhaka are some of the latest additions.[30]

Project 'Lakshaya' was launched by the college to invite donations from alumni members to fund a new campus.[31] The college was allotted 16 acres of land, at Rajarhat (New Town), by the West Bengal government, for the new campus. The plot of land will cost a subsidized 64 crores.[32]

Rankings

St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, all India Rankings
Department/Course 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
Commerce/B.Com 2nd[33] 2nd[34] 1st[35] 2nd[36] 3rd[36] 4th[37] 4th[38]
Science/BSc 4th[39] 3rd[40] 5th[41] 3rd[42] 5th[43] 2nd[42] 8th[43]
Arts/BA 5th[39] 7th[44] 5th[45] 5th[45] 9th[46] 5th[46] 6th[46]

Notable alumni

India

Business

Sports

Academics

Politics and government

Diplomats

Arts and Entertainment

Writers

Science

Other

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Nepal

Singapore

Notable faculty

St. Xavier's has benefited from the services of prominent faculty and professors whose teachings have influenced generations of students

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Aministration". St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  2. ^ sxccal.edu Autonomous Notice Retrieved on 4 February 2008
  3. ^ indiatoday.intoday.in
  4. ^ bbc.co.uk the jesuits Retrieved on 4 February 2008
  5. ^ a b indianpost.com commemorative stamp Retrieved on 4 February 2008
  6. ^ sxccal.edu history Retrieved on 6 February 2008
  7. ^ indiaedunews.net first convocation Retrieved on 4 February 2008
  8. ^ pib.nic.in Govt. of India, Press Release Retrieved on 6 February 2008
  9. ^ "List of Courses".
  10. ^ economictimes.indiatimes.com tie-up with The University of Manitoba Retrieved on 6 February 2008
  11. ^ "Pictures and description of infrastructure".
  12. ^ The Rizwanur Debate on NDTV
  13. ^ Pictures of Notable Visitors
  14. ^ "List of clubs and societies".
  15. ^ Leadership Training Service (LTS) Official Website
  16. ^ Societies/Communities
  17. ^ Xavotsav
  18. ^ Inertia
  19. ^ Insignia reference
  20. ^ Xavier's Management Convention(XMC)
  21. ^ Vividha
  22. ^ Xaverian Magazine
  23. ^ Youthink Journal
  24. ^ Eco Echoes Journal
  25. ^ Prayas
  26. ^ IICP association
  27. ^ Village to College Camp
  28. ^ SXCAA
  29. ^ SXCAA Official Site
  30. ^ SXCAA Chapters
  31. ^ Project Lakshaya
  32. ^ New campus cost
  33. ^ "2012 India Today Rankings". Indiatoday.intoday.in.
  34. ^ "Lady Shri Ram College for Women Best Arts Colleges 2011 India Today Survey". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  35. ^ [1][dead link]
  36. ^ a b 8 July 2011  (8 July 2011). "15 year toppers in Commerce colleges : Best Colleges: India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 19 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Text "UPDATED 14:08 IST" ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Maheshwari, Shruti (4 June 2007). "India Today". India Today. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  38. ^ Bali, Pallavi (5 June 2006). "India Today". India Today. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  39. ^ a b "2012 India Today Rankings". Indiatoday.intoday.in.
  40. ^ "Lady Shri Ram College for Women Best Arts Colleges 2011 India Today Survey". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  41. ^ http://media2.intoday.in/microsites/bestcolleges/Science_2010.pdf
  42. ^ a b 8 July 2011  (8 July 2011). "15 year toppers in Science colleges : Best Colleges: India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 19 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Text "UPDATED 14:07 IST" ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  43. ^ a b "India Today". Specials.indiatoday.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  44. ^ "Lady Shri Ram College for Women Best Arts Colleges 2011 India Today Survey". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  45. ^ a b http://media2.intoday.in/microsites/bestcolleges/Arts_2010.pdf
  46. ^ a b c "India Today". Specials.indiatoday.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  47. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/surya-subramanian/7/919/800
  48. ^ http://www.haata.com/ex-envoy-at-xavier%E2%80%99s-reunion/
  49. ^ http://www.tatamotors.com/investors/annualreports-pdf/Annual-Report-2010.pdf
  50. ^ "Aki Narula:Biography". indobase.
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