Serampore College
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| Established | 1818 |
|---|---|
| Type | College |
| Staff | 79 (teaching), 30 (non-teaching) |
| Principal | Dr. Lalchungnunga |
| Students | 2,277 |
| Location | Serampore, West Bengal India |
| Campus | Rural |
| Affiliations | Senate of Serampore College (University) and University of Calcutta |
| *NAC 2004 report on the College and its degree issuing position | |
Serampore College, located in Serampore Town, in Hooghly District, West Bengal, India, consists of a theological college and a college of arts, science, and commerce. The Senate of Serampore College (University)[1] administers the theological college conferring theological degrees upon authority of a Danish charter.[2]
History
Founding by English missionaries
English missionaries known as the Serampore Trio) founded Serampore College in 1818. [3] They included William Carey, Joshua Marshman, and William Ward The Serampore Trio aimed to give an education in arts and sciences to students of every "caste, colour or country" and to train people for ministry in the growing church in India (See: Christianity in India). The Trio's commitment to evangelize India dove-tailed with their commitment to education in India. As early missionary pioneers in the blossoming world-wide missionary movement of the 19th century, their work served as a model for Protestant missionary work.
From its beginning, the college has been ecumenical but that placed the college in the difficult place of having to seek financial support broadly rather than from one denomination. Prior to 1818, the Serampore Trio had worked together in providing education for their own children and the children, including females, of the Indian people.
Original charter from Denmark
Since Denmark colonized Serampore at the time of the founding of the college, King Frederick VI, the King of Denmark, issued Serampore College its Royal Charter of Incorporation on February 23, 1827, in Copenhagen, Denmark (Charter, 1, Charter, 2, Charter, 3). The charter came in response to Joshua Marshman's visit to King Frederick in August 1826; the charter gave Serampore College the privilege of awarding degrees in arts and theology. William Carey, Joshua Marshman and John Clark Marshman (Joshua's son) had been designated as members of the first council. At its opening, the Serampore Trio released a prospectus which proposed "A College for the instruction of Asiatic Christian and other Youth in Eastern Literature and European Science." The college, open to all people of any caste or creed, hired faculty members without using a denominational test. The charter has also been confirmed by the Bengal Government Act IV of 1918.
Control passed back to the British
After February 22, 1845, when Denmark sold all of its Indian assets to Britain, the management and operation of the college continued without interruption under the direction of a master and council. In 1856, the Baptist Missionary Society in England took over the management of the college and, in 1857, the college became affiliated with the newly established University of Calcutta, existing as a constituent college within the university.
Arts college closes to become full-time seminary
In 1883 the college closed as an arts college and began functioning as a Christian Training Institution and a theological institute for the Baptist churches in Bengal. Affiliating again with the University of Calcutta in 1911, Serampore College, in 1913, was authorized to award the Bachelor of Arts degree. The college faculty was interdenominational.
Twentieth century
On December 4, 1915, the first group of Bachelor of Divinity students graduated:
- The Reverend I. W. Johory, Professor in the Canadian Mission College, Indore;
- The Reverend N. G. Kuriakos, a priest in the Orthodox Syrian Church; and
- Mr. D. M. Devasahayam, London Missionary Society, South India.
Between 1916 and 1927, sixty-nine further students earned their Bachelor of Divinity degrees through Serampore College.
During the centenary year of the college, in 1918, the Bengal Legislative Council passed the Serampore College Act (1918 Act, i, 1918 Act, ii, 1918 Act, iii, 1918 Act, iv) for the purpose of enlarging the college council and forming a new interdenominational senate that would confer theological degrees for all Christian denominations in India. By 1960 twenty other Indian colleges and seminaries affiliated themselves with Serampore.
The name of the college and its founders are honored today more widely than just within Christian circles – the Carey Library at Serampore houses 16,000 rare volumes and is used by scholars from across the world.
Contemporary Status
The University of Calcutta awards degrees to arts, science and commerce students of the Serampore College.[4] At the time of this writing, Dr. Lalchungnunga serves as principal.[5] Several theological colleges and seminaries in India, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, maintain affiliation with the Senate of Serampore College.
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Legally the theology department of Serampore College is not a university as only a UGC approved institution, or the Parliament of India, can establish a university. Also, the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College is not a government approved accrediting agency. As such the theology degrees endorsed by this private agency might be useless for getting government jobs. In some states of the USA it might even be illegal to use these degrees as they do not have the endorsement of CHEA and, as such, the degree may be considered a fake theological degree.
Motto
The Latin name of the college motto is Gloriam Sapientes Possidebunt which derives from chapter 3, verse 35 of the Latin Vulgate - Book of Proverbs,[7] meaning, the wise shall possess glory.[8]
Authority to issue degrees and accreditation
King Frederick VI of Denmark originally granted a Royal Charter giving Serampore College the status of a university to confer degrees. With the later establishment of the University of Calcutta in 1857 the arts, science and commerce parts of Serampore College were affiliated to the University of Calcutta. However, Serampore College still today continues to enjoy the privilege of conferring its own degrees in theology under the power vested by the Charter and Act of Serampore College. It is a private Grant-in-aid Minority College. The college is recognized by the University Grants Commission under Section 2(f) and 12(b) of the UGC Act, 1956.
Honors
On June 7th, 1969, the Department of Posts of the Government of India issued a stamp[9] and a first day cover[10] along with a brochure.
See also
- William Carey
- Joshua Marshman
- William Ward
- Hannah Marshman
- John Clark Marshman
Notes
- ↑ Serampore College Home Page
- ↑ Serampore College Home Page
- ↑ The Story of Serampore and its College IVthedition 2006, p. 174]
- ↑ Education Information: India Colleges under University of Calcutta, July 2003]
- ↑ William Carey College Jubilee Lecturer, Dr. Lalchungnunga
- ↑ http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/jubilee%2Dlecture/lal-bio.pdf
- ↑ Chapter 3 of the Book of Proverbs
- ↑ College motto explained
- ↑ Postal Stamp
- ↑ First Day Cover
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Carey, William, Felix Carey, Jabez Carey, E. Carey, William Carey, and Sunil Kumar Chatterjee. 2002. Family letters of Dr. William Carey. Serampore, West Bengal, India: Carey Library and Research Centre. OCLC 55521931. [1]
- Chatterjee, Sunil Kumar. 1987. Hannah Marshman, the first woman missionary in India. Hoogly: Sunil Kumar Chatterjee. OCLC 21518718.
- Chatterjee, Sunil Kumar. 2001. John Clark Marshman: (a trustworthy friend of India). Sheoraphuli, W. Bengal: Mahamaya Sahitya Mandir. OCLC 51228078.
- Chatterjee, Sunil Kumar. 2004. William Carey: the father of modern missions in the east. Serampore: Laserplus. OCLC 63680729.
- Chatterjee, Sunil Kumar. 2004. William Carey and Serampore. Serampore: Published by the author; printed by Laserplus. OCLC 61132739.
- Daniel, J. T. K., and Roger E. Hedlund. 1993. Carey's obligation and India's renaissance. Serampore, West Bengal: Council of Serampore College. OCLC 36553748. [2]
- Howells, George, and W. Sutton Page. 1910. The cradle of modern missions: a brief survey of the history of the Serampore Mission, and of the foundation of the incorporated college at Serampore, by William Carey, the founder of modern missions, and his colleagues, Marshman and Ward : together with a statement regarding the reorganisation of the College, and its proposed endowment as a Christian university for India, the College charter, and an appendix, containing other related documents. Bengal: Council of Sepampore College. OCLC 37247251.
- Marshman, Joshua. 1827. Brief memoir relative to the operations of the Serampore missionaries, Bengal. With an appendix. London: Parbury, Allen & co. OCLC 39256037.
- Marshman, John C. 2005. The life and times of Carey, Marshman and Ward: embracing the history of the Serampore mission. [Serampore]: Council of Serampore College. OCLC 182546355. 1859 edition
- Serampore College. 2006. The story of Serampore and its college. [Serampore]: Council of Serampore College. OCLC 173263455.
External links
- Information from Banglapedia.com. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- Serampore College website. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- Friends of Serampore College. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- Lions Club of Serampore Greater. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- NAC 2004 report on the College and its degree issuing position. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- NAC homepage on accredited Colleges. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
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