Some of the Distinguished Alumni
of the University of Calcutta
Rajendra PrasadRajendra Prasad was born in 1884. He studied at Presidency College, Calcutta and was a boarder of the Eden Hindu Hostel. He obtained a degree of Law from the University of Calcutta. An ardent nationalist and a veteran freedom fighter, he was elected President of the Indian National Congress during its Bombay session in 1934. He again became its President when Subhas Chandra Bose resigned in 1939. He served as the President of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of India.
After India became independent he was elected the President of India. In 1962, after 12 years as President, he announced his decision to retire. He was subsequently awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian award. Because of the enormous public adulation he enjoyed, he was referred to as Desh Ratna or the Jewel of the country. He wrote a number of books including Satyagrah at Champaran, Bapu ke kadmon mein, India divided and Atmakatha.Sukumar Roy
Sukumar Roy (1887-1923), a maestro in children’s literature, was born in Kolkata in 1887. His father, Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury, who also wrote for children, was a musician and mechanic and his son was the Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Roy.
After passing the Entrance examination from the City School, Sukumar Roy took his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Presidency College in the year 1911. He then went to England on the Guruprasanna Ghosh Scholarship to study photography and printing technology. Sukumar studied at the Manchester School of Technology, where he proved the effectiveness of photo printing in halftone invented by his father. He was selected fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. He was the second Indian to earn this distinction. Back home in 1913, he took over his father's enterprise called U Roy and Sons.
Sukumar Roy was a versatile genius. He used to compose rhymes at an early age. While studying at Presidency College, he set up an organisation called 'Nonsense Club'. On his return from England, he started the 'Monday Club' where he used to arrange discussions along with refreshments, which earned the club another name, Monda (Bangla for sweetmeat) Club.
Sukumar Roy was principally noted for his writings for young children. He mixed comic elements and subtle satire in all his works : poems, plays, stories or paintings. His satire is marked by his social consciousness. His prominent writings include Abol-Tabol (Nonsensical Mnemonics, 1923), Ha-Ja-Ba-Ra-La (Topsy-Turvy, 1928), Pagla Dashu (1940), Bahurupi (The Jester, 1944), Khaikhai (I Want More, 1950), Abak Jalpan (Strange Drink), Shabdakalpadrum (The Tree of Words) and Jhalapala (Irritation). He also wrote some serious essays in Bengali and English. He wrote a collection of belles-lettres called Hesoramer Dairi, written in the form of a diary.
Rameschandra Majumdar
Rameschandra Majumdar (1888-1980), a doyen of Bengali historians, was born at Khandarpara in Faridpur district. He graduated with honours in History in 1909 from Presidency College and obtained M.A. degree from the University of Calcutta in 1911. In 1912, he was awarded Premchand Roychand Studentship. He started his career in 1913 in Dacca Teachers' Training College. In July 1914, he was appointed a lecturer in the History department of University of Calcutta. In 1919, the University of Calcutta published Majumdar's Ph.D. thesis, Corporate Life in Ancient India. In July 1921, he joined the newly established Dacca (Dhaka) University as Professor of History.
While in Dhaka, Majumdar planned a comprehensive history of Bengal. The first was edited by him, with the ancient period, and the second was edited by Sir Jadunath Sarkar, with the medieval period. Dhaka University published the two volumes. These were widely acclaimed by scholars all over the world as the first comprehensive work on the ancient period of the history of Bengal. In 1936, Majumdar became the Vice-Chancellor of the Dacca University and held the post till the middle of 1942.
The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavana series under the general title History and Culture of the Indian People in eleven massive volumes was the most important achievement of Majumdar. In 1950, he joined the Benaras Hindu University as the founder-principal of the College of Indology, and stayed there till 1953, adopting various measures for its improvement. In 1950, Majumdar was elected a member and Vice-President for the 'International Commission for a History of the Scientific and Cultural Development of Mankind'.
Majumdar's difference with the Government of India over the "History of the Freedom Movement" Project led him to write four massive volumes - The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857 (one volume, 1957) and History of the Freedom Movement in India (three volumes, 1962-63). In 1955, Majumdar became the founder-principal of the College of Indology of Nagpur University. In 1958-59, he taught Indian history in the Universities of Chicago and Pennsylvania. Together with Hemchandra Raychaudhuri and Kalikinkar Datta he wrote Advanced History of India, a authentic book on Indian history written for undergraduates. He delivered many endowment lectures in different universities of India and was recipient of numerous awards from various academic institutions.
