The Bhagirathi River bisects the town of Jangipur, a subdivision of the historic Murshidabad district. Although Jangipur municipality was established in 1869, until 2001, ferries were the main means of communication between the two sides. A bridge was built over the Bhagirathi River in 2001, fulfilling the long-standing expectations of the people of the area. The history and cultural heritage of Jangipur are ancient. People of Bengal and India know this subdivision as the city of Dadathakur Sarachchandra Pandit. The first weekly newspaper, “Jangipur Sangbad” was published in Jangipur in 1939 under the editorship of Dadathakur. His “Vidushak” and “Botol Purana” are brilliant additions to Bengali satirical literature. The famous kabiyal Gumani Dewan (1302-1380 Bengali era) lived in Jindighi village in Jangipur. In memory of the kabiyal, the state Kabiyal Mela has been held in Jindighi village for the past ten years. The legendary Alkap artist Dhananjay Mandal was born in Dhanpat Nagar village, on the outskirts of Jangipur College. Jhanksu took the folk drama Alkap industry to the pinnacle of excellence.

It was from Jangipur that India’s famous politician Bharat Ratna, the late Pranab Mukherjee, was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in his life, held important ministries in the Government of India, and was the only Bengali to become the President of India. Today we are focusing on Jangipur College, the only general degree college in Jangipur city.

Jangipur College is located in a beautiful natural environment on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, which runs through the middle of Jangipur city. Jangipur College was established as a government-sponsored college in 1950 due to the efforts of some educated people in the area. At that time, this college was under Calcutta University. In 1999, along with other colleges in Nadia and Murshidabad, Jangipur College also came under the affiliation of Kalyani University. The college is QMS and EMS, ISO-certified by an IAF-accredited body with a B++ in NAAC assessment 2nd cycle.

There is a boys’ hostel with 60 beds. The hostel, which is under construction with a special grant from the central government, is not yet completed. The principal of the college, Prarthita Biswas, said, “A utilisation certificate has been sent after completing the first installment of the girls’ hostel. Once the money for the second installment arrives, it will be completed very soon.”

Jangipur College is one of the addresses for getting higher education for the students of about 14 higher secondary schools around Jangipur College. Even though Jangipur is quite an old city, the main livelihood of the common people of the area is farming, bead tying, and masonry work. At one time, the silk industry was flourishing in the area. There was fur and bronze work. All that is in the past now.

Now, Jangipur is known throughout the country for its skilled bidi workers and masons. Naturally, the students at this college come mainly from these families. The current number of students in this college is around 9,000, including those in the science, arts and commerce streams. About 55 per cent of the students are from minority families; 30 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes; and about five per cent belong to Scheduled Tribes. About 30 per cent of students are first-generation learners. The number of female students is significantly higher among the total students at the college. Overall, this college has been playing an important role in the development of education in the area for a long period of 74 years.

At present, the number of professors at this college (including the principal and the librarian) is 69. The total number of permanent and casual non teaching staff is 32. There are six science subjects taught in the college, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, botany, biology and environmental science. Honours, or major and minor subjects, are taught in these six subjects of science as per NEP 2020. In Bengali, English, history, political science, philosophy, economics, geography and Sanskrit are eight subjects in the arts stream taught as honours, majors, and minors as per NEP 2020, and education and Arabic are two general and minor subjects. In the department of commerce, only accounting is taught as an honours or major/minor subject.

For those who cannot take entry into university for various reasons after completing their undergraduate studies, there is an opportunity to study MA in Bengali, English, history and education at this college through the distance education department of Kalyani University. There are several subjects of science and arts taught as undergraduate and postgraduate subjects under the aegis of Netaji Subhas Open University.

Jangipur College has separate modern laboratories for lab-based subjects. There are two computer labs with a total of eighty computers. Many classrooms in the college have audio-visual facilities and two smart classrooms. This college has an herb garden under the supervision of the Department of Botany. The Central Library has a collection of around fifty thousand books and e-books, which is rare compared to other colleges in West Bengal. The library has newspapers, journals and e-magazines on various subjects. There is a reading room for students and professors. Every floor of Jangipur College has clean toilets for male and female students. There is a sanitary napkin vending machine and a disposal machine in the girls’ common room. There is a daycare centre too.

The college has a modern canteen. The college has a large, environment-friendly playground protected by boundary walls. Students regularly play sports here. Also, the training classes of the NCC unit of the college are held in the playground. A number of students from the NCC unit of this college have participated in the Republic Day Parade in Delhi. Their success in various competitions held among colleges affiliated with Kalyani University is notable.

The NSS unit of the college is very old. Their service programmes run throughout the year, in close proximity to the college and beyond. Every year, they adopt two to three nearby villages and help in the overall development of the villages. Their regular programmes include student health check-ups, blood donation camps, thalassemia awareness camps, health awareness camps, breast cancer awareness camps, napkin distribution, Ganga and environmental pollution awareness, plantation programmes, etc. NSS programme officer Prof. Biplab Das said, “This year before the monsoons, a programme has been undertaken to plant thousands of trees at various places in the area, including college premises, playgrounds and Bhagirathi banks.”

With the unstinted support and cooperation of the Management Committee of this college, the encouragement of the principal, and the leadership of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), various sub-committees of the college undertake programmes in their respective fields outside of the syllabus-oriented curriculum unrelentingly. For example, various committees like the cultural sub-committee, seminar sub-committee, women’s cell, equal opportunity centre, publication sub-committee, icc (internal complaints committee), career guidance cell, etc. organise regular cultural programmes, workshops, seminars, awareness camps, and publish magazines.

The auspicious days are celebrated with great fervour and aplomb. Professor Krishnendu Palchoudhuri of the department of economics is an accomplished musician himself. As he is the convenor of the cultural subcommittee, the cultural programmes of the college are of very high quality. The career guidance cell of the college helps the students in their careers in its limited capacity. Basudeb Chakrabarti, coordinator, IQAC, and head, department of English, said, “Though the college is in a remote area of West Bengal, our main strength is the resources. The college has highly qualified professors in every department, including the principal and the librarian. This might be the scenario in most colleges, but our additional strength is that during working days, 90 per cent of professors working here stay back. As a result, beyond the specified time, a great talent pool can work for the improvement of the college.”

The students of the departments of zoology, botany and geography at the college have excursions on a regular basis. Other departments also organise educational trips and picnics at regular intervals. Through these programmes, sincere relationships are developed between students and professors. The Jangipur College Alumni Association is a very strong organisation of alumni of Jangipur College. Reunions are held every two years under its initiative. The president of this association is Rezaul Karim, a successful businessman in the area who said, “The joy of being associated with Jangipur College is one of the greatest joys of our lives. Therefore, if we have any role in the development of the college, we eagerly look forward to it. We have grand celebratory plans for the 75th anniversary of the college next year.”

Nurul Mortoza, senior professor of the department of Bengali, said, “Sri Bhajan Kumar Sarkar is the architect of the transformation of the college in the recent past. Shri Sarkar was the president of the management committee from 2012 to 2017. Bhajan Babu’s administrative experience and indomitable desire to do good, combined with the efforts of the members of the governing body, literally transformed the college‘s get-up into a modern one. The honourable members of the current management association, including the principal, are trying hard to continue that trend.”

At the end of this year, the visit of the NAAC peer team for assessment of the 3rd cycle at this college is on the horizon. This year, the college will be 75 years old. Overall, the atmosphere at the college is beautiful. Based on that, professor Tarak Mondal, secretary in the teachers’ council, said that, “Despite the scorching heat of summer this year, we did not take a vacation. On the advice of the principal, I have been cooperating in facilitating administrative and academic work, and in this regard, I have received the full support of the teaching staff, including the professors of the college.”