THE FOUNDING FATHER- SIR SURENDRANATH BANERJEA
Sir Surendranath Banerjea (November 10, 1848 – August 6, 1925), who is the ‘Founding Father’ of this prestigious institution, is widely acclaimed as the ‘Rashtraguru’, who was a great patriot, a prolific writer, an unrivalled orator and a compassionate educationist. He lived by his steadfast commitment to the golden cause of spreading the light of knowledge and quality education. It was his visionary initiative of bringing higher education within the reach of the widest possible sections of the society, that led to the establishment of Surendranath Law College at the heart of Kolkata city, near Sealdah Station in 1884-85.
THE ESTABLISHMENT - A BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
In 1882, the Presidency School, which formed the nucleus of the present Institution, was handed over to Sir Surendranath Banerjea on 1st January 1884. He raised it to the status of a college affiliated to the F.A. standard and named it ‘The Presidency Institution’. Within a year, the institution was converted into a full-fledged, first grade college under the name ‘Ripon College’, as a tribute to the enlightened policies of the then Viceroy, Lord Ripon. In 1884, the Post-Graduate Department of Law was opened and a year later, it became affiliated to the Calcutta University as an independent professional college. Since then, as long as he lived, Sir Surendranath not only remained at the helm of affairs, but was also active as a teacher in the college.
With the aim of placing the Ripon Group of Institutions on a permanent footing and affiliating them to public institutions, Sir Surendranath Banerjea, the proprietor, voluntarily divested himself of all private rights of property that he had over the institutions. He vested them in a Public Charitable Trust in the year 1909, of which he was the first signatory of the Trust deed. Other prominently notable personalities and educationists among the signatories were,Satyendra Nath Mukherjee, Upendra Nath Mukherjee, Jogesh Chandra Choudhury, Rashbehari Ghosh, Ashutosh Chaudhuri, Baikuntanath Sen, Baron Sinha of Raipur, Bhupendranath Basu and Ramendra Sundar Trivedi. After 1948, at the instance of the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the High Court at Calcutta, the ‘Ripon Group of Institutions’ was renamed after the ‘Rashtraguru’ Sir Surendranath Banerjea, and was called Surendranath Law College. This was done to commemorate Sir Surendranath Banerjea, and honour his exemplary dedication in nurturing the pioneering institution with selfless love, sacrifice and dedication.
THE LEGACY OF NOBLE SACRIFICE & ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Surendranath Law College has been a well-spring of knowledge and fervent patriotism with a rich history tied to the independence movement of India. Teachers and students participated actively in the freedom struggle, particularly in the Partition of Bengal in 1905 and in the Quit India Movement of 1942. A deep sense of nationalism and patriotism had been kindled in the spirits of teachers and students of Surendranath Law College. Many among them embraced martyrdom for the country and many others were arrested by the British Police from Ripon Hostel, that was attached to the college. Their noble sacrifice is etched in the walls of the institution and is written in gold in the pages of the Indian freedom struggle. Over its glorious and golden past, the college has moulded distinguished luminaries such as Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India; Harendra Kumar Mukherjee, the first Governor of West Bengal, Justice Bijan Kumar Mukherjee, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India and many other eminent personalities.
ACADEMIC PROGRAM AND CURRICULUM
Surendranath Law College offers a 5-year B.A. LL.B. & B.A. LL.B. (Honours) and 2-year LL.M course. The 5-year B.A.LL.B. Course was introduced in 1987. At present, there are approximately 1000 students enrolled in the three programs. The academic programmes and activities of the college are prepared and executed keeping in mind the values enshrined in the vision of our founder Sir Surendranath Banerjee. By drawing on the Greek philosophy of Heraclitus, that change is the only constant in the world, the college endeavours to achieve growth with dynamism. It has introduced new certificate and value-added courses in the curriculum, regularly organises conferences, seminars, workshops and training programmes, and provides assistance in internships and career development to equip students with practical skills that are necessary in the highly-competitive professional arena.
Students of Surendranath Law College have achieved not just academic brilliance by securing gold medals in their respective course of study, but have also demonstrated outstanding success in sports, public speaking and moot court competitions at both the state and national level. As torch-bearers of the historical legacy of commitment to social justice and responsibility; the college regularly organizes camps for food distribution, health-checks camps, legal-aid, AIDS awareness, anti-pollution campaigns, sensitization programmes on drugs abuse, seminars on the rights of transgender groups, and consumer awareness campaigns. Many such ventures have also been organised in collaboration with NGOs, the Education Directorate, the Government of West Bengal and with MoU partner colleges.
Graduates of Surendranath Law College have achieved coveted positions in professional fields such as the Judicial Service, Legal Service, Advocacy, Academics, Banking and Corporate positions. Surendranath Law College has proudly carried forward the rich legacy of academic rigour and professional excellence to build pathways for a bright future with a sea of opportunities for its students.