Шотландский Церковный Колледж в Калькутте: История и Современность

Public college in Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in Asia. It has been rated (A) by the Indian National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Students and alumni call themselves "Caledonians" in the name of the college festival, "Caledonia".

On 27 September 1980, the Indian Postal Service released a commemorative stamp of the college.

The main building houses the economics, history, political science, philosophy, zoology, botany, mathematics, English, Sanskrit and Bengali departments. A separate Science annex building houses the departments of physics and chemistry. Situated in the main campus, the central library of the college is computerized. The biological science departments are in possession of a museum and a 'poly house'. The college is encompassed by a garden and a lawn. Many medicinal plants are grown in the garden under the care of the botany department. There are rare and non native plants in the garden as well. The Scottish Church College campus is a 'green' campus with solar lighting.

The college presently has four hostels for its students, all of which are situated near the college. Previously, another hostel, Students' Residence (for Girls) was present. They have recreational common rooms with audio visual equipment. Lady Jane Dundas Hostel (For Girls only): 71/1 Bidhan Sarani, Kolkata 6. Duff Hostel: 32/8, Abhedananda Road, Kolkata 6. (Beadon Street)
Ogilvie Hostel: 31/2, Hurtaki Bagan Lane, Kolkata 6. Wann Hostel: 32/8 Abhendananda Road, Kolkata 6. (Beadon Street)

The college publications are annual and consists of contributions from students and staffs. The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, a refereed international academic journal with an interdisciplinary approach which publishes research articles written by both experienced and young scholars all over the world, is annually published by the college. The journal discusses issues from points of view such as liberalism, empiricism, positivism, Marxism, structuralism, psychoanalysis, postmodernism, deconstruction, feminism, subaltern studies school and postcolonialism. The advisory board consists of personalities such as Amartya Sen, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Partha Chatterjee, Dipesh Chakrabarty and Amiya Kumar Bagchi. The volunteers of the college NSS unit participated in North East Youth Festival, held at Arunachal Pradesh in 2012 and NSS Mega Camp held at Assam in 2013. Some of them also took part in Rock Climbing and Adventure camp at Balasore, Odisha (India) and were awarded the title of "Basic Mountaineer". The college received four awards from the University of Calcutta for its activities in NSS. Prof. U. N. Nandi became the Best Program Officer in 2009. Parag Chatterjee, a student of Computer Science and the NSS student leader (2011–2013), was awarded "Best Volunteer" by the university.

In 2006, the University Grants Commission (India) accepted the recommendations of the University of Calcutta to regard the college as "College with Potential for Excellence".

Until 1953, administrative control over the college was exercised by the Foreign Mission Committee of the Church of Scotland. This was exercised by a local council consisting of representatives of the Church of Scotland and the United Church of Northern India. Later the Foreign Mission Committee of Church of Scotland relinquished its authority to the United Church of Northern India, and in 1970, the United Church of Northern India joined the Church of North India as a constituent body. This made the Church of North India the de facto and de jure successor (to the Church of Scotland) in running the administration of the college. As the college was founded on Christian (Protestant and Presbyterian) foundations, it derives its legal authority and status as a religious minority institution as defined by the scope of Article 30 of the Constitution of India. In 2004, the general section of the college was awarded grade 'A' after accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. The same grade was awarded upon reaccreditation in 2014. Since 2004, the college has been a member of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia and is a participant in that organization's Asian University Leadership Program. In 2011, the Scottish Government instituted a Centre of Tagore Studies in Edinburgh's Napier University, to facilitate integrated research on Rabindranath Tagore's works and philosophy. In Calcutta, this scholarly initiative (with student exchange programs) was extended to the college, involving the departments of English, Bengali and philosophy. The University Grants Commission sponsors the construction of the Quarto Sept Centennial Jubilee Building project of the college. The building plan has been approved by the Heritage Committee of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for necessary approval. The construction of the new building has been completed with modern equipments and audio visual system worth for having special lectures which can also be broadcast to other colleges through online. The building was Inaugurated by the Members of college administrative body (College Rector Dr. J. Abraham and Principal alongside)
Scottish Church College celebrated its 184th Foundation Day and its first Alexander Duff Memorial Lecture on 13 July 2013. The college welcomed Dr. S. C. Jamir, the Honorable Governor of Odisha and an alumnus of the college, who delivered the first Alexander Duff Memorial Lecture.

Satyajit Ray's fictional scientist cum investigator Professor Shonku started his career as a professor of physics at the Scottish Church College. Satyajit Ray's fictional private investigator Feluda was a student of the Scottish Church College. Samaresh Majumdar's bestselling novel Kalbela, which explores Calcutta's culture, politics and society in the aftermath of the 1970s Naxalite movement, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984. It featured the college as a backdrop in the storyline. Samaresh Majumdar's Animesh quartet, a series of four novels (Uttoradhikar, Kalbela and Kalpurush, and Mousholkal), revolves around the life and experiences of Animesh Mitra, an alumnus, who witnesses the tumultuous socio political transformations in post independence West Bengal.

Kaalbela: Calcutta My Love, a 2009 Bengali film directed by Goutam Ghose on the events of the 1970s Naxalite movement, had scenes which were shot at the college. Egaro: The Immortal Eleven was a 2011 sports film in Bengali directed by Arun Roy, that was based on the Mohun Bagan Athletic Club's victory over the East Yorkshire Regiment in the finals of the 1911 IFA Shield. Three members of the winning team were students of the college. The film also showed the college as a background. Natoker Moto was a 2015 biographical Bengali language film, which was roughly based on the life and tragic death of Keya Chakraborty, an alumna, who subsequently became a prominent theatre personality. The character based on her is called Kheya in the film.