Murari Chand College () (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division () is a northeastern Divisions of Bangladesh, division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by t ...

. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Since then it has played an important role in the educational, cultural, and political spheres of

Greater Sylhet Sylhet Division () is a northeastern division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by the Indian states of Megh ...

History

M C College was established on 27 June 1892 by Raja Girish Chandra Roy of Roynagar, Sylhet with four teachers and 18 students. The college was named after his maternal great-grandfather, Murari Chand Roy. It was located beside the present Raja GC School in Bandar Bazar. At the beginning it was a

proprietary college Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities generally operated by their owners, investors, or shareholders in a manner prioritizing shareholder primacy as opposed to education provided by non-profit institution (such as non-sec ...

funded by Chandra himself. The original college building collapsed in the

1897 Assam earthquake The Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on 12 June, in Assam, British India at 11:06 UTC, and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3. It resulted in approximately 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructures. ...

, of which Chandra himself was a victim. Though he survived the quakes, the calamity made him financially vulnerable. It was not possible for him to run the college from his own resources from thereon. He urged the government to take over the college so that it could continue as an educational institution. The government took over the college in 1908 after the death of Chandra. Then it became an aided college. On 1 April 1912, the college become fully government administered and was considered as an affiliated college of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. In 1916,

Syed Abdul Majid Khan Bahadur Syed Abdul Majid, CIE (; 1872–1922), also known by his nickname Kaptan Miah (), was a politician, lawyer and entrepreneur. He is notable for pioneering the development in the agricultural and tea industry in British India as wel ...

upgraded Murari Chand College's status to first grade degree level and laid the school's foundation stone in Thackeray Hills alongside

William Sinclair Marris Sir William Sinclair Marris, (9 October 1873 – 12 December 1945) was a British civil servant, colonial administrator, and classical scholar. He was a member of the Indian Civil Service during the British Raj, and later became Vice-Chancellor ...

in 1921. Abdul Khaliq Choudhury of Bijli (1886-1948) was the first Muslim student of the college. He was a member of the Assam council from 1921 to 1936 as well as the South Sylhet Local Board and Dhaka University Syndicate. In 1925, the college moved to its current campus at Thackarey Hills (now Tilagarh). It is spread on an area of 112 acres of land of a beautiful natural set-up. In 1942, the

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

of the college was observed by the publishing of the ''Murari Chand College Golden Jubilee Volume''. After the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, the college became an affiliate of the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. It then became an affiliate of the

University of Chittagong The University of Chittagong () also known as Chittagong University (CU), is a public research university located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It was established on 18 November 1966. It is the fifth oldest university of Bangladesh. Having an area ...

in 1968. Finally in 1992, it became an affiliate of the

National University, Bangladesh National University (NU; ) is a public collegiate university of Bangladesh that was established in 1992 by an Act of Parliament as an affiliating university of the country to impart graduate and post-graduate level education to students through ...

. In 2001, the college had 130 teachers and 6,000 students. There are seven residential hostels for students, which is one of the best residential arrangements of students at the college level in Bangladesh. In 2000, the college won the national award as the best educational institution. The library of M C College is famous for its collection of books, which numbers around 100,000. Currently, all the students of HSC first year obtained GPA 5 in SSC.

Academic departments

Arts

* English * History * Islamic History and Culture * Islamic Studies * Bangla * Philosophy

Sciences

* Botany * Zoology * Chemistry * Physics

Social Sciences

* Economics * Political Science * Sociology

Infrastructure and campus

There are currently nine academic buildings in the college. They consist of classrooms, a library, department offices, etc., and are mainly used to conduct classes. Almost all of the departments have their own academic buildings. The central library of the college is one of the oldest in the country. It houses a huge number of volumes; many of them are rare. The library is widely used by researchers. It holds more than 60,000 books. The botanical garden is run by the botany department and is the only of its kind in the

. The Zoology department runs a zoological museum which contains a collection of different animals. The college has two hostels, one for males and one for females. The male hostel is made up of six blocks, with five blocks for Muslim students and one block for

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

students. Another four-storey hostel is being built next to the hostel pond.

Extra-curricular activities

The first and old organisations of MC College include Mohona Cultural Organisation. There are 3 rover units and 1 girl in-rover unit run by the

Bangladesh Scouts The Bangladesh Scouts () is the national Scouting organization of Bangladesh. Now The Chief Scout of Bangladesh is Mohammed Shahabuddin ( President of Bangladesh). Scouting was founded in 1914 in East Bengal, now Bangladesh, as part of the Bri ...

. The Mainamati Battalion of the

Bangladesh National Cadet Corps The Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) is a tri-services volunteer reserve defence force comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force wing for school, college and university students. It is the second line of defence headed by Bangladesh Army. S ...

have a platoon here. On 14 November 2017, the Murari Chand Debate Society (MCDS) was established. The MCDS won first place amongst the

in Democracy International's Debate Championship 2018. Other activities include the Murari Chand College Press Club, Murari Chand Poetry Council, Dhrubak Club, Tourist Club, Theatre Murari Chand, Cultural Organisation, Chemistry Club, Botanical Society and Economics Club.

Principal

The current principal is Abul Anam Md. Reaz, who previously served as the Head of the Physics Department of the College and the Principal of Sylhet Government College.

Notable alumni

* Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, economist * Sultan Md. Mansur Ahmed, Bangladeshi politician *

Dewan Mohammad Azraf Dewan Mohammad Azraf (; 1908–1999) was a Bengali philosopher, teacher, author, politician, journalist and activist. In 1993, he was honoured as a National Professor in Bangladesh. He was also a supporter of the Bengali Language Movement. For ...

, poet *

Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri Shegufta Bakht Chaudhuri (known as S B Chaudhuri; 1931 – 11 November 2020) was a Bangladeshi economist who served as the fourth governor of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh, from 1987 to 1992, and was also the advisor of the fir ...

, governor of

Bangladesh Bank Bangladesh Bank (BB; ) is the central bank of Bangladesh and is a member of the Asian Clearing Union. It is fully owned by the Bangladesh, Government of Bangladesh. The bank is active in developing green banking. and financial inclusion poli ...

(1987–1992) and advisor of the first Caretaker government of Bangladesh * Moinul Hoque Choudhury, Assam minister * Enamul Haque Chowdhury, Jatiya Party politician *

Farid Uddin Chowdhury Farid Uddin Chowdhury (; born 25 December 1947) is a teacher, politician and businessman. He was the former Member of Parliament for the Sylhet-5 constituency from 2001 to 2008, representing Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Early life and education C ...

, teacher, businessman and politician * Shafiqur Rahaman Chowdhury, politician * Mohammed Forash Uddin, former governor, Bangladesh Bank * Joy Bhadra Hagjer, former MP of India; former HAD; Veterinary Minister

Government of Assam The Government of Assam or Assam Government abbreviated as GoAS, is the Subnational legislature, state government of the Indian state of Assam. It consists of the Governors of states of India, Governor appointed by the President of India as th ...

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, former editor of the ''

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'' national English daily newspaper and former industry minister (1965–68). *

Syed Manzoorul Islam Syed Manzoorul Islam (born 18 January 1951) is a Bangladeshi critic, writer and a former professor of Dhaka University. As a literary critic, he has written criticism on writers including Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sudhindranat ...

, writer *

Mohammad Ataul Karim Mohammad Ataul Karim (; born 4 May 1953) is a Bangladeshi American scientist and higher education administrator, with expertise in electro-optical systems, optical computing, and pattern recognition. Ataul Karim is ranked amongst the top 50 re ...

, Bangladeshi-American scientist; executive vice chancellor and provost of the

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth or UMassD) is a Public university, public research university in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It is the southernmost campus of the University of Massachusetts system. Formerly "Southeas ...

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, Bangladeshi actor * Mufti Nurunnessa Khatun, botanist, teacher, and horticulturist. * Shah AMS Kibria, economist and ex-finance minister * Abdul Malik, cardiologist *

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, businessman, politician and educationist * Habibur Rahman (Tota Mia), member of the first

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

* Abul Mal Abdul Muhit, Finance minister of Bangladesh *

Nurul Islam Nahid Nurul Islam Nahid (; born 5 July 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician and author. He served as a member of the Bangladeshi Parliament from the Sylhet-6 constituency for 15 years, being elected in 1996, 2008, 2014, and 2018. He was also the count ...

, Education Minister of Bangladesh *

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, former finance minister of Bangladesh *

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, physician, politician as Ameer of the

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, historian *

Nirmalendu Chowdhury Nirmalendu Chowdhury () (27 July 1922 – 18 April 1981) was a Bengali musician, composer, lyricist and singer, who contributed significantly to the Folk music of Eastern India, particularly of Bengal and Assam. Early life Nirmalendu was ...

, famous folk singer and lyricist *

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, pro-independence fighter and leftist politician * Prabodh Chandra Sen, Indian rhyme expert, rabindranath scholar and historian

References

External links

Behind the Scene
''Star Insight''. 26 May 2007.

''The Daily Star''. 25 March 2006. * https://mccollege.edu.bd/ {{Bengal Renaissance Colleges affiliated to National University, Bangladesh Colleges in Sylhet District Educational institutions established in 1892 1892 establishments in India Education in Sylhet