Sanatan Dharma College commonly known as S.D. College, is a graduate and post graduate college, established in 1916 and situated in

Ambala Cantonment Ambala Cantonment is a cantonment town in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India. It is 200 km north of Delhi and 55 km southwest of Chandigarh. This cantonment was established in the year 1843 and is an important centre for m ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on the Ambala-Jagadhri highway. Originally established in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, the college was re-established in

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

in 1948 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. It amongst three colleges in the state of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

to be granted the status of 'College with Potential for Excellence' by the University Grants Commission (UGC), Delhi for 2014 to 2019. It is accredited as a grade "A+" college by the

National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a public autonomous body of the government of India that assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. It is funded by the University Grants Commission and hea ...

(NAAC), Bangalore in its 3rd cycle.

History

The college was established in the year 1916 in

, which was then the capital of undivided Punjab, and an education hub. During the last decade of 19th century, and early 20th century, the Sanatana Dharma Sabha had become a popular movement in the region and established a number of schools and colleges in the region. The founders of the college were great sanatanis Pandit

Madan Mohan Malviya Madan Mohan Malaviya (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946; ) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and activist notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress three times and ...

and Pandit Deen Dayal Vachaspati. Pandit Rekhi Ram was most instrumental in collection of huge amount of donation for development of college. During the

in 1947, the college was uprooted from Lahore and was rehabilitated in 1948 near Ambala Cantt. The Campus of Lahore was reopened as MAO College .The college was re-established at Ambala Cantt due to efforts of Goswami Ganesh Dutt and other members of college's management. The foundation stone at Ambala was laid by first

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

. Thereafter a local Sanatana Dharma Sabha played a key role in its development. In May 1949, the convocation of the college was addressed by noted leader

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Syama Prasad Mookerjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian barrister, educationist, politician, activist, social worker, and a minister in the state and national governments. Noted for his opposition to Quit India movement within the ...

. The college is affiliated to

Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (KUK) is a university established on 11January 1956 in Kurukshetra, in the Indian state of Haryana, from the capital, Delhi. It is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. History The univers ...

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...

for all academic purposes. The college is now run by S.D college society,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. The parent body of which is Sanatan Dharma Pratinidni Sabha, New Delhi. The college also has a unit of

National Service Scheme The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Mahatma Gandhi's centen ...

(NSS) unit with 123 volunteers, 50 males and 73 females. In 2010, the college was granted the status of ‘College with Potential for Excellence’ by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Thereafter in 2014, it was regranted the status for the period for 2014-2019.

Notable alumni

Sushma Swaraj Sushma Swaraj (''née'' Sharma; 14 February 1952 – 6 August 2019; ) was an Indian lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the 5th Chief Minister of Delhi, and also the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi ...

, politician and former Minister of External Affairs of India. *

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist. He shared the 1 ...

, Nobel Prize Winner from Pakistan when the college was in Lahore before partition in 1947. * Anilendra Ganguly, the mathematics teacher of

and the recipient of the Sir Deva Prasad Sarbadhikari Gold Medal (1981) from 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 ...

References

External links

* {{Districts of Haryana Ambala Universities and colleges in Haryana Kurukshetra University Universities and colleges established in 1916 1916 establishments in India

History

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links