How a retired judge founded Ramjas College to carry father’s legacy forward
Kedarnath founded Ramjas School in 1912 for children from poor and lower middle-class families at a small rented house in Chandni Chowk’s Kucha Natwa. A committed Kedarnath also drew students from villages and backward classes, and his second school at Kala Pahad was primarily meant for them.
In 1917, Rai Kedarnath noticed that students from well-off sections of the society were getting admissions in colleges like St Stephen’s and Hindu, but those who could not afford elite education were left in the lurch. Kedarnath, a retired district judge who ran a school in Old Delhi’s Darya Ganj and who wanted to establish a way forward for students of his school, decided to build a college that would provide affordable higher education.
And hence came Ramjas College, one of the oldest in the national capital that started from humble precincts in Darya Ganj.
Kedarnath founded Ramjas School in 1912 for children from poor and lower middle-class families at a small rented house in Chandni Chowk’s Kucha Natwa. A committed Kedarnath also drew students from villages and backward classes, and his second school at Kala Pahad was primarily meant for them.
According to Professor Manoj Khanna, Principal of Ramjas College, Kedarnath made the college in the memory of his father Lala Ramjas Mal. “Kedarnath ji had no children. This made him get deeply involved in social and philanthropic work… His father Ramjas regretted that there was no one to carry the family name forward. This was when Rai Kedarnath promised his father that not one, but thousands will carry his legacy forward,” said Professor Khanna.
The first college building was started at the school in Darya Ganj and then shifted to Kala Pahad, now known as Anand Parbat. “The building at Kala Pahad was launched by Mahatma Gandhi, and the present building at University Enclave was launched by the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, in 1951. Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was also a member of the governing body of the college — the only college of Delhi that had Bhimrao Ambedkar in its Governing Body,” he added.
Initially, the college was affiliated with the University of Punjab, Lahore, up to intermediate level, and when the Delhi University was formed in 1922, the college was upgraded to degree-level and brought under the University.
“Children who could not afford costly education were taken care of by Kedarnath ji. Even the mess was made free of cost. He used to generate funds from the businessmen of Old Delhi,” said Professor Khanna. Read More