The vision was born of magnificent wealth, the munificence of a
noble dreamer, and of no mean Mammon, of course. In some lonely hours the great
Sripat Singh Dugar, the last perhaps of the clan of the jain Sitambar blue
blood at Jiaganj, Murshidabad, felt he must do that. His I worthy partner of
life, the co-sharer of his dream, his wife Rani Dhanya Kumari Dugar inspired
his vision. So in 1949, in the month of April, the deed of gift was signed.
Sripat Singh Dugar gifted his palatial outhouse (the magnificent 'Cutchery
Bari'), with a further donation of seventy-five thousand rupees, for a college
in this town of Jiaganj. It was Sripat Singh College, the first ever in this
Sub-Division and in this vast region of rural West Bengal. On May 1, 1949, the
Governing Body was formed with Sripat Singh Dugar of Founder President. On 11
June, the College was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. And on the
auspicious morning of August 1, 1949, it took its first step as a
co-educational Intermediate college with the Principal Sri Jogesh Chandra
Bhattacharya, three full-time Lecturers, one clerk, one Librarian, one helper,
42 students in the I.A. class and 29 in the I.Sc. To encourage sincere students
Sripat Singhji donated Rs. 10,000.00 for funding scholarships. The college was
raised to Degree standard when in 1951, in terms of Govt. rules; he made a
further donation of Rs. 30,000.00 for working fund. So, in 1951, B.A. Pass
course started here with 9 students.
For the permanent economic security and upkeeping of the college the
College, headed by Sripat Singh Dugar, moved the Government of West Bengal and
particularly the then Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray in 1953. In terms
of Government Rules of the time Sripat Singhji donated One lakh rupees (Rs.
100000.00) along with the gift of the regular annuity of Rs 6000.00 every year
from his Malda Properties. And so in July, 1954, W.B. Government initiated the
Govt. Sponsored Scheme with Sripat Singh College as the first Govt. Sponsored
Co-educational Degree College in the state. In 1960, B.Sc. (Pass) course was
introduced here. Progress was in pace. Learners thronged. Accommodation became
a problem.
Sripat Singhji donated land adjacent to the building and with his
co-operation much more land was purchased in 1958. In 1959, a large sum of
financial assistance for building construction was available from U.G.C. and
the W.B. Government. This joint fund of Rs. 1,94,000.00 was utilized for the
construction of a spacious 3-storeyed building with more than thirty rooms and
halls. In 1961, the building was ceremonially opened by Dr. K. L. Srimali, the
Union Minister for Education. W.B. Chief Minister Sri Prafulla Chandra Sen was
present in the function. Academic activities were transferred here in August,
1961, and the ancestral out-house of Sripat Singhji, i.e. the old building of
the college has since then been named as the 'Administrative Building'.