Zakir Husain Delhi College

History

It was initially founded by Ghaziuddin Khan, a general of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a leading Deccan commander and the father of Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I, the founder of the Asaf Jahi dynasty of Hyderabad, also known as the first Nizam of Hyderabad, in 1690s, and was originally termed Madrasa Ghaziuddin Khan after him. However, with a weakening Mughal Empire, the Madrasa closed between 1790 and 1791, but with the support of local nobility, an oriental college for literature, science and art, was established at the site in 1792.

It stood just outside the walled city of Delhi outside the Ajmeri Gate, near Paharganj close to the New Delhi railway station. It was originally surrounded by a wall and connected to the walled city fortifications and was referred to as the College Bastion.

It was reorganized as the 'Anglo Arabic College' by the British East India Company in 1828 to provide, in addition to its original objectives, an education in English language and literature. The object was “to uplift” what the Company saw as the “uneducated and half-barbarous people of India.” Behind the move was Charles Trevelyan, the brother-in-law of Thomas Babingdon Macaulay, the same infamous Macaulay whose famously declared that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia”.

Rev. Jennings started secret Bible classes in the officially secular Delhi College. In July 1852, two prominent Delhi Hindus, Dr. Chaman Lal, one of Zafar’s personal physicians, and his friend Master Ramchandra, a mathematics lecturer at the Delhi College, baptised a public ceremony at St. James' Church, Delhi.

Dr. Sprenger, then principal, presided over the founding of the college press, the Matba‘u ’l-‘Ulum and founded the first college periodical, the weekly Qiranu ’s-Sa‘dain, in 1845.

Another cultural intermediatory was Mohan Lal Kashmiri, diplomat, and author, who worked for the East India Company and was educated at the college.

It was renamed Zakir Husain College in 1975 after Dr. Zakir Husain, a distinguished educator and a President of India. The college was later shifted to its present building outside Turkman Gate in 1986, the old structure in the Madrasa Ghaziuddin complex, still houses a hostel for the college. It was declared a heritage monument by the ASI in 2002. Then in 2008, a separate archive on its history was set up within the college library, with centuries-old books and documents on display, chronicling its 300-year-old history.

Alumni and impact

It has had a number of distinguished alumni. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the founder of Aligarh Muslim University, Liaqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s first Prime Minister, Maulana Mohammed Hussain Azad, the father of Urdu prose, Deputy Nazir Ahmed, the Urdu essayist and ICS, poets, Ali Sardar Jafri and Akhtar ul-Iman, Mirza M N Masood, an Indian hockey olympian, eminent linguist and the 5th Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia Professor Emeritus Masud Husain Khan, Khwaja Ahmed Farooqui (literatteur), Prof A N Kaul (pro-vice chancellor, Delhi University), J N Dixit (Defence Analyst), Prof Gopi Chand Narang (world-renowned Urdu/Persian critic), Pankaj Vohra (Associate Editor, Hindustan Times), B N Uniyal, Shahid Siddiqui, Manmohan, Mukul Vyas, Chandra Prabha, Habib Akhtar, M Afzal (journalists) and politicians like Jagdish Tytler and Sikandar Bakht.

Among the greats of Delhi College was Prof. Bhishma Sahni of the English department who was a noted writer and dramatist. Prof. Sahni was the brother of Actor Balraj Sahni.

It's said that Ghalib was once a candidate for the Persian post for Delhi College. However, the administrator conducting the interview failed to come out to greet him, and an offended Ghalib left.

Mamluk Ali Nanutavi, the distinguished scholar, who descendants founded Darul Uloom Deoband, taught Arabic here in 1830s.

Zakir Husain Delhi College has been offering an extremely wide range of courses for students. It offers science, humanities and commerce as well as language courses. One important feature of the college is that it is (at least used to be) the only college in Delhi which offers Graduation courses to male students in Psychology. All other colleges which offer this course are exclusively for female students.

The college enjoys a sterling reputation in the Delhi University and is amongst the top 10 colleges in the University.

Zakir Husain Memorial Trust

Zakir Husain Delhi College is run by the 'Zakir Husain Memorial Trust' under the chairmanship of "Dr. Manmohan Singh",the former prime minister of India and minister of human resources development is the vice-chairman of the trust as well as of the college.

Mirza Mehmood Begg Library & Book Bank

The College has a well stocked library possessing about 1,18,462 books.It runs on open shelf system but some important text books are also kept in reserve section.It not only caters to the academic requirements but also houses leisure books and books to increase general awareness.The Library is named after the college principal Mirza Mehmood Begg.

The College Book Bank renders service to students by providing them with text books for the whole academic session.This is the only college in the Delhi University which offers four textbooks to every students for whole academic session free of cost.

Salman Gani Hashmi Auditorium

The College has fully functional,Centrally Air Conditioned auditorium with a seating capacity of 417 persons.The auditorium has a state of art audio-visual system and a multi functional lighting arrangement.Various cultural programmes,lectures and college annual function are also organised in this auditorium.This auditorium is named after the college principal Salman Gani Hashmi.

College Archives

The Delhi College Archives,situated in a section of the M.M. Begg Library,was inaugurated by Prof. Sabyasachi Bhattacharya,Chairman,Indian Council of Historical Research,on February 18, 2008.

The archives contain a large number of files relating to the college and significant developments in higher education in Delhi and North India from 1823 onwards. These have been located within the National Archives of India and the Delhi Archives,and analyzed over the last couples of years.

Original writings by teachers and alumni of the college in Urdu,Persian and English are also available in the archives.Text-bookbs prepared and/or used during the 19th Century for instruction in mathematics,history,geography,philosophy,literature etc., are on display.The archives also contains secondary sources and books relating to Delhi College and the intellectual ferment in Delhi region during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Zakir Husain Memorial Lecture

A major annual event in the college calendar is the Zakir Husain Memorial Lecture to commemorate Dr. Zakir Husain. The speaker is an eminent personality of his field. It is organized in the 1st week of February. Zakir Husain Memorial Lecture is organized since 2006 annually.The lecture was delivered by the following persons;

Ms. Aruna Roy (2006) Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat (2007) Mr. Intizae Husain (2008) Shri M. Hamid Ansari (2009) Prof. B.B. Bhattacharya (2010) Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee (2011) Prof. C.M. Naim (2012) Prof V.S. Chauhan (2013)

Delhi College Lecture Series

From the academic session 2006-07,the college has started another series of lectures named Delhi College Lecture Series. The endeavour is to recreate and carry forward the legacy of the Delhi Renaissance and the progress made thereof in Science,Literature and the positive interventions in the field of education. The last lecture was delivered by Mrinal Pande,eminent journalist and chairman Prasar Bahrti.

Convocation Ceremony

Another important event in the college is the full dress convocation ceremony. The students who have graduated in the previous academic session are given their degree by a noted personality .The purpose behind holding convocation is to inculcate a sense of institutional pride among our students through a public recognition of their achievement and also inspire them to strive for greater goals in life. The occasion brings together past and present students and teachers to strengthen bonds within the fraternity.This is only college in the Delhi University which holds convocation ceremony.

Departmental Societies

Zakir Husain Delhi College has many department societies for inter-cultural and intra-academic activities.These socties are many in numbers. A list of societies of Zakir Husain Delhi College is as follows.

Arabic Society, Al-Nadi Al-Arabi

Coordinator: Dr. Mohd. Qasim

The Arabic Society organised two monthly oratory sessions in September 2014 and March 2015, a poetry recitation competition in October 2014, and a general knowledge quiz competition in February 2015. Two issues of the Arabic wall magazine ‘Al-Qalam’ were also published.

Bengali Literary Society

President: Dr. Sharmistha Sen

Members: Dr. Audwittee Banerjee, Mr. Tilak Sarkar

This year, the 4th Annual Dr. Gopa Dey Memorial Lecture on the topic “The other woman in women’s writing” was delivered by eminent scholar Dr. Shubha Dasgupta. Mr Bimal Kumar Dey, husband of Late Dr. Gopa Dey, handed over ‘Dr. Gopa Dey Memoral Award’ of Rs 8000/- under various categories to eight students of Bengali (Hons.) for their academic excellence.  The Bengali Literary Society published its annual Journal “BARNOMALA”.

Botanical Society (Nargis)

President: Dr. Malti Gupta

Vice President: Dr. Savindra kumar

The Botanical Society appointed its office bearers, and held its inaugural lecture on 25 August 2015. It was delivered by Dr. S. Natlesh of NII, who spoke about “Biotechnology and its Applications”. The annual fest of the society-MYRISTICA was held on 12 March 2016. Several inter college competitions such as Leaf art, Rangoli from waste, Treasure hunt and Botnical cross-word were organized in the fest. The Botanical Society has been organizing an ‘Inter-College Rolling Shield Environment Quiz’ Competition every year to promote awareness on various environmental issues among students. From this year, this Shield has been dedicated in memory of our dear colleague Late Dr. Virendra Kumar. Dr. Virendra Kumar was a teacher par excellence and a well-renowned environmentalist. This year, the society also started the campaign with the slogan: SAY NO TO PLASTIC. USE CLOTH BAG.

Chemical Society

President: Mr. Ravi Kant

Members: Dr. Jyoti Tyagi, Dr. Prerna Singh, Ms. Leelavati and Ms. Mamta Bai

The annual invited lecture was delivered by Dr. S.C. Mittal, Executive Director, Premier Forensic Labs and Research, New Delhi on the “Role of Forensic Science in Solving White Collar Crimes: Forensic Document Examination.” The society organized a general science quiz to popularize science to students of all disciplines and streams. It was a successful event that witnessed participation of more than 30 teams from across various disciplines. The annual intercollegiate chemistry fest- Zusammen– was organized on 23 February 2016. Various competitions such as scientific paper presentation, group discussion, general science quiz etc. were organized in the fest.  To give our students a sense of the rich history of our college, the society organized a Heritage Walk to the old campus of our college at Ajmeri Gate on 16 March 2016. Chemophile, the wall magazine of the society, was renamed as Wissen Fenster.

Commerce society

President : Dr. Nidhi Dhawan

Members : Dr. Rizwan Ahmad, Dr. Reeta and Mr. Bharat Bhatt

In this academic session, the society organized a personality development session, a talk titled ‘Dare to Dream’ by Dr. Jaswinder Grewal; a session by T.I.M.E. and New Delhi Institute of Management in September and October. A cultural event ‘Sanskriti’ was organized to celebrate Indian culture and heritage with various events. On 12 February 2016, the society organized its annual departmental fest ‘Innovision ‘16’. In the same month, another seminar about CV writing, group discussion, and personal interview was conducted by New Delhi Institute of Management. In the month of March 2016, the society organized an educational trip to Udaipur.

Economics Society

Coordinator: Dr. Simin Akhtar

The Economics Society organized The Fourth Annual Economics Symposium of the department in March 2015, flagged off by the inaugural lecture on ‘Indian Economy and the challenge of Human Development’ by Prof. Halima Sadia Rizvi, Dept. of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia. The lecture was followed by a poster-making competition on the theme, ‘Poverty, Inequality and the great Indian Dream’ followed by other events including Inter-College Quiz, Debate on the theme ‘Budget 2015: Making the rich, richer’, and Essay Writing on ‘Inclusive Development for 1.25 billion’. The Fourth issue of the Department’s Annual Journal ‘Rise’ was released in the Symposium, along with the journal’s online version. The Society is also organizing a field-trip for selected members of the Journal’s editorial board to Pahalgam, Kashmir, for a seminar on ‘Women and Education’. The Society also takes pride in the selection of our student, Sukriti Hatgaonkar for presenting a paper entitled, ‘Empowering Indian Women through Self Help Groups’ in a Seminar on ‘Gender and Livelihood: Opportunities and challenges’, organised by Barkatullah University, Bhopal.

Electronics Society

President: Dr. N. K. Jain

Members: Dr.  P. K.Shishodia, Mr. Anshu Rastogi and Ms. Neelam Pahwa

This year, the inaugural lecture was delivered by Dr. Shiv Kumar, Scientist- G, of Solid State Physics Laboratory (DRDO), New Delhi, on the topic “Solid State Materials and Devices”. Other cultural activities were also held on this occasion.

English Literary Society

Convenor: Mr. Abdul Hameed PA

The English Literary Society organized many interesting and informative events in the academic session 2015-2016. In August 2015, it organized a lecture by Dr. Gautam Chakravarthy, Associate Professor, Department of English, The University of Delhi on “Horace’s contribution to the Satire form”. On 13th February, 2016, the Society organized a lecture on Andha Yug, a play written by Dharamvir Bharati by our colleague Dr. Anjan, Department of Hindi. On 16 February 2016 a screening of the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman was organized, which was followed by presentations by students and a discussion. As part of the biennial Bhishma Sahani Book Fair in the college, the ELS organized English Short Story Writing competition on the topic of “Partition.” The highlight of the academic year was the Annual Literary Fest, Rhapsody’16 on 29 February 2016. A national student’s seminar was organized as part of the fest where students from universities and colleges across Delhi presented papers on “The English Sonnet: Evolution and Tradition.” Prof. Sharmistha Lahiri, retired Prof. of Italian Studies, Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi, delivered the keynote speech. Other events like Performance Poetry, Creative Writing and Quiz etc. were other attractions of the fest. On 19 March 2016, the ELS organized a creative writing (short story) workshop with Dr. Sami Ahmed Khan, award-winning novelist, and a broadcasting journalist with the All India Radio.

Hindi Sahitya Sabha Society

President: Dr. Vijender Singh Chauhan

In October, the Department organized a talk by Prof Hari Mohan Sharma of Department of Hindi, The University of Delhi on ‘Globalization and Hindi’. In November, a discussion on ‘Hindi Bhasha ki Dasha Aur Disha’, was conducted by Mr. Jaikant Mishra of the Bhasha Sahodari Sansthan. In March 2016, Prof. Apoorvanand from University of Delhi spoke on ‘Abhivyakti ki Azaadi Aur Sahitya’. In April, a seminar on “Abhivyakti ki Azaadi Aur Media” was organized. Mr. Dilip Mandal was the chief speaker in this seminar. The Hindi literary society actively participated in the organization of the biennial Bhisham Sahani book fair in March 2016.

History Society

Coordinator: Dr. Pradeep Kumar

This year, the Department undertook an educational trip to Jaipur in February 2016. A talk by Dr. Srimanjari, Dept. of History, Miranda College, Delhi University, on ‘Understanding Ancient Society’, was organized on 18 February 2016.

Life Science Society (Fusion)

Coordinator: Dr. Malti Gupta                                                                    

The inaugural lecture of the society was delivered by Dr. Saurabh Raghuvanshi from South Campus, DU on ” The world of Micro RNAs” on 20th August 2015.  The annual festival of the society “CHEMBOLOGY 2016” was a successful event with competitions such as e-poster on Gene Technology & Gen 2030, Matki decoration on Biotechnology theme, Science quiz, Best out of e -Waste. A National Symposium on “Biotechnology in Crop Improvement: Prospects & Challenges” was organized on April 1, 2016. Dr. Malti Gupta was the convener of this symposium.

Mathematical Society

Coordinator: Dr. Mohd. Arif                                                                                             

In this academic session, the Mathematical society organized its annual fest OPTIMA-16 in February 2016. Prof. Nadeem Mohsin, visiting faculty, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, delivered a lecture on “personality development”. Other activities like mathematics based quiz, rangoli, Sudoku, beg borrow steal, a mock stock was conducted.

“ANJUMAN-E-FARSI” Society

President: Dr. Jameel Ur Rehman

Members: Dr. Malik Saleem Javed, Dr. Jamshed Khan, Dr. Farha Adeeba and Dr. Shahnaz Ara Begum

The department organized a lecture by Prof. Aleem Ashraf Khan. on “the role of Sufis in maintaining social harmony in the Medieval period” on March 31, 2016.

Psychology Society

Coordinator: Dr. Khurshid Alam

Philosophy Society (The Monist)

Coordinator: Dr. C.V. Babu

In this academic session, the society organized the screening of three documentary films on different Philosophical themes – the nature of existence, The simulation of hypothesis and Wittgenstein’s sense of religious belief. This year, the “ICPR Periodic Lecture” was delivered by Prof. Balaganapathi Devarakonda on 10th February 2016 on the topic “Buddhist Concept of Happiness”. A talk on the “Philosophical Angle of the Gravitational Waves” was delivered by Dr. Mohd. Ehsan on19th February 2016. On March 2, 2016. The society organized a group discussion on “The Philosophical Aspect of the Policy of Reservation”.

The Department of Philosophy comprises a team of committed and vibrant teachers who stimulate, encourage and exhort the students to develop their intellectual and analytical abilities. The course for Philosophy (Hons.) is well suited for this. The BA Course and concurrent course papers are designed for students studying other disciplines to acquire an adequate knowledge of social values and practices.

The department of philosophy, Z.H.D.C through its philosophy society named as “The Monist” has organized various academic programs and events with an aim of overall academic development of students inviting some nationally and internationally renowned scholars. The students have been exposed to their respective fields of study through seminars, discussions, debates, documentary movies etc. under the able guidance of teachers.

Physical Sciences Society 

President: Dr. Satish Kumar Rajouria

Members: Dr. Mohammad Fahim Ansari, Dr. Seema Rawat, Dr. Anita Katna and Dr. Gayatri Shishodia

The society organized its Inaugural Lecture on “Fascination of Nuclear Energy”, delivered by Prof. Vinod Kumar of Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi on September 17, 2015. Apart from this lecture, various activities were organized in which witnessed enthusiastic participation from students. The Society also organized its annual fest “Enigma1.0” on February 9, 2016. Various events such as Inter-Department Essay competition, Physics Quiz, General Quiz, Treasure Hunt and Volleyball Championship were organized during the fest.

Physics Society

Coordinator: Dr. Gayatri Shishodia

Physics society began its activity with a fresher’s welcome and appointed its office bearers for the year 2014-15. A talk by Prof. Vinay Gupta of Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, was held on “Material for energy Harvesting”. Subsequently, other activities such as poster making, quiz, pick and speak etc. were also held.

‘Political Science Society Avaam’

Teacher Incharge: Dr. Vasudha Dhingra

The Department of Political Science (Avaam) screened the documentary Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai in September. In October, the department invited Prof Krishna Kumar to speak on “Teaching under difficult circumstances”. A panel discussion on Labour Law Reforms in India was also organized in the same month. It was a moment of great pride for the department when it got the opportunity to host a visiting delegation of students and teachers from Myanmar and interact with them in October 2015. In January 2016, the department went on a three-day educational trip to Nainital. In February a seminar in memory of legendary teacher Prof. Randhir Singh was organized, who taught at our College for almost two decades. The department organized a one-day UGC sponsored national seminar on Ways of Seeing in March, 2016. Experts of Indian Political thought such as Prof P.K.Datta and Dr. Ananya Vajpai participated in this seminar. In the same month, the annual festival of the department Abhivyakti was held. This was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Nation and Nationalism’, on 19 March 2016. The panelist included Achin Vanaik, Madhulika Banerjee, Apoorvanand, Urmilesh and Satish Deshpande. This year the third issue of the departmental magazine Awaaz on the theme ‘Right to life’ was published. An interactive session on ‘Privatization of Education’, was organized with Dr. Madhu Prasad in February. In April, the department organized a “Chat with a Diplomat” (C-WaD) in collaboration with Global Youth, ZHDC chapter. Mr Robert Kemp, Deputy  Minister Counsellor for Economy, Trade and Technology Affairs from the Embassy of United States of America participated in this event.

Sanskrit Literary Society

Coordinator: Dr. Deepak Kalia

The Sanskrit Parishad of the College celebrated the Sanskrit week from 26 August 2015 to 1 September 2015, and organized a lecture on ‘Sanskrit Avam Bhartiya Jeevan’, by Dr. Aloka Dasgupta, former Associate Prof. at Kamla Nehru College and our colleague Dr. Vibha Singh Chauhan. In February, 2016, inter class ‘Shlokh Lekhan patravachan and Prashnmanch’, competitions were organized. In March, Sanskrit Parishad in association with the Sanskrit Bharti conducted ‘Sanskrit Sambhashan Shivir” for seven days. Our college team won the 1st prize in the inter-college Shlokh- Sangeet competition at Miranda house.

Urdu Literary Society (Bazm e-Adab)

President: Dr.Mohd. Alam

Editor of Magazine (Fikre-Nau): Dr. Mumtaz Mujeeb                                                               

Bazm-e-Adab organized a series of events like Debate, Ghazal recitation, Seminars and literary discussion. Bait Bazi and a Ghazal Recitation competition were organized on 29th  October 2015.

Zoological Society (Inheritance)

Coordinator: Dr. Satish Ganta

For its inaugural function, the Zoological society invited Prof. Anand Prakash, Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, and for its annual fest Dr. Subeer S. Majumdar, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi as guest speakers. In addition, an educational-cum-excursion trip was organized for B.Sc. (Hons.) zoology students to visit Jim Corbett National Park and Nainital.

Philanthropic Tradition

Significantly, the college has a proud philanthropic tradition to present as well. At one point in the recent history of the college, when the college had to shift its campus from the Ajmeri Gate locale, the staff and administration were given a choice to be part of the North Campus of Delhi University. However, the then heads of the institute had taken more humane considerations into account. They had observed that the college had acquired great aspirational value for many members of the surrounding community, who could not travel too far due to cultural limitations. It was clear that this deserving section of society would be deprived of a golden chance if the college shifted base to a place so far away if this decision was taken, and thus it was rejected. Thus, the college instead set itself up nearby at Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, opposite Ram Leela Maidan.