Vijaygarh jyotish ray college

1950 Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College came into existence as part of a larger historical reality known as Bengal Partition. Continuous with the struggle carried on by the victims of partition elsewhere, the college sprang up with the sole effort put in by those uprooted from the erstwhile East Bengal. In order to understand the historical struggle, its philosophy and the goals that compelled the birth and the subsequent growth of the college, the background and its location may be briefly outlined.

Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College is located in the Jadavpur area bordered by Saktigarh, Pallisree, Sree Colony, Golf Green and Vikramgarh. It covers an area of approximately two square miles and living within the colony today are approximately 15,000 inhabitants. The land was originally owned by the United State Army and by a private Zamindar. Although the settlement of this land by first refugees in 1946 appears to be in line with the classic pattern of Jabardakhal, there was actually much behind-the-scene negotiations with the government on the part of veteran freedom fighter Santoshkumar Dutta who had a land deed to occupy the land. There were secret instructions to the police not to disturb those squatters, but there were frequent police raids and the constant presence of plainclothes policeman...

Today the colony of Vijaygarh is divided into 11 wards, each with its colony committee. The committees are elected by every adult member of the community, and they are responsible for overseeing land disputes and for mobilizing refugees around political issues. Within Vijaygarh, there is one college, one hospital and maternity home, four schools, one large park and a very active bazaar, all built by the refugees themselves...

The next important step for the college was to secure the approval of Calcutta University for which a sum of Rs. 25 thousand had to be deposited in Reserve Bank. Attempts were made to mobilize the required fund. A good samaritan named Uttama Sundari Devi came forward with twenty thousand rupees. The college was named after her son-in-law Jyotish Chandra Ray.

With this in view the college has progressed in the last 65 years. The three-storied building in which the college is housed has in front an open space with trees planted with a view to giving a sense of proximity to nature...

Our ultimate goal is to take part in nation-building. To us building of nation means making the students realise that they are full of possibilities. We want to infuse the spirit of service and sacrifice into young minds so that they become useful instrument of the society.

This, in its turn, requires adoption of some programmes not only for ensuring higher education but also for generating employment opportunities. There is no denying the fact that the country has been facing the menacing problem of unemployment since independence...

“We are very firm so far as our objectives are concerned and we are gradually and steadily moving towards the goal.”