Hindu College, Delhi
Hindu College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi in New Delhi, India. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest for arts and sciences in India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in sciences, humanities, social sciences and commerce. In 2020, it is ranked 3rd nationally by National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) under Ministry of Human Resource Development (Government of India). It has been awarded 'Star College' status for its Department of Biotechnology by the Ministry of Science and Technology (Government of India). The college has produced many notable alumni in the fields  of Law, Economics, Science, Psychology, Business, Philosophy, Literature, Media, Cinema, Military, Sports and Politics. Notwithstanding its name, students from all religions are admitted to Hindu College. History. Hindu College was founded in 1899 by Krishan Dassji Gurwale in the backdrop of the nationalist struggle against the British Raj. Some prominent citizens, including Rai Bahadur Amba Prasad, Gurwale Ji, decided to start a college that would provide nationalist education to the youth, while being non-elitist and non-sectarian. Originally, the college was housed in a humble building in Kinari Bazar, Chandni Chowk, and it was affiliated to Punjab University as  there was no university in Delhi at that time. As the college grew, it faced a major crisis in 1902. The Punjab University warned the college that the university would disaffiliate the college if the college failed to get a proper building of its own. Rai Bahadur Lala Sultan Singh came to rescue the college from this crisis. He donated a part of his historic property, which originally belonged to Colonel James Skinner, at Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, to the college. The college functioned from there till 1953. When the University of Delhi took birth in 1922, Hindu College along with  Ramjas College and St. Stephen's College were subsequently affiliated to the University of Delhi, making them the first three institutions to be affiliated with the university. Hindu College was a centre for intellectual and political debate during India's freedom struggle, especially during the Quit India Movement. It is the only college in Delhi to have a students' parliament since 1935, which provided a platform to many national leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Annie Besant, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Subhash Chandra Bose for motivating the youth. Responding to Gandhi's Quit India Movement in  1942, the college played a substantial role in India's freedom struggle and some of this college's teachers and students courted arrest. The college also closed its gates for several months. <nowiki>*</nowiki>Dr. B.M. Bhatia was on leave for two years, 1971–1973. During this period, Dr. P.C. Sood was the substituting principal. Campus. The college is spread across a 25-acre campus. It has one auditorium, a seminar room and maintains a playground and a sports complex. Basketball, cricket, and table tennis are organised under the supervision of the director of physical education. The college has physics  and chemistry laboratories, NCC and NSS rooms, a computer room, photocopier and stationery shop. A Students' Centre offers a bank and a canteen. Library. Hindu College's library is among the oldest college libraries in the University of Delhi. It was set up in 1899, along with the foundation of the college. Also students as well as teachers can refer to various books in library. Hostel. Hindu College's boys hostel is situated next to the sports complex of college. It has 119 rooms enclosing four lawns with rose beds and hedges (charbagh style). The hostel provides residential facilities to  about two hundred undergraduate and postgraduate male students. A common room provides the residents recreational facilities such as Carrom-board, chess, and a separate TV room apart from the newspapers and magazines. Due to its limited capacity, only the highly meritorious among the college students get admission to the hostel. The college has a girls hostel, which has been working from 2017 strength of 190 students . Academics. Rankings. Hindu College is ranked ninth among colleges in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2021. Student life. Student Societies. Every department has its own society which is tasked with  organising the department-specific co-curricular activities. Ibtida is the dramatics society of Hindu College which performs both stage and street plays. It was formed by Imtiaz Ali while he was a student at the college. The women's development cell of the college has been very active in gender sensitisation and after the scrapping of section 377 successfully led pride parades to create awareness about LGBTQ+ rights. The Indian music society, Alankar, holds its annual festival Harmony every year. The English debating society, popularly known as the Desboc, is representative of an inquiring and active intellectual life on campus . Debsoc is the only debating society in Delhi University to organise four major debates in an academic year. The Science Forum is a group of diverse science enthusiasts dwelling in Hindu College. The Symposium Society is the policy and deliberation forum of Hindu College, University of Delhi. The organization follows a ‘General Body’ structure, with the President and Vice-President at the core. Among its many activities the prominent ones are the Prime Ministerial Debate and Interviews, Hindu Darbar, Hindu Mock Indian Parliament (HMIP), and Hindu Policy Forum (HPS). Furthermore, the society promotes independent student journalism through its bimonthly publication-  Hindu College Gazette. The publication also reviews and publishes opinions and analyses from scholars and writers from across the country. Other societies include Abhyas - The Internship Cell; The Finance & Investment Cell; Abhirang, the Hindi Dramatic Society; Adhrita, The Indian Dance Society, that works to maintain culture and heritage and conduct the only dance fest of DU; Abstraction, the Fine Arts Society; Aria, the Western Music Society; Manthan, the Quiz Society; Srijya, the Contemporary Dance Society; Scribe: The Literary Society ; Masque, The English Dramatic Society; Vagmi, the Hindi Debating Society; and Vivre, The Film and Photography Society, the Entrepreneurship Cell, or  more commonly just Ecell. Students’ Parliament. The college has a Students' Parliament. The Hindu College Parliament is a unique student organisation in the country. All the students and teachers of the College are its members. The students elect the Prime Minister from amongst themselves at the beginning of the year. There is also a Leader of the Opposition. The Speaker of the Parliament is a teacher nominated by the Principal in his/her capacity as the President of the Hindu College Republic. The College Parliament is a forum for discussions on academic and other issues. It allocates funds to the  various societies. The parliament is in continuous operation since 1935. Members of Cabinet of students' Parliament are elected by students. The students' parliament takes care of student demands. Notable alumni. The alumni of Hindu College are called Hinduites.