Bethune College, Women's college in Kolkata, India
Bethune College is a women's institution in Kolkata, organized around courtyards and wings that connect classrooms with administrative spaces. The building displays red brick walls, white moldings, and rows of arched windows facing the street.
John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune established a girls' school in 1849 with 21 pupils, facing opposition from conservative voices at the time. The school gained college status in 1879 and soon graduated the first Indian women to receive academic degrees.
The institution fostered notable graduates including Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu, who became the first female graduates of the British Empire in India.
The entrance sits on Bidhan Sarani, a wide road that carries heavy traffic and connects different parts of the city. The area has small bookshops, photocopy centers, and food stalls used by students and visitors passing through.
A cornerstone from 1850 still bears the inscription 'Hindu Female School', reminding visitors of the building's origins before it became a degree-granting college. This original name reflects the educational barriers women faced at the time and the unusual step taken to overcome them.
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