HISTORY OF KHALSA COLLEGE TO BE TURNED INTO UNIVERSITY

The iconic Khalsa College then came into being in 1892, played a key role in the country’s freedom struggle and with the passage of time also carved out a niche for itself in the field of education. However, today the 119-year-old grand institution is standing on the crossroads with the college management going full steam to convert it into a private university against the wishes of the college teachers, its alumni and various other sections of society.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that the college is struggling to attain the status of a university. Earlier too, attempts were made to convert into a university, but for some reasons, the previous endeavours could not fructify.
The first bid was made way back in 1920 during the British rule. However, there is a huge difference between the earlier proposal and the current one. While the present proposal is fraught with apprehensions and sense of insecurity, the one dating back to the British era would have undoubtedly seen the college making it to the list of the most prestigious universities in the country.
If the college had become a university in 1920s it would have been funded by the government. The British had mooted this proposal for the Hindus, the Muslims and the Sikhs in view of their sentiments. While Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), both of which are Central universities entirely funded by the UGC, came into being, the Sikh university on the Khalsa College campus could not see the light of the day as a section of freedom fighters from the holy city opposed the move due to its British connection.
Unlike the earlier proposal, the fresh plan would turn into a totally private university with no funding from either the state or the Union Government.
That the college had aspired to be a university earlier too is evident from the annual report presented by the then college principal GA Wathen to Sunder Singh Majithia, the then president of the Khalsa College Charitable Society, in 1920-21. “The new Governing Body of this college has assumed control at a turning point of history. Is the college to develop into a university suited worthy of the genius of the Sikh community? We who work here feel that this development can and should take place and we may assure our new Governing Body that we expect a lead in the direction from them and we are prepared to follow that lead with all possible energy and enthusiasm,” said Wathen.
In 1932, the Sikh Educational Conference held at Lahore applauded the proposal of developing Khalsa College into a university. A Sikh University Fund was started and Sikh philanthropists came out and donated generously for the cause. A sum of Rs 2 lakh was also collected for establishing the university. The donations varied from as high as Rs 30,000 and as low as Rs 50 and it came from 75 donors, the list of whom was also published in the college magazine, The Durbar (issue of April-May 1931).
Again in 1933, in his annual report, the then college principal, Bahadur Bishen Singh, said, “The idea of Khalsa College becoming a university deserves to receive the support of all communities and the government, as the college is serving the same purpose as any national or government institution in the matter catering to the wants of all the communities.”
The issue of converting the college into a university, funded by the government, was raised in 1969 too when Guru Nanak Dev University came into being in Amritsar. However, at that time, it was opposed, contending the college was legacy of Sikh Panth.
A resolution for converting the college into a university was passed by the current managing committee in 2007. However, the proposal was not accepted as at that time the Punjab Private Universities Policy had not come into being. Later, the college again applied for conversion into a private university when the policy was implemented in June last year. This proposal was among 19 such proposals received from other institutions in Punjab.