Pincode 110001: Set up for post-Partition refugees, DU’s Khalsa college now a picture of ‘Mini India’
Named after Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru who is considered the spiritual successor of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, the college has its own Gurdwara — the only one in North campus.
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In 1973, the college shifted to its present location, right across Miranda House. Amit Mehra From a modest school in Karol Bagh to a renowned college in Delhi University’s North Campus, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College is a nod to the resilience and thirst for learning among post-Partition refugees.
Named after Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru who is considered the spiritual successor of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, the college has its own Gurdwara — the only one in North campus.
It was in 1951 that the Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee mulled establishing a college in the university enclave to serve educational needs of Punjabi refugees — a place where teaching of Punjabi language and promotion of Punjabi culture could take place. At a meeting at Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, community leaders such as Sardar Baisakha Singh agreed to take the lead in this regard. An amount of Rs 2 lakh was deposited with Delhi University and in June 1951, the college began to function as a constituent college of DU.
Bawa Bachittar Singh became founding president of the governing body while eminent Sikh scholar GS Talib was invited from Khalsa College, Mumbai, to serve as principal.
Prior to this, the college was functioning from a newly constructed wing at Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa School. It started with 19 students and 15 teachers. One of the most prominent teachers of the time was Professor Frank Thakurdas, who had come from Lahore after Partition. He taught Political Science.
In 1973, the college shifted to its present location, right across Miranda House. It was declared a Sikh Minority college in 2011 along with three other Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee-run colleges of DU. These were Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College, which was later turned into an evening college, in Dev Nagar; Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Pitampura; and Mata Sundri College at Mandi House.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Jaswinder Singh, principal of Khalsa College, said, “Being a minority status college, SGTB Khalsa College has twin goals — to meet academic excellence and ensure social justice.”
Khalsa colleges were the first choice of people who had migrated from West Punjab. “In the 19th Century, when British colonialism inspired many social reforms and education movements among various communities, schools and colleges began to be named as DAV, Islamia, Sanatan Dharma etc. As a result, the Singh Sabha movement among the Sikhs also began to establish its educational institutions in the name of Khalsa. Khalsa College in Amritsar was the first and so far the largest established in 1892,” said Dr Amanpreet Singh Gill, associate professor, Khalsa College.
Talking about the college’s diversity, Singh said the staff room, offices and classrooms present a picture of “Mini India”, adding, “If you hear Malayalam, Manipuri and Maithili under one roof, you know you are at Khalsa College.”
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