History Indraprastha College For Women Delhi India

As the winds of history swept overIndia in the early years of the last century, a group of local theosophists, led by Lala Jugal Kishore responded to the challenge to bring Indian women out of the purdah and into the classroom. Indraprastha Girls School was founded in 1904 - a hopeful beginning in Chhipiwara in the old city of Delhi.

Parents had to be coaxed to send their daughters to school and purdah was strictly observed, but the founders persisted doggedly in establishing the school and encouraging the young girls to join.

In 1924, Intermediate classes were introduced and the University of Delhi, itself founded in 1922, recognised the Indraprastha Girls College, later to become famous all over the country as the Indraprastha college for Women, our present name. Degree courses were introduced in 1930'sand in 1938,the University recognised I.P. as a degree college. A committed band of philanthropists - Lala Bal Krishan Das, Lala Pyare Lal, Lala Sultan Singh and Dr. Ram Kishore among them - provided every kind of assistance to supplement a small endowment fund contributed by citizens of Delhi to keep the struggling institution on its feet.

Housed in Chhipiwara in the early years, followed by a stint in Chandrawali Bhawan, Civil lines, the College eventually moved to Alipur House, the former office of Commander-in-Chief in 1938, which it still inhabits.

In a University famed for the architecture of some of its older colleges, Indraprastha College stands out for the stately beauty of its sprawling, single storey red and yellow building. In 2002 Indraprastha College has been marked as the Heritage Building by the Government of Delhi and is going to be maintained by the Government itself. Green lawns, ancient trees, a multitude of small birds (even by the occasional peacock!) and a riot of flowers and ferns mark the college as one of the most beautiful spots in the city. Additions have been made to the building over the years, most notably the library, the gymnasium, the hostel, the cafeteria, the auditorium and classrooms . Audio visual centre and three well equipped Computer Labshave been added very recently to accommodate our entry into the world of computers. A college archive has also been setup where the history of IP College has been displayed with old photographs and documents. Yet none of these additions impinge on the grandeur of the original building, and this serves as a symbol of what Indraprastha College stands for : the ability to guard its sense of history and tradition while opening itself to the growing demands of successive generations of students and teachers.