Assam's Cotton College Now Known as Cotton University
- The 117-year-old historic Cotton College, Guwahati to upgrade to Cotton University.
- Cotton College was also declared as a Special Heritage College in 2015.
The 117-year-old historic Cotton College, Guwahati will now merge with the Assam Cotton College to become Cotton University.
Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the education minister of Assam revealed the new identity of the varsity today during a renaming ceremony. Although the renaming ceremony was held during the Cottonian's protest, the Cotton College Teachers Association (CCTA) accepted the decision of Assam government to promote the college to a university.
Sarma shared his vision to take the new university to become the top ranking university of South East Asia along with it to become a centre of excellence in the northeastern region of India.
The Cotton College was officially announced as a full-fledged university with the name Cotton University in January 2017 by the state government through an Act. The historic Act of the Assam government was declared in the year 2011 whereby the institute was upgraded to a university with Cotton College as its only affiliated college.
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Cotton College, the premier college of Assam and north east India was declared as a Special Heritage College in the year 2015. The Cotton College celebrated its 117th anniversary on May 27, 2017. It marked the end of the journey that started in the year 1901.
Prior to the establishment of Cotton College in Guwahati, the students of the province had to go to Kolkata to pursue higher studies.
According to historical records, Manick Chandra Barooah, a prominent public figure of Assam wrote to the British government in 1899 stating that Assam was the only region without a college and people of Upper Assam could afford to stay in Guwahati rather than in Kolkata.
On November 3, 1899, Henry Cotton - Chief Commissioner of Assam declared to establish a college in Guwahati. The public then decided to name the college after the Chief Commissioner. The college was formally announced to be open under Calcutta University at a public meeting held on May 27, 1901.
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Prof Fredrick William Sudmersen took charge as the first principal of the newly established college. Cotton College offered post graduates courses in all the departments since the year 1994. Later, after the formation of Gauhati University as the first university in the entire North East India in the year 1948, the affiliation of Cotton College was transferred to Gauhati University in the same year.