User:Srejan Debnath/Writing for NDC
The Beginning
After the partition of India in 1947, the newly independent government of Pakistan requested head of the Catholic Church at that time to start several colleges. After receiving an invitation from the government, Archbishop Lawrence Leo Graner instructed then the priests of the "Congregation of Holy Cross" to set up separate colleges for boys and girls. St. Gregory's College was established on 3 November 1949 at 82 Municipal Office Street, Luxmibazar, Dhaka in the school building as an extension of St Gregory's High School by the Roman Catholic clergy in accordance with the decision of the Holy Cross. The college started its journey with 19 students of Arts and Commerce Department. The institute was relocated later to 61/1 Subhash Bose Avenue Luxmibazar in December 1950. In the same year the college became affiliated to Dhaka University. The Former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Kamal Hossain was one of the students who admitted to the institute in 1951. In 1953, he became the first in the entire East Pakistan Higher Secondary Examination. In 1950, 6 students took part in the examination under Dhaka University, 5 of them passed in the first class. In 1951, the number of students in the institution was 55. In that same year, the college students staged William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" on St. Gregory's High School campus in three nights. Serajul Islam Choudhury was among the students of 1952. In 1953, Richard William Timm started the first debating club of East Pakistan, Notre Dame Debating Club. In the academic session 1952-53, Notre Dame College got the approval of Dhaka University to start BA classes. In the academic session 1953-54, Principal Richard William Timm started science branch in the college for the first time. Practical classes was arranged in a tin room next to the main building. On September 17, 1954, Richard William Timm founded the Notre Dame Science Club, the first informal center for the study of science in the subcontinent. At the same time, the college started publishing its first weekly "Chit-Chat" and its annual "Blue and Gold". At the same time, clubs called "Notre Dame Photography Club" and "Literature Guild" were formed. The college was shifted from Laxmibazar to Arambagh in 1954. Then it was renamed "Notre Dame College". The college first started teaching arts and commerce but later started BA course in 1955. In 1959, it was recognized as the best college in the examinations of various universities of East Pakistan at that time. B.Sc course was also started in the college in 1960. At shortage of teachers in the college in that year, some volunteers of a British organisation named the British Volunteer Service (British Voluntary Service Overseas) joined as a teacher. They taught at Notre Dame College from 1963 to 1970. After the construction work of the new building was completed in 1960, former principal James L. Martin died for typhoid fever at Holy Family Hospital in Dhaka, on March 21 of that year. The new building is named "Father Martin Hall" according to his name. Then Theotonius Amal Ganguly succeeded James Martin as the first Bengali principal. He was appointed as a assistant bishop of Dhaka Dharmapradesh after serving as the principal of this college for only seven months. He later became the first Bengali bishop and archbishop of Dhaka.