Ashutosh Mukherjee

Ashutosh Mukherjee

Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, CSI (Bengali: আশুতোষ মুখোপাধ্যায়) (29 June 1864 – 25 May 1924) was a prolific Bengali educator and the second Indian Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta for four consecutive two-year terms (1906–1914) and a fifth two-year term (1921–23). Perhaps the most emphatic figure of Indian education, he was a man of great personality, high self-respect, courage and towering administrative ability. He became the first student to be awarded a dual degree (MA in Mathematics and Physics) from Calcutta University and received the prestigious Premchand-Roychand scholarship.

Mukherjee was responsible for the foundation of the Bengal Technical Institute in 1906 and the Calcutta University, College of Science in 1914. The Calcutta Mathematical Society was also founded by Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee in 1908 and he served as the founder president of the Society during 1908 to 1923. He was the first president of the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress in 1914. The Asutosh College was also founded under his stewardship in 1916, when he was Vice-chancellor of University of Calcutta.

Ashutosh Mukherjee was knighted in 1911. For his intransigence attitude with British Govt., high self-respect, courage and academic integrity he was known as the "Tiger of Bengal". He was the father of famous Syama Prasad Mookerjee the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.