CHAPTER 5
ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF INDIA IN 20th CENTURY*

Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy
        As we have already mentioned in Chapter 4, the Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy was founded on April 2, 1821. The idea of a national academy in Calcutta was first conceived by Astvatsatoor Mooradkhan. By his will dated July 30, 1797 he left sicca  Rs.8000 for the establishment of an Armenian School in Calcutta "for the education of the Armenian youth both rich and poor". Later on, through the untiring efforts of Manatsakan Vardan, enough money was raised by subscription among the Armenian community to materialize Mooradkhan's idea.  It is noteworthy to mention that the Main School Building on Free School Street bought in 1884, has been the birthplace of the celebrated novelist William Makepeace Thackeray in 1811.⁹⁶
        After the foundation of the Academy a printing press was presented to it by one Armenian merchant of Calcutta. In this press numerous books, pamphlets and calendars were printed. However, after functioning for 60 years the press was closed down.
        The Academy had also very famous library which had a rich collection of valuable books and manuscripts. This Araratyan Library was founded in 1828. There were books in Armenian, Greek, Latin, English, French, Dutch, Persian, Chinese and other Occidental and Oriental languages. Ancient Armenian manuscripts were available there, too.
        However, when one Carapet Mourad was the Rector of the Philanthropic Academy, all the rare Armenian manuscripts disappeared. This was disclosed in 1890. In 1909 an ex-pupil of the Academy donated a large number of English books thus laying foundation of a new library.
        During the 20th century this library was being expanded from time to time to time obtaining contemporary literature. Recently, in autumn 2000 a large consignment of books was sent from Armenian to Calcutta for the library of the Armenian College. The organiser was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, which addressed a request-letter to various publishing houses and libraries in Yerevan to provide with textbooks, extra-curricular literature to the Armenian College of Calcutta. All these organisations unanimously supported the idea and gave a wide selection of Armenian, Russian and English books as a gift to the library. Among those organisations were the Fundamental Library of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Institute of Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Library of the Yerevan State University, publishing houses: Louys, Hayastan, Arevik, Tigran Mets.
        The funds and properties of the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy are vested in the Official Trustee of West Bengal. The College was governed according to the provisions of a Scheme drawn up by the High Court of Calcutta in 1883. According to this Scheme the College is governed by a body of male members of the Armenian  community in Calcutta known as the Members of the Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy or Members of the Institution.
        Membership of this body is for life and election of new members is done by the Members themselves at their Annual General Meetings. Three Members, known as Managers, are annually elected to attend to the welfare of the College and the proper running of its affairs on behalf of the Members of the Institution and are responsible to them. Owing to the declining number of the Armenians, women are now able to participate in the management of the Academy. At present, the Armenian College has only one Manager.
        During almost 180 years of its functioning, the Armenian College had many principles but the most respected and outstanding one was Vahan Poladyan who is still remembered with great affection by all the members of the community. Poladyan was an Armenian from Lebanon. He was invited in 1952 to teach in the College but he remained in Calcutta all his life. Poladyan was the principle of the Armenian College from 1952 to 1979 and 1982 – 1988.
        The Armenian Philanthropic Academy was first affiliated to the Calcutta University in 1870. According to the records of the University of Calcutta the first batch of students from the Academy were sent up for the Entrance (later Matriculation) Examination in 1870.
         The Academy was affiliated to the University of Calcutta up to the F.A. (Intermediate Arts) standard by the name of "Armenian College" in 1888. However, the then management did not favour the advisability of continuing permanently the college classes and they were closed in 1892. The Institution is now known as Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy, and is affiliated to the Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal.
         In 1949 the Armenian College and Davidian Girls' School were educationally amalgamated with the object of improving the strained financial conditions of both institutions. Up to 1954 the girls were sent up for School Final Examinations of the Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal, as private candidates. On January 27, 1953 permission for co-education was granted to the College by the Board and since then the girls have been sent up for the School Final Examinations as regular candidates.
         Later on, in compliance with the educational policy of the Government of India and the States, the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy sought  recognition as a Higher Secondary School with permission to prepare candidates for the Higher Secondary Examinations, leading to a three-year degree course, and was recognised as such with effect from April 1, 1958.  On the adoption of the Higher Secondary Examinations pattern by the Senior Cambridge Certificate Examinations, it was felt advisable by the College authorities to switch over to the latter in view of its wide recognition outside India. An application for affiliation was submitted to the authorities concerned who considered it favourably. The new course of studies was introduced in January 1962.
         The College prepares students for the School Final Examinations of the Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal. Both Modern and Classical Armenian were recognised as examination subjects, the former as a vernacular, the latter as a classical language. Besides Armenian and English (the medium of instruction) Bengali was also taught as the local language. Iranian language was also taught to the pupils who had come from Iran and were supposed to go back after completing their studies. In addition to the compulsory and optional subjects prescribed by the Board of Secondary Education, Armenian History and Religious Knowledge are also taught through the medium of Armenian.⁹⁷
         However, during the last ten years classical Armenian and Bengali languages have been abandoned as the majority of pupils are from Iran (who are ethnic Armenians) and Armenia where classical Armenian is used only by narrow specialists.
         Prizes are awarded to those students of each class who secure the highest marks in the respective subjects. Besides class prizes there are also special prizes for Armenian language, for Music, for Religious Knowledge, for Good Conduct. Prizes are presented on the Prize Day, usually held on February 7, Davidian Girls' School Founder's Day. The Armenian College Founder's Day (April 2) is celebrated by the Combined Schools' Annual Concert.
        The students of the College were taught to sing, to play the piano and violin. There was a College Choir and Orchestra. They performed not only in the College on Armenian and Indian national holidays but were also invited by different governmental organisations and diplomatic missions in Calcutta to perform during particular events and celebrations.
        The Armenian College was among the first educational institutions in Calcutta to adopt scouting in 1911. From the very beginning the Armenian Scouting team won many prizes such as: the Ballygunge United Cross Country Races, the Kent Signalling  Cup, the Ingonyama Cup and Fram Juvenile Cup in 1912. The visiting Commissioner of Scouts from London declared that in his opinion the Armenian College Scout Troop was the best in the East.
        In the beginning of the World War II Dr. P.K. Biswas, Chief of the Air Raid Precaution Casualty Service, requested the College Scout Troop to join his service. Armenian Scouts were enrolled in First Aid work and local Civil Guards. Armenian Scouts were involved again in First  Aid Work during the Indo-Pakistan War in September 1965. According to the records till 1968, Armenian College Scout Troop almost every year has been the winner in Calcutta and West Bengal state, and the best scout of the year was declared an Armenian.
        However, in 1970s when many Armenian families left Calcutta for other countries, the Scout Troop was dissolved. But another famous team of the Armenian College, the Armenian College Rugby Team (which has been an active participant in the rugby since 1890, when the Calcutta Rugby Union Challenge Cup Tournament was inaugurated) still exists, participates in different competitions and wins. That is due to those students of the Armenian College who came from Iran in large numbers in 1980s, and have graduated from the Armenian College. They later got admission in the Calcutta University or other colleges but they still participate in various rugby tournaments under the name of the Armenian Sports Club.
        This team have been playing both at the club level and at the national level since 1991. Till 1999 every year they won prestigious rugby tournaments. In 1997 and 1998 four players from the Armenian Rugby Team were chosen to join the National Rugby Team of India to participate in international tournaments.
        As long as these Iranian-Armenians are in India, they easily adopt themselves into the Indian ways of life. They speak Hindi and Bengali. As one of these boys told to Rupali Ghosh, a journalist from The Asian Age, "We spend our formative years here, make friends outside the community, play for the country and in time, we grow to love this place and recognise it as home".⁹⁸
         Armenian children from India, Iran and Iraq had always been studying at the Armenian College. But till the 1950s they were mostly from India. However, when India gained independence, the Armenians started to leave the country resulting a decline in the Armenian population. The authorities of the College thus started inviting pupils from Iran and Iraq. In this regard the Armenian Church Committee of Calcutta sends letters to the Armenian Church Committees in Iran and Iraq to inform the Armenian families about the admission to the Armenian College of Calcutta. The Church Committees of these countries form the batches of children and organise their departure.
         As we see from the Table, till 1980 the number of pupils was high, having its maximum in 1961, 1962 and 1973 (206, 204 and 179 respectively). However, after the revolution in Iran in 1979, the number of students from Iran declined due to the strict regulations imposed by the Islamic leadership. The new Government of Iran did not allow the already-prepared batches of Armenian children to leave for India.
        During the Iran-Iraq war a number of students from Iran was sent to India by their parents. But they were taken back when the war ended.
        One of the reasons for the decline in the number of pupils is that the parents, seeking better education opportunities for their children, send them to developed countries.
        Till the 1970s the standard of the Armenian College was very high. Highly qualified specialists were teaching there. But as the majority left India and elderly people died, nobody was left to run the College properly. So, as we see from the Table, in 1991 there were only 38 students, almost all of them being Iranian nationals.
        Of course, this problem was a big concern for the Armenian community in general and the Church Committee in particular.
        On December 7, 1988 there was a disastrous earthquake in Soviet Armenia. More than 30 thousand people died leaving 400 thousand out of shelter. The Armenian Church Committee of Calcutta sent financial help to the Earthquake Fund. It also suggested the Government of Armenia to send a batch of orphan children to study in the Armenian College of Calcutta (since many children became orphans during the earthquake). But as the then Soviet regime did not encourage such foreign contacts, this proposal remained unresponded.

  In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Armenian Church Committee of India renewed its invitation and already in 1992 the first batch of Armenian children from independent Republic of Armenia landed in Calcutta. In 1994 another batch arrived from Armenia, and the number of students rose up to 97.
        However, due to some technical problems and misunderstanding, all the children from Armenia were taken back. As we can see from the Table, in 1997 and 1998 there were only six students  (three boys and three girls) in the College.
        In 1999 Echmiatsin took over the Armenian College in Calcutta. A bishop was appointed as the administrator of the College who chose children from orphanages and among poor families in Armenia. The first batch of 30 children with eight teachers arrived in Calcutta in November 1999.
        The next batch is expected to arrive in January 2001. The Armenian Church Committee has decided to raise the number of students till 300. After the completion of their studies, these children will go back and be of use to Armenia.