Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was not just the second President of India; he also happened to be the second president — the first being Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray — of a Bengal-based college teachers’ organisation that is turning 100 and remains relevant in the academic ecosystem.
WBCUTA or West Bengal College and University Teachers’ Association began its centenary celebrations on August 3 at Meghnad Saha auditorium in Rajabazar Science College and will continue holding events throughout the year.
It was in February 1926 that the All Bengal College and University Teachers’ Association was set up in Calcutta, its first session being held in August that year, and it went on to function under the leadership of several luminaries including Dr. Radhakrishnan, Dr. C.V. Raman and Dr. Meghnad Saha, before being renamed WBCUTA after Partition.
“Two features have always distinguished it from other organisations in the field. One, it has always emphasised that it is much more than a trade union of college teachers. One, in the words of Prafulla Chandra Ray, it has put upfront the idea that education is not just a “britti” (vocation) but a “brata” (mission). Two, it has never been merely a front organisation of any particular political party. Its executive committee has always had representations from teachers with diverse political beliefs. These aspects of the movement are as relevant today as it was a century ago,” Asis Kumar Banerjee, former Vice-Chancellor of University of Calcutta who inaugurated the centenary celebrations, told The Hindu.
