DAV PG College has been a powerful vehicle for sowing the seeds of education and values in young minds in the distinguished Purvanchal area of India. Such great contribution by an institution erected as an edifice of morality and righteousness has been enabled by virtue of the relentless efforts of the Gorakhpur University, which has been dedicated to the larger interests and benefit of society and mankind since 1970. The dedicated efforts of Gorakhpur University in resurrecting the pillars of a strong educational support system for the state of Uttar Pradesh was manifested personally by the respected Ray Bahadur Madhusudhan Das and Agha Prasad Verma, founder and secretary of the Aryan Education Trust, respectively. It was in the summer of 1970 in the Arts Faculty in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow that the foundations and structure of a degree college offering courses in seven subjects including Hindi, English Sanskrit, Politics, History, Economics and Psychology, was approved by the working committee. By the first week of August in the same year all necessary requirements and formalities sufficing the same were completed and provided. In accordance to the same, a total of seven appointments including that for the designation of principal and lecturers were made and the working schedules of the classes attending various disciplines and the general functioning of the institution were also drafted in an expedited time frame. On August 12, 1970, after conducting all necessary rituals in accordance with tradition, The DAV Degree College formally started its operations and the graduating batch of 1970-71 became its first batch of students to successfully pass out of the institution in their chosen disciplines. Despite being an institute offering a novice course, there was no dearth of academic curriculum or activities and the academic prowess displayed by the first batch of selected candidates is indeed worth mention. Councils and committees were formed subsequently involving and including experts from various walks of life specializing in the faculty of languages and literature in Hindi English and Sanskrit to spearhead these literary and psychology councils.
Our students representing the college in a highly prestigious inter collegiate debate championship held in the auditorium of the Udit Narayan Degree College in Padrauna, did the alma mater extremely proud by securing the second position in the contest and making our award showcase richer with the inclusion of a Silver Trophy in Debate. As a relatively young student with little experience of the world, I benefited greatly from the kindness, compassion and vast reserve of knowledge of my revered and most respected teachers. I will remain forever indebted to my teachers in school and to name a few who have left lasting mark on me are Shri Ghanshyam Bahadur, Ganesh Prasad, Shri Om Prakash Shrivastav, Shri Jagdish Prasad Shrivastav, Sri Adhma Prasad Shrivastav and Shri Chandraprakash Shrivastav. Shri Hari Shnakar Lal ji went on to become the founding principal of the DAV degree college and his administrative skills, leadership qualities and visionary foresight make him an exemplary figure of stalwart teachers to have graced this prestigious institution with their immense reserve of knowledge and wisdom. His flawless and spotless personality was a reflection of his superior thinking, liberal approach and affable nature. And this is the reason why every person to have shared even as much as a chance encounter with, be it a student or fellow teacher, has been profoundly influenced by his overwhelming stature and personality. If someone approached him with a problem or a predicament, whatever be the nature of the problem, he would inevitably receive the soundest and most satisfying advice from Shri Hari Shankar Lal ji that would appease their worries, doubts and confusion.
The day of January 13, 1971 was a historic moment and a golden day in the rich history of D.A.V. degree college, Gorakhpur. A date marked in golden letters, it was on this date that the foundation of the present building of DAV degree college was laid down on the adjoining plot of land previously used as a playground for students’ sporting activities. The founding stone for this seat of education was laid down by eminent personalities Honorable Chaudhary Ram Lakhan Chandra (Chairman, Aryan Education Trust) and he was assisted duly by Babu Umashankar (Manager, Aryan Educational Trust) in this noble cause. The present day structure is an edifice of resolute determination which stands as a manifestation of the vision of its founding fathers. Lest it is forgotten, it is the right time to remember the contributions of none other than the main pillar of inspiration for the construction of this mammoth establishment, late Mr. Surendranath Shrivastav Ji, who was not only a respected spokesman of the D.A.V. Inter College, but he was also one of the main reasons for the construction of the college building, duly complying to his commitment by handing over a cheque for the princely amount of one thousand one Rupees to Babu Umashankar, the respected Manager and his trusted aide and contemporary, in lieu of the expenses towards building a degree college. In the summer of 1971 The DAV College organized several youth oriented programs such as Acharya Kul and camps related to the Tarun Shanti Sena and this occasion served as a platform for confluence of many distinguished personalities such as Honorable Rohit Mehta, Subba Rao, Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani, Mrs. Rajendra Kumari Bajpai and Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna. In the same summer of 1971, the college introduced two new subjects in the Arts Faculty, sociology and education wheras Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry introduced in Science stream with the approval of director of Hiegher Education U.P..
It was around the same time that Late Shri Darpa Narayan Singh donated a substantial section of his sprawling land property to the favour of the DAV degree college trust. The owning family of the DAV Degree College is immensely touched by this very honourable and charitable gesture and remains deeply grateful to such an exemplary act of kindness. Founding father and the first Principal Mr. Harishankar Lal leveraged his position beautifully by prioritizing student bodies, collaborations and other initiatives in the better interest of the students. A visionary personality, far ahead of his time, Dr Lal would often complete his responsibilities and ensure all admission formalities for the oncoming session is taken care of beforehand and completed by end of July – August. He would then reserve the entire month of September for encouraging the formation of student representative bodies and making them contest student body elections. In September 1971 the first student union was formed after fair and square elections, and Late Shri Rangarayan Pandey was chosen as its first officiating president. Mr Pandey was a victim of the ferocious and violently aggressive antecedents associated with college politics and succumbed to an attack during intense competition of student politics later on. After the successful completion of student body election polls, the next two months would be followed by different competitive events organised by student bodies for students to participate in different fields such as sports, linguistics, languages and debate. These competitive events would keep the students busy and occupied with reasonable interest and they would last for as long as months together at a stretch. The balanced load of work and sports within college premises resulted in colourful mix and variety in the prevailing ambience and atmosphere among students, motivating each individual in a field they had developed interest for.
In November-December, a grand annual function was organized by Principal Shri Harishankar Lal which not only attracted the presence of several contesting participants lining up for the grand prize but also saw several distinguished dignitaries of the metropolis and the University invited to witness the proceedings of the sports meet as honorable guests. The grand sports meet, the first of its kind, was a massive success and hosted a huge turnout by both spectators as well as contestants, finally coming to a close on November 17. The sports meet commenced on 16th of November, lasted for two full days, and the opening edition event was inaugurated by the Honorable Dr. Ramji Lal Sahai, Education Minister, Uttar Pradesh Government. Within minutes of the inauguration, the college campus premises was immediately converted to a fair ground with the release of numerous colourful balloons in the air to commemorate the auspicious occasion. Even more visually captivating and a feast for the eyes was the march past session spearheaded by the RPF Railway Orchestra Band and performed by students of the college, dressed in bright variety of color coordinated outfits with resplendent distinguishing flags to indicate their presence. From 22nd November 1971, all the classes for the Arts and Science Faculty were shifted to the newly constructed college building which became the designated area for conducting classes in those disciplines moving forward. The new building was soon segregated for allocating reserved spaces for seating various officiating personnel such as library, staff room, principal’s office and chairman’s office.
Timed to precision, the ground floor of the newly constructed college building was completed fully before the retirement of the founding Principal, Mr. Harishankar Lal in June 1991 and on the first floor, the construction of the Northern Block and the Southern Block had been completed. Surprisingly the incomplete central portion of the new college building remained half done for a long time. It was not until later in 1993 after the appointment of Dr Ramashankar Ray as officiating Principal of the DAV College, that stalled construction was finally completed to a full finish. It was only due to his relentless efforts that the construction work on the incomplete college building was commenced with the intention of bringing it to look in its present form. It was during the tenure and term of Dr Ray as Principal of the DAV College that the institution celebrated its landmark silver jubilee marking 25 years of glorious operation. The celebration party for the occasion witnessed many eminent personalities and respected dignitaries gracing the occasion such as the likes of Honourable Secretary to Education Ministry of UP, Mr M Ram Chandranand, Dr KC Sharma, Director of Education in state of Uttar Pradesh who expressed gratitude for the service the institution has been rendering in the progress of the youth. In the present day and age, a regular batch of the DAV college in any discipline consists of 2000 -2500 students on an average and in addition to existing infrastructure the college has also increased its faculty capacity to offer post graduation specialization courses. Since 2006-07 post graduation courses have been operating in the field of history and political science.
प्रत्येक अच्छा काम पहले असम्भव लगता है , किन्तु जैसे ही हम दृढ़ निश्चय के साथ इसे करना प्रारम्भ करते हैं तो लगता है की कोई भी काम कठिन नही है। आवश्यकता है दृढ़ निश्चय और साहस की।
बाल गंगाधरन तिलक
