#St. Stephen's College in Delhi is India's premier science and liberal arts institution, which awards degrees under the purview of the University of Delhi. It has, over time, produced a large and influential network of alumni, known as Stephanians.
Founded in 1881 by the members of the Cambridge Brotherhood in response to Government policy promoting English-language education in India, the College's first premises were in Chandni Chowk with 5 boarders and three professors, and was initially part of the University of Calcutta.
It was named after Saint Stephen, who was adopted as the patron saint of the College.
In 1906, Principal Rev. Hibbert-Ware abdicated his post in favour of Sushil Kumar Rudra who became the first Indian to head a major educational institution in India. The decision was frowned upon at the time, and was the subject of scathing editorial comment in The Statesman daily published from Calcutta, but Principal Rudra proved to have a tenure of extraordinary importance both for the college and, as described below, for the nation as a whole.
In 1920, the decision was taken to set up a University in Delhi and land was earmarked in the area where the Delhi Durbar of 1911 had been held. The new College buildings were laid out around courts in the style of a transplanted Cambridge college (but with certain tropical elements) by the well-known Anglo-Indian architect Walter George.
Women were first admitted in 1928, as there were no colleges in Delhi affiliated with the Anglican Church which did so at the time; after the founding of Miranda House in 1949, women were not accepted as students till 1978.
The Residence, as the accommodation provided to students is known, has space for 300 students; Since 1997, female students have been permitted to live on campus. Currently, 2 of 6 residential blocks are reserved for women.
From the earliest times, St.Stephen's has had an influence both on educational affairs and on the nation more generally. The impetus for the founding of Delhi University originated with the senior faculty of the College; later, both the Doon School and Modern School were set up with input from the College.
Significantly, in 1914, C. F. Andrews, then a lecturer in Philosophy, discussed over breakfast with the new Principal and other faculty the possibility of bringing back to India the leader of the Indians in South Africa; when Andrews finally persuaded Gandhiji to return and take over the freedom struggle, the latter stayed several times in the Principal's house, both during Rudra's tenure and during that of his successor, Satyanand Mukarji. The letter to the Viceroy announcing the start of the first Non-Cooperation Movement was drafted at the Principal's dining table. A photograph in the Principal's office depicts Gandhiji with the student body in 1915.
Andrews himself was prominent in the struggle, and was, because of his charitable activity and work with the trade union movement, named 'Deenabandhu' or 'friend of the poor' by Gandhiji. A portrait of C. F. Andrews by his close friend Rabindranath Tagore currently hangs in the Principal's office. It is believed that Tagore completed the English translation of Gitanjali, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, while a guest in College.
After 1947, St. Stephen's was particularly known for the enormous numbers of prominent civil servants it produced; At one point in the 1970s, two-thirds of all secretary-level positions in the IAS were occupied by Stephanians.
In addition, Stephanians have distinguished themselves in the sciences, the media, literature, politics and sports, among other fields. The college is one of the few institutions to have had as students the heads of state of three different countries : Dr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed of India, Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan, and Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania and the OAU.
The Stephanian alumni network has a reputation for its influence and affinity. A student at or an alumnus of St. Stephen's College is termed a "Stephanian".
