Ashutosh Ganguly (1219 (bangla) - 1975)

The founder of Haraganga College, veteran educationist, Industrialist and donor Ashutosh Ganguly was born in bangla 1219 in village Routbhog under Tongibari thana in Vikrampur. His father Mr. Haramohan, a distinguished person well educated in English. His primary education was conducted under the guidance of his younger uncle Rasik Mohan, a district judge of 24 pargana. In 1911 he completed his matriculation with distinction and took admission to Jagannath College. After passing his intermediate examination he studied B.A. in Rajshahi Govt. College. For M.A. in English he took admission to Calcutta University and passed in 1916. He was also proficient in Sanskrit. Later he went to Pune and joined the service of accounts department of Army. Responding to the “Ashohojog andolon” (non-co-operation movement) by Mahatma Gandhi, he left the Govt. service and started business of iron and metal.

In few days he started showing improvement in business and took initiative to make donations for Calcutta University. During that time upon the suggestion from his uncle, the great pundit of Vikrampur and the secretary of Dhaka Saraswat Samaj, Rajmohan Vidyaratna and his cousin advocate Satish Chandra Bhattacharya of Munshiganj, he established the Haraganga College in Munshiganj. Alongside Haraganga, a good number of institutions grew up under his patronization.

Ashutosh Ganguly became successful as a pioneer in industrialization and business. He established “Metal Corporation of India”, the famous lathe company in India. In 1947, the capital of this company was 10 crore taka. He was the secretary of managing committee of Dhakeswari Cotton Mills. In 1920, he was appointed the agent of India Steel Ware Products. In around 1920-1925 he founded East India Soap and Chemical Company. During that time he formed All India Soap Manufacturers’ Society and edited a journal on soap. “Metal Corporation of India was transformed in to “Hindustan Zinc”.

Ashutosh Ganguly was the Directors of National Steam Navigation, Assam Mining Company, Calcutta Land Trust, East India Pharmaceutical Works.

He also got himself associated with various educational institutions. He was the founding member of National Council of Education (presently Jadavpur University), Women’s College, Calcutta Lake School for Girls, Southern Academy and was the lifetime secretary of Women’s College.

Ashutosh Ganguly was also associated with Bharat Sevasram Sangha, Saradeswari Nari Asrom and Ramkrishna Mission. He visited Bangladesh after the liberation war and was accorded warm reception. He breathed his last on October 10, 1975.

:: Added 28-07-2005 @ 1504 GMT