VISION
Lead, Kindly Light
"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on!"
Saint John Henry Newman's famous hymn begins with the lines above which he first penned down in 1833 as a poem entitled The Pillar of the Cloud, first published in the British Magazine in 1834 and republished in Lyra Apostolica in 1836. Soon it became one of the most popular hymns of all times.
Shia P.G. College was established in 1919 with the same kind of
lofty yet humble spirit of a seeker and explorer spreading the light of
Knowledge and Learning in a society aspiring to attain a healthy and pleasant transformation
of society in every possible way using education as a powerful and most
effective medium. To achieve this aim, we seek guidance from the holy Prophet
Mohammad and his pious progeny, especially Maula Hazrat Ali, and resolutely
strive to impart healthy education to all without any discrimination.
HISTORY
So far as the history of Shia College is concerned, it is worth mentioning here, in brief, how it came into existence. In the late nineteenth century, after The First War of Independence, Muslims of India felt the need to establish an institution of modern learning to cater to the educational needs of the community. In response to this need, an Anglo-Muslim Oriental College was established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan at Aligarh, but later on, in the setup, the Shias of India were marginalized and felt alienated. Keeping this in mind, Shia religious leadership of the early 20th century, along with the Rajwadas and Taaluqedars of Avadh province, had established a college of their own in Lucknow. This way, Shia College came into being. The earliest classes were held at Imambara Asifuddaula popularly known as Bada Imambara around 1912 AD and later on shifted to its new building constructed on the land donated by King Naseer-ud-deen Haider Trust at Daliganj, Sitapur Road, Lucknow, in 1919. Ever since 1919, Shia College is catering to the educational needs of a huge number of students without any distinction or discrimination of caste, creed, community, and religion. Now Shia College is hundred years young and has celebrated its Grand Centenary Year just two years ago by the Grace of the Almighty in the last 100 years, Shia College has progressed a considerable lot. Many faculties and departments have been added to it in due course.
Considering the significance of English as an international and most widely spoken and understood language the world over in the field of education and in general, and also the exquisite richness and immense popularity of its literature, the Department of English was established in 1962 along with other subjects of Arts. Dr. Ammar Rizvi, Dr. Shaheed Safipuri, Dr. Suresh Chandra, Prof. R.P. Singh, are the luminaries who have served the department in the past. Presently, Prof. Samina Shafiq, Head of the Department, and Prof. Zarrien Zehra Rizwi, Prof. S.M. Abid Rizvi and Prof. Mirza Sibtain Beg are serving the English Department as permanent faculty. Dr. Taj Bano and Dr. Wasfia Hasan serve the Department as guest faculty.
The Department, by the Grace of God, has done exceedingly well ever since it
came into being and continues to impart quality education to date.
MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
We have been offering education at UG Level in this subject to date. And our chief priorities are: To make the Department of English a Centre of Excellence in the field of Knowledge and Learning; to foster and nurture a deep interest in English, to provide an in-depth study and, therefore, thorough knowledge of the subject, to enable the students genuinely enjoy and truly appreciate this in-depth study of English Literature and Language. We aim to make the students develop a deep understanding of English Language and Literature, to imbibe the habit of realizing the values of healthy reading and effective writing. It is always our main endeavour to instil amongst the students a thirst for knowledge and urge to learn, to develop their skills of reading and writing, to excel as speakers and writers, to develop a desire and ability to be creative, to strengthen their love for English Language and Literature, to inculcate amongst the students a zest for quest of knowledge and a spirit “to seek... to strive... to find…and not to yield...!”
Our mission and objective, therefore, is to provide quality education to the students at both UG and PG level. We always try to emphasize value-based education and, thus, lay stress on the right set of values amongst them. The students are always encouraged to introspect and discover their talents and potentials. They are taught professional ethics and are always motivated to develop into not just good scholars but also good human beings... not only excellent students but also worthy citizens of India. We try our best to motivate them to become better, stronger, brighter and wiser men and women, not only as students of English but also as students of Life, and to bring about an all-round development in their personality is our first priority with the purpose to make them able and strong enough to survive and succeed in this tough, challenging and cut-throat competition times.
