Premchand Roychand Studentship

Premchand Roychand Studentship was instituted at the university of calcutta in 1866 by Premchand Roychand, a Parsee millionnaire of Bombay. In his Convocation address (1863), Claudius Erskine, Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University, made an appeal to the well-meaning wealthy people to contribute to the advancement of education in the country by way of funding scholarships, educational constructions, etc In response to the call of Erskine, Premchand Roychand made a donation of two lakhs rupees which formed the nucleus of the famous institution of Premchand Roychand Studentship (PRS). In terms of emulation and prestige this scholarship has been the most cherished award for the meritorious students of the Calcutta University pursuing higher studies.

According to the terms of the endowment, the entire amount would remain invested in Government Securities. The conditions stated in the bequest envisaged the institution of as many as five studentships to be named after the donor. Each studentship was to carry a value of Rs 2000 for five years, to be awarded on the results of a special examination held for that purpose. Only MAs of the Calcutta University were made eligible.

Many of the Premchand Roychand scholars eventually became national celebrities. Among them are Sir asutosh mookerjee (1868), ramendrasundar trivedi (1888), jadunath sarkar (1897), ramesh chandra majumdar (1912), Surendranath Sen (1917), meghnad saha (1919), dinesh chandra sen (1936), Srimati Bibha Sengupta (1937), Asima Mukhopadhyay (1942) and Brajendrakishore Bandyopadhyay (1947). [Rachana Chakrabarty]