Andhra Christian College, Guntur

The Andhra Christian College at Guntur was a college of the Lutheran mission from America.¹² It grew from an English school opened in 1848.¹ By 1929 it had more students than any other college of the Andhra University.³ The Church Missionary Society later joined in running it, so it became a union mission college.²

The mission school

According to Rajah B. Manikam (1929), the mission opened its first English school at Guntur in 1848.¹ English friends of the school paid for most of it.¹ In 1863 it closed.¹ Manikam blames the ruinous rate of exchange caused by the American Civil War, and the register a lack of funds.¹²

The school reopened in 1874, when Dr. L. L. Uhl came to Guntur.¹² It became a high school, and from then on it grew steadily, says the university’s register.² Its first college class was formed in 1885.² That September it became a second-grade college of the Madras University.²¹

Building a first-grade college

Uhl raised money in America for college buildings.¹ The main building, the Watts Memorial Building, was opened in 1893.¹² In 1900 the Lutheran, Anglican and Canadian Baptist missions asked the government for the Government college at Rajahmundry, to make it a united mission college.³ The government refused.³

During the Reformation jubilee year 1917, money was raised in America to make Guntur a first-grade college.³ With part of it the Uhl Memorial Building was put up.² In 1924 the mission, led by the Rev. Roy Strock, raised about $300,000 for a union Christian college.³ It hoped that the Noble College and the Guntur college would merge.³ Manikam wrote in 1929 that this was “still a pious wish”.³

The college became a first-grade college, teaching up to the B.A., in March 1926.² In 1927 it took the name Andhra Christian College for the time being.³ The missions hoped that a united college would one day carry that name.³

In 1929 and 1939–40

In 1929 the college had 760 students.³ It was the largest college of the Andhra University, with at least one fifth of all its Arts students.³

In 1939–40 it was one of the university’s six first-grade colleges.⁴ It was run by the council of the United Lutheran Church mission, and the Church Missionary Society helped to maintain it.² An endowment of $150,000 was held in America.⁵ Its library had over 12,000 books, and its two hostels, Heyer Hall and Noble Hall, had room for 140 students.⁶ Besides Telugu, students could study Sanskrit, Urdu and Hindi.⁵

Where the sources disagree

The sources give different sums for the money raised in 1916–18:

• Manikam says $100,000 was collected in 1917 to raise the college to the first grade.³
• The university’s register says the mission raised 170,000 dollars in 1916–18 for the college’s equipment and endowment.²

Footnotes

1. Rajah B. Manikam, Missionary Collegiate Education in the Presidency of Madras (1929), p. 87 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

2. Andhra University: The Annual Register 1939–40, p. 343 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

3. Manikam, Missionary Collegiate Education (1929), p. 88 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

4. Andhra University: The Annual Register 1939–40 (1939), p. 302, list of colleges (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

5. Andhra University: The Annual Register 1939–40, p. 344 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩²

6. Andhra University: The Annual Register 1939–40, p. 345 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩