The great visionary and champion of the downtrodden, architect of our Constitution, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism on the hallowed and sacrosanct Deekshabhoomi in 1956 and thereafter thought of imparting education to the downtrodden from urban areas. The clarion call was : Educate, Organize & Agitate. This led to the formation of a trust DR BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR SMARAK SAMITI in 1958, which then established this College in the year 1964. The late Padmashri Dadasaheb Gaikwad was the Founder President of this Samiti, while the first Secretary was Shri R R Patil. His Excellency Shri R S Gavai, ex- Governor of Kerala was the President of the Smarak Samiti, and Shri Sadanandji Fulzele has been the Secretary since 1963 to-date. The new building of Dr Ambedkar College of Arts & Commerce was formally inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Mr Vasantrao Naik, in June 1964. Three years before that Mr. Y B Chavan, then Chief Minister of Maharashtra transferred 13 acres of Government land to the Smarak Samiti, and laid the foundation of the College to erect a fitting memorial in the name of Dr Ambedkar. These democratic ideals nurtured and cherished right from its inception have now concretized into our Vision and Mission statements.viz. To define futures through Qualitative, Enriching and Affordable Education” and “To create next generation citizens of character, strength and confidence, through focused teaching, all round grooming, individual attention and personality enhancement.”
Many were the travails, trials and tribulations which the founding fathers had to face, the biggest hurdle of all being finance. With the generous and timely assistance from Shri Manoharbhai Patel procured by Adv. Shri N H Kumbhare, ViceChairman of the Managing Committee, the deposit money of Rs. 20,000/- was duly paid to the University and permission was granted to this College. The dedication and valuable contribution of such extraordinary personages such as Shri R R Patil, Shri W K Ganar, Adv. Shri M M Yeole, Adv Shri N H Kumbhare, Shri R J Kamble, Shri Bhayasaheb Ambedkar, Dr S V Ramteke, Shri S M Ramteke, Shri G D Patil, Shri D R Patil, Shri J M Mool, Shri D M Gajbhiye and Shri S D Patil shall always occupy a place of pride in the history of this Institution. The College began with just five classrooms, five lecturers, and 300 students, imparting education in the faculties of Arts and Commerce. Today the College proudly claims to house more than 50 classrooms, has on roll around 6000 students, and offers various courses in multiple disciplines with over 40 permanent members of the teaching staff as well as 66 members comprising the non-teaching staff. Education in the Science Stream commenced in 1969 and Law was introduced in 1984. At present there are around 400 students enrolled in Law courses and this discipline has its independent building on the campus. Undergraduate Courses in Biotechnology and BCA Science began in 2006 and 2008 respectively. DACN offers a number of post-graduate Courses. M.Com in both mediums was started in 1980. Since 1994 we began with M.A. in English, Economics and Marathi and M.Sc. in Chemistry, Computer Science, Biochemistry and Biotechnology. In 2008 we took off with Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses in Bioinformatics and a one-year PG Diploma in Biochemical Genomics (Pharmacogenomics) under the UGC Innovative Programme. Since last year, a one year Diploma Course in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology has commenced very successfully. The latest courses to be added to this plenitude are: Master”s Degree Programme in Law in Constitutional Law, Business Law, Criminal Law as well as M.Sc. in Physics. Dr. T. K. Damodaran instrumental in, not only introducing new courses to the College but also in gaining 2F recognition under the UGC which helped to generate maximum funds for the College development.The long period of 16 years of his tenure has seen stability, balanced and judicious, streamlined growth and sustained development. The College has also witnessed another golden period of exponential growth and unprecedented all-round development under the dynamic leadership of late Dr R Krishnakumar, Principal for the period 2000-2005. Dr. R. Krishnakumar who was the ViceChancellor, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Nashik and Director of Dr Ambedkar College, is an icon in his own right. His name is now synonymous with high levels of excellence, dedication and commitment. He was a visionary, who dared to dream and revolutionized education at DACN. Records point out to the fact that since 2003-04, the college has consistently produced meritorious students who have been placed in IIT”s, medical colleges and other prestigious institutes across the country. It was no wonder then, that this College was deservedly accredited by NAAC with the highest grade in the year 2004, being the only college in Vidarbha to have received this singular recognition. The College indeed emerged as a most trusted centre for quality education in Central India! This tradition continues now, under the brilliant leadership of our own Principal Dr. Mrs. K.M. Reddy, and it was subsequently during her tenure that DACN proved itself once again. The NAAC re-accreditation at the highest “A” grade in 2011 bears testimony to our unrelenting commitment to quality and quest for progress. The College has also been accorded the status of “College with Potential for Excellence” by the UGC in the year 2010. One more feather in our cap is that recently DACN has had the rare privilege of being designated as a “Community College” by the State Government and is one of the six colleges in Maharashtra to get this honour.Further, the College has been recognize by Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University for recognition as: Place for Centre for Higher Learning and Research it is indeed a happy coincidence that in this Golden Jubilee Year, the Principal, Dr. Mrs Reddy has been honoured by the Nagpur University with the Ideal Principal Award! What better recognition could one ask for !DACN is blessed with a work force of dedicated, committed and efficient teachers, who sharpen the acumen of their students, ignite their intellectual curiosity and equip them to take charge of their future. Members of the teaching faculty are also extensively involved in research activities most of them are Doctorates, have published papers in reputed Journals and have even authored many books. The College boasts of having successfully organized over 35 National Conferences, 6 International Conferences and a number of workshops and seminars over the past 10 years. These academic exercises widen the horizons of the mind, boost research abilities as well as train the students in organizationa skills. We, at DACN, firmly believe that the youth of today are the pillars of the nation and therefore our mission is to mould our students into complete human beings, sensitive, thoughtful and mature. The College provides various forums, platforms and facilities for the all-round development and growth of the students such as NCC, NSS, Unnati a program for Skill Growth and Personality Development, Entrepreneurship Development Cell to motivate students towards self-employment, Career Development Cell, Women”s Development Cell, PsychoSocio Counseling Cell, a Sports Academy and a well equipped gymnasium. Another feature of DACN is the strong links and ties maintained by the members of the Alumni Association and their active participation in the activities of the College. They provide linkages with industries, job placements for students and information and training regarding opportunities in various sectors. With its uncompromising standards of excellence, the College is not only committed to imbibe the highest professional skills to prepare the students for a competitive 21st century, but also to make them sensitive to the demands of social justice, pluralism and equality. What was once a tender sapling has matured into a magnificent tree, that shades, bears fruit, gives solace and support and nests thousands of creative, intellectual minds. We, the members of this illustrious family of Dr Ambedkar College, Nagpur, must solemnly pledge to keep the banners of success flying high, take this institution towards greater heights of achievement and preserve and cherish its untarnished image, so that the sacrifices made by our great and noble founding fathers may not go in vain.
