St Stephen’s College: The Untold Story of Its Humble Beginnings in Chandni Chowk |
The Vishwavidyalaya Metro opens into a familiar North Campus rhythm — groups of students lingering over chai, laughter weaving through conversations, hands busy with samosas and pani puri before the walk ahead. Just a few steps away, red-brick buildings appear through the trees, calm and quietly inviting. St. Stephen’s College doesn’t announce itself loudly; it simply waits, open and assured, as it has for generations.
Inside, the pace slows almost naturally. Sunlight filters through old trees, footsteps echo softly across courtyards, and history settles in like a comforting companion rather than a lesson.
This is more than one of Delhi University’s most admired colleges — it is an institution that has been shaping young minds since 1881, long before the idea of a university campus even took form here.
It’s a piece of living history, sometimes loud with laughter from ‘Shakespeare Society’ rehearsals, sometimes quiet like its early days in the dusty lanes of Old Delhi.
Long before traffic bottlenecks and metro exits defined this part of the city, St Stephen’s began life on 1 February 1881 in Chandni Chowk. Founded by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi under Samuel Scott Allnutt, the college started with just five students and three teachers, operating out of rented Mughal-style mansions.
Can you imagine?
The ancestors of future diplomats, writers, scientists and activists huddled over logic and literature amidst the racket of the old city. Those humble beginnings laid the foundation for what’s now one of