The beginning was modest, or even challenging. The college did not have a building of its own; the University of Calcutta, to which the college is affiliated, permitted the teaching of Intermediate (Arts and Science) and B.A. and B.Sc. at the pass level; the admission season had already started; not very far were few long-established colleges; much of the immediate hinterland was inhabited by people at the lower rungs of the economy; and the idea of a co-education institution had still not many supporters in the existing social milieu. But an unbounded enthusiasm among local educationists at various levels, and the generosity of a local girls' school to provide accommodation to the new-born college by shifting its own location made it possible for the latter to start functioning from August 14, 1956 (later on observed as the College Foundation Day) with only 75 students and 2 whole-time lecturers. Subsequently, the college was allotted land by the Calcutta Improvement Trust, and the first building came up in 1958, the second in 1962, and the third in 1996. The college still has a substantial amount of vacant land under its possession on which it has plans to construct an auditorium-cum-academic building in the near future.

From the humble start as chronicled above, the college has continuously been broadening its academic horizon through introduction of more and more programmes of study and an increasing number and variety of subjects offered. At present, Honours course of study is offered in 13 subjects, viz. Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Zoology, Botany, Microbiology, Economics, English, Bengali, History and Political Science. In addition to these, which are taught at both Honours and General levels, subjects like Philosophy, Sanskrit, Sociology and Statistics are offered at the General level only. B.Com course is taught only at the General level. So the college has laid out a variety for the students to choose from – 3 programmes of study (B.Sc., B.A. and B.Com), 13 Honours subjects and 41 elective combinations, of these three courses of study, viz. Honours courses in Microbiology, Biochemistry and Computer Science are self-financing.