Chinsurah is the headquarters of Burdwan Division and the Hooghly District located on the west bank of the river Hooghly, & the pride of this town, Hooghly Mohsin College, one of the premier academic institutions not only in West Bengal but also in India, promoting the cause of higher education for more than one hundred and sixty years opened on 1st August 1836 in Perron’s house, a magnificient piece of architecture overlooking the great river.

The great man, Haji Mohammad Mohsin whose learnig, piety and philanthropy have kept him alive in people’s memory, was born at Hooghly in 1730 and died in 1816. He used his riches entirely in charity, one example of which is this College. Initially it was named the New Hooghly College and on the centenary celebration it became Hooghly Mohsin College. It became affiliated to University of Calcutta since the latter’s initiation in 1857 and after the establishment of the University of Burdwan in 1960 the college became its constituent college.

In the list of its distinguished Principals and eminent teachers are Captain David Richardson Robert David Richardson Robert Thwaytes, William Booth, Reverend Lal Behari Dey, E. M. Wheeler, Harinath Dey, Jyotish Chandra Ghosh, Krishnachandra Bhattacharya, Kuruvilla Zakhariah, Jyotirmay Ghosh, Parimal Roy, Bibhuti Bhusan Sen et al. The college is proud of its alumni among whom are litterateurs like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rangalal Bandyopadhyay, Akhshaychandra Sarkar, Indranath Bandyopadhyay, Jogesh Chandra Roy Vidyanidhi and Dwijendralal Roy, lawyers like Dwarakanath Mitra, Trilakyanath Mitra, and Sayed Amir Ali, scientists like Upendranath Brahmachari and Sahayram Basu, freedom fighters like Charuchandra Roy, Kanailal Dutta, Bhupati Majumder and Mujaffar Ahmed. Hooghly Mohsin College started its journey on 1st August, 1836 in Perron’s house, the most magnificient on the banks of the river.