বাংলায় পড়ুন
Students who have or had journalism as their subject in graduation must have heard the name of Sir Charles Metcalfe. Sir Charles Theophilus Metcalfe was the acting governor-general of British India for a brief period of 1835-1836. But during his short tenure, he did something unforgettable leading in the construction of ‘Metcalfe Hall’ in his honor.
Sir Charles Metcalfe is remembered as the savior of the Indian press. He removed all the restrictions imposed by the British Government on Indian press. The restrictions were imposed by John Adam in 1823. This act of repealing the law didn’t go well with the government and as a result, he was demoted as Governor of north-west provinces.
To mark his contribution an advocate of the old supreme court, Longville Clarke in association with Agri-Horticulture Society and Calcutta Public Library decided to construct the Metcalfe Hall. The design of the hall is inspired by the ‘Temple of Winds’ in Athens. The architecture was designed by city magistrate C.K. Robinson. The construction works began in 1840 and ended in 1844. There are thirty Corinthian pillars to support the massive structure.
The Metcalfe Hall standing at the junction of Strand Road and Hare Street once housed the Calcutta Public Library. Later the Imperial Library was also formed there in 1891. In 1903 the then Governor General Lord Curzon decided to merge the Calcutta Public Library and the Imperial Library and it was known as the Imperial Library which later shifted to the present Belvedere Estate and is now known as the ‘National Library’. Before 1903 the Hall served as a conference hall during Bengal’s Reformation’s years.
At present, the two-storeyed Metcalfe Hall’s ground floor consists of a section of Asiatic Society’s rare foreign journals and manuscripts. The first floor serves as exhibition galleries and sales counter of the Archaeological Survey of India. The Metcalfe Hall will always make us believe that not all Britishers tortured and exploited Indians but there were people like Sir Charles Metcalfe who contributed in liberating the press realizing the importance of a free press.
