The history of this 100-years-old college is closely bound to that of the nation, for Lokmanya Tilak was equally important to both. He was one of the founders of the college , along with Pandit Vishnushastri Chiplunkar , Principal G. G. Agarkar and M.B.Namjoshi. In 1884, when the government allowed private enterprise in the field of education , the four formed the Deccan Education Society (DES). The college was born when in 1891, the society leased 80 acres of wasteland for 99 years . Aided by contributions from the princes of Deccan, Kolhapur,Sangli, Janjira and Miraj and the public , the college expanded rapidly.

Set admist wide open spaces and surrounded by greenery, the old stone structures are a reminder of the institute's glorious past . Says Mohena Ramratnam of the computer science faculty , "We are lucky to be able to house each department in a separate building . We also have our own hills, temple, football and cricket grounds. How many instutes can boast of that?" The classrooms are old -fashioned , with wodden staircases and high roofs. In fact, Manasi Kamder, a class X11 student ,complains that the college could do with some maintenance. Neverthless , the laboratories are well-equipped and up to the mark . The computerscience department has robots which no other college here can boast of . The Jerbai Wadia Library, with over three and a half lakh books , is reputedly the largest in Asia. There are books on every subject, as ancient manuscripts and writings by Tilak . The botanical garden has exotic plants from Ooty, Shillong, Kodaikanal and Panchmarhi.

As Kamdar puts it ,"Anyone who passes out of these portals does so with pride." However, some educationists feel the college is not moving with the times. Radhika Shankar Narayan, a faculty member,is quick to the defence. "Just because we do not offer courses like management and mass communication, some people fell we are not with it. Also , a BSc is no longer attractive. Students prefer medicine, engineering and computers. That does not mean our BSc course has deteriorated." Ramratnam points out that several prestigious companies like Infosys, Bjaj, Hindustan Lever, Patni Computers and Mahindra recruit on campus, especially from the computer science and organic chemistry departments. "We have anelectronics department placement cell and our economics, psychology, sociolgy, politics and language faculties are very strong ." The college offers graduate and post-graduate courses in arts , science and computer science. Part time courses in foreign trade, tourism, interior designing, language and defencestudies, among other subjects, have been introduced under the aegis of DES.

On the cards is a centre for training in competitive exams. There are also courses for students weak in physics, chemistry, English and maths. A proposal to make the college autonomous is also pending with the authorities.

Navin Kumar, an electronics student from Jamshedpur, says the facilities and faculty are excellent. Kamdar recently went to Germany on an exchange programme through the college's German language department.

Not really. Rated as one of the top ten in India, the college attracts many outstation students. Doing your BA at Fergusson is tough, though a BSc is easier to obtain. For the bachelor of computer science course, 80 of 4,000 applicants make it here.

Course fees are Rs 6,000 and Rs 2,000 per annum for BCS and BSc degrees respectively. For a BA, it's Rs 1,400 . Hostel accommodation cost Rs 8,000 per annum. Meals cost Rs 400 to 500 more per month.

The college has produced political leaders, scholars, writers, sportsmen, doctors and scientiests. Alumni include Acharya J.B.Kriplani, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Veer Savarkar, S.M.Joshi, Acharya Atre, V.P.Singh , Smita Patil, P.V.Narasimha Rao, celebrated Marathi writer P.L.Deshpande, Sai Paranjape and Dr Sriram Lagoo.

Tobacco is banned on campus, as is ragging. "Instead, we have a welcome party every year," says Ramaratnam.. "We want to bring the new crop of students within our fold. The idea is to provide a plant form to fresher to interact with seniors." Right now, students are busy working on the college magazine, to be out this month.