History as an ancient discipline, from the very beginning of its Greco-Roman classical phase to the modern times, has shaped and reshaped itself with the changing world of ideas and events. From simple narratives of the human past to the critical analysis of the formation and evolution of different social agencies, History has become a multi-faceted discipline, interrelated with other branches of humanities and social sciences. Initially, it offered stories of the kings –their war, victory and valour, and gradually recasted itself to offer stories of king’s men or subjects – their life, culture and society.History as an inquiry into the past is essentially a process of establishing or reconstructing truth by the evidence of primary and secondary sources with judicious temper. History tells us about the past and helps us understand our present better. For some thinkers, it is a temporal course with continuity, change and transformation, whereas for some others, it is a record of fragmented human activities. But in every line of philosophical thinking, the common thing about History is that it is a meet or confluence of time – the present and the past, the object of endless queries and reflections.

The Department of History began its journey with the foundation of Government General Degree College, Mangalkote, in the year 2015. From the beginning, the department offers two three-year duration degree programmes: B.A. Honours and General in History. The Choice Based Credit System of three-year duration began in the year 2017 and is continuing successfully. The main objective of the department is to offer the students knowledge about the fundamental nature of the discipline and make all aspects of the syllabus understandable to them. Holistic approach to learning is a quality or tenet the department shares with other departments of the college. The rural and predominantly agricultural socio-economic background of the students of the department is always taken into consideration. They treated with proper care and all possible support is extended to them whenever necessary.

At present, the intake of the department is twenty five per academic session. Admission and enrolment in full capacity has been noticed over the last five years. Most of the students have completed their graduation successfully and many among them havejoined the Masters’ programme and attained their degrees from The University of Burdwan, VisvaBharati University, BiswaBangla University, Kanyashree University respectively. Some students are preparing for National and State-level competitive examinations and some have joined nursing and private sector jobs.

Further, the department tries to keep students involvedin the learning process in several ways beyond everyday classroom teaching through departmental seminars and webinars, preparation wall magazine, study tours, picnics and so on. The department has organized two study tours to Hazarduari Museum (Murshidabad) and Indian Museum and Victoria Memorial (Kolkata) during academic sessions 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. At present, there are three permanent faculty members in the department. They prefer blended mode of learning and make use of ICT tools to make lessons more attractive and presentable to the students.