The post-graduate department of Philosophy of Patna University was established in 1918, one year after the establishment of Patna University in 1917. Thus, the end of the Centenary year of the Patna University will be the beginning of the Centenary year of the Department of Philosophy of Patna University. In the beginning, the Department of Philosophy was established on the campus of Patna College, the oldest college of Bihar, and the fifth oldest in India. In January, 1957, it achieved an independent existence within Patna University in the Queen’s block of Darbhanga house on the bank of the river Ganga. Thus, in January, 2017 the department will be completing sixty years of its independent existence in Darbhanga House. Professor Charu Chand Sinha had the honour of being the first Head of the Department. Great names like D. M. Datta, Harimohan Jha, Anniruddha Jha, Ashok Kumar Verma, P. N. Bhagat including the former HoD, Professor Rama Shankar Arya and the present HoD, Professor Poonam Singh have been associated with the department. The Department has the distinction of producing such a large number of scholars and distinguished professors who have contributed brilliantly through their teaching, research and publications, that it is very difficult to enumerate all of them. The alumni of this university have served and are serving as professors not only in Patna University but other universities of Bihar, India as well as abroad. For a department with such a long history, its achievements, too, are bound to be manifold. In addition to what is mentioned above, the department has organized Philosophy Day programmes, supported by the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR); and several UGC sponsored refresher courses on Logic, Meta-ethics, Applied Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy and Human Rights. Besides, the Department has organized several lectures and Seminars on socially relevant topics. In fact, at present, regular seminars are organized for the students on Saturdays. The department has also organized many educational trips for students. The Department of Philosophy has a rich library with more than six thousand books in English and Hindi and from where teachers, research scholars and students regularly borrow books. There is ample place in the Department for the students and scholars to study the books of the library. Among the recent achievements has been the inauguration of an independent Seminar Hall in the Department. Space has been provided to students for publishing wall magazine and for reading several newspapers and magazines in both Hindi and English. In the last semester, the department successfully organized literary, cultural and sports activities for three successive days. Establishment of Dr Ambedkar Chair One historical achievement of the Department of Philosophy in recent times has been the establishment of Dr Ambedkar Chair. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the government of India. Patna University is one of the few universities chosen for the establishment of the Chair, and in Patna University the Department of Philosophy has the honour of hosting the prestigious Chair. Another big achievement of the Department of Philosophy in recent times has been the highly successful hosting of the three-day 61 st Conference of the Akhil Bhartiya Darshan Parishad (ABDP) on 10-12 September, 2016.

First Head: Dr Tarapada Cowdhury

Present Head: Dr. Ramendra Nath