The Higher Education Review

It has been more than countable decades that Indian lawyers have stayed responsible for steaming out justice at social and economic levels. Exploiting the fields of poverty, corruption and nepotism of the society for ensuring human sensibility never droughts and remains flooded with equality and liberty before law, legal professionals have been ideators for saving innocent lives and directing honorable judges and juries towards taking right decisions. Lawyers in one phrase are the encyclopedia of the Indian Penal Code and ultimate advisors for any legal problems. It takes years of hard work, dedication and education for a law student to become an extraordinary lawyer.

The aim of legal education hovers around imparting a country's knowledge as a segment of the essential culture of a gentleman, nobleman and common man involved in a learned profession. The mainstream definition of legal education suggests learning of important legal principles and provisions for starting legal occupation. Imbibing the essence of this statement, Bengal Law College (BLC) started equipping aspiring lawyers with scrupulous knowledge in Indian legality since 2006.

Educating Upcoming Lawyers in a Tranquil and Composed Campus
The college is situated in the very own town of the Tagore family, Santiniketan. Created by Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore, over the years Santiniketan has been the place of culture, art and traditional artifacts. It is one of the primal centers of education and a major university town giving rise to a whooping number of scholars and educationalists, where Prof. Dr. Amartya Sen being the most prominent example of them.

Falling under the jurisdiction of Birbhum district, BLC is the only law college in the entire Birbhum

and of Camellia group. Being affiliated to the University of Burdwan, BLC offers effective legal education for better career prospects in the field of law. BLC's doors are open to students from any societal background who wants to achieve distinct career feet in the Indian legal sector. "Since the inception of BLC, the primary focus has always been the development of the rural students. They get distinctive learning experience from teachers who are committed to nurturing the talent, hone the skills and mold the students into a burgeoning lawyer, who could fight for the honest verdict in front of the Lady Justice," elucidates Amitava Chowdhury, Registrar BLC.

"The aim of legal education hovers around imparting a country's knowledge as a segment of the essential culture of a gentleman, nobleman and common man involved in a learned profession"

Courses offered by BLC include a 3years LL.B (H) and a 5years B.A.LL.B (H) course which are designed by the university and updated from time to time according to the trends of the contemporary time and Bar Council of India (BCI) guideline. In addition to theoretical classes, BLC conducts all types of court visits (District Court, High Court and The Supreme Court) during the degree course period for practical training purposes. Internship and moot court practices are also parts of the syllabus. The college maintains a relationship with the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) for organizing legal aid campaigns. In nearby villages of Santiniketan, BLC organizes camps and offers legal support to the villagers. The learned lawyers who are cordially invited by BLC from subdivisional and district courts support the cause. In the campaigns, BLC students observe the guidance provided by practicing lawyers. This plays a vital role in shaping the career of budding law students.

BLC has a beautiful Calcutta High Court like structure, with 10 classrooms, a library, lab faculty rooms, a seminar hall, a moot-court room, model classrooms, different playgrounds, a canteen and boys' and girls' hostel. The college campus is spread over a large area. The hostel rooms

which are non-suffocating are ideal to live with 24hours Wi-Fi connection and medical assistance available for the students. The practicing lawyers and guest lecturers can easily avail the college campus and conduct special classes on Saturdays and Sundays. This approach undertaken by BLC aims to activate 'Gurukul' concept and enhances the knowledge appetite of the students. The teachers in the connection are the main strength of this procedure that becomes the real-mentors throughout the semesters. In a faculty-student ratio of 1:23, teachers' helps students at projects and court visits, whereby the teacher-student relationship is supplementary and complementary to each other.

Guest lecturers from Visva Bharati University, Burdwan University and different National Law Universities take classes in every semester. "Koushik Bagchi, Assistant Professor, NUSRL (National University of Study and Research in Law) and Rostrum Legal.com, our knowledge partner in various national programs, have continuously been promoting the college in different ways since 2016. Before that from 2006 to 2015, the journey was preparatory and moderate. In 2016, the final year students, at the time of their practical training program in the Supreme Court of India, had occasion to meet Dyushant Dave and Anurag Pandey, the-then Honorable President and Joint Treasurer respectively of SCBA (Supreme Court Bar Association). It was a game-changing moment for BLC. After that, the First National Moot Court was held in 2017, which was financially backed by Dave. And being an Alumnus of Burdwan University, Anurag Pandey regularly helps the college in various development issues," states Amitava Chowdhury.

Every year the college organizes cultural fest and Saraswati Puja that contributes to the students' cultural and overall development. Personality development is further an initiative implemented by BLC to make the students bold and brave at a professional level. At present, BLC is on the verge of starting B.B.A LL.B., B.Tech. LL.B. and LL.M. degree courses.