With  the  end  of  the  East  India  Company's  regime  in  India  and  the  failure  of  the  first armed uprising in 1857, for  India's freedom, a new era dawned in our country.  It was clear that the emancipation of our  land and the transformation of the life of our peoplehad to be brought about  by  peaceful  and  constitutional  means.  Indian  renaissance  had  begun  and  it  heralded  the role which education needed to play to achieve national aspirations.Wood's Education Despatch (1854),  the  Education  Commission  of  1882  and  the  Hunter  Commission  (1891),were  all indicative  of  the  concerted  efforts,  of  both  the Government  and  the  Indian  people,  in  the enterprise  of  education.  The  Founders  of  the  Fergusson  College  had first  started  the New English  School,  Pune in  1880  and  later  established  the Deccan  Education  Society  (DES) in 1884. The  college  held  these  classes,  for  almost  ten  years,  in  the  old  Gadre  Wada and  other locations  in  Poona.  A  plot  of  about  37  acres  (a  portion  of  the  present  extensive  campus)  was acquired on a 99 years' lease in 1891 by the DES. The foundation stone of the Main building of the  Fergusson  College  was  laid  in  1892  and  the  building  was  completed  in  1895.  The  college started functioning  on  this campus  in  1895.  From  then  onwards,  the college  has  grown  from strength  to  strength  and  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  nationbuilding  institution.  It  has  a  place  of
pride in the hearts of the people, as a historical monument and a symbol of the country's freed om struggle.