.. The historic 110-year-old Eden Hindu Hostel for students of the four prestigious government colleges - Presidency, Sanskrit, Maulana Azad and Goenka College of Commerce - had had no place for Muslim students.

For them, there are the Carmicahel and Baker Hostels, where, incidentally, Hindus students aren't allowed. For the state, this has been tradition; for the government: why bother ... Representatives of the Presidency College Students Association, a Left-leaning group, met their principal N.C. Mukherjee asking him to intervene ... to remove this obnoxious religious barrier ..

In the early days, Eden Hostel also had separate dining rooms for different castes ... But this was done away with in the 1920s.

West Bengal Minister for Home (Police) Buddhadev Bhattacharya, also a former student of the college, says that the government will have no objection if the proposal comes from the college. "It may create problems ... if this hostel accepts students from all communities ... But ultimately everything comes down to adjustment between two friends and all differences are removed amicably", said Bhattacharya