History : The Department of Botany was established in Cotton College in 1927. It was the first Botany department in the entire NE Region and Prof. Atul Chandra Dutta was its founder Head. The first year I.Sc. Class in Botany was started on 22 nd July, 1927 in a small corner of the old Physics Laboratory (presently Bhuban Ram Das Bhawan) with a batch of 47 students. On 4 th March, 1935, the department was shifted to its new premises and till today it is functioning from there. 25 th October 1936 was a remarkable day for the department as Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose paid a visit to the department. In 1941, the department got affiliation to start B.Sc. course in Botany. The PG course in Botany under Gauhati University was introduced in this department in 1974. The Laboratories of the department have been recognized by Gauhati University for carrying out Ph.D. research. Botany department has been receiving financial assistance from the UGC since 2008-09 under the scheme ‘Rejuvenation of Basic Scientific Research in Indian Universities/PG Colleges’.

Courses offered : HS Course Three year Degree Course (B.Sc.) Two year (four Semester) Post-Graduate Course (M.Sc.) One year Diploma in Bioinformatics (Self-financing) 6 months long Certificate Course in Bioinformatics (Self-financing)

Laboratory & Office Staff Members :

	Sri Kamal Kumar Goswami (Laboratory Technician)
	Sri Diganta Kalita (LDA)
	Sri Girindra Nath Bhagawati (Laboratory Assistant)
	Sri Bhabananda Barman
	Md. Aynuddin Ahmed
	Sri Parshu Talukdar
	Sri Thaneswar Das
	Sri Dhiren Kalita
	Sri Jogeswar Sarma
	Sri Prabhu Sahu
	Md. Moktar Hussain
	Sri Raghu Nath Shah
	Sri Surendra sahani
	Md. Arzed Ali

Former Faculty Members :

Facilities :
The Department has one Seminar Library with 1630 books, 6 Laboratories, one Museum, one Herbarium, one Greenhouse and is well equipped with modern audio-visual teaching aids like OHP, LCD projector etc. It has got a separate Computer Room with 6 computers having round the clock internet connectivity.

Research Journals subscribed by the Department :

	Advances in Plant Science
	Indian Journal of Microbiology
	Phykos
	Journal of Assam Science Society
	Journal of Botanical Society of Assam
	Indian Journal of Plant Physiology
	Agrobios

Activities :
Botany department regularly organizes workshops, seminars, popular scientific talks etc. at different levels. Since 2000, the department has been organizing Prof. A.C. Dutta Memorial Lecture annually in memory of Prof. Atul Chandra Dutta, the great legendary teacher and the founder Head of Botany department. Prof. A.C. Dutta Memorial Awards have been conferred on the students who secure highest marks in Biology in HS (Final) Examination under AHSEC and 1 st rank in Botany (Major) in TDC (Part-III) Examination under Gauhati University and also to the Botany (Major) topper among the students of Cotton College since 2001. The department under the banner of the ‘Botanical Hobby Centre’, Cotton College has also been organizing Dr. (Ms.) Parukutty Baruah Memorial Lecture and award giving ceremony since 2001 in memory of Dr. Parukutty Baruah, former teacher of the department. A few teachers of the department have developed a low cost module to study microorganisms at school level in collaboration with the Assam Science, Technology and Environment Council and with financial support from RVPSP, DST, Govt. of India. The DST has enlisted this kit as one of the major achievements of the department and has taken steps to popularize it throughout the country. Botany department, under the banner of the Botanical Hobby Centre has organized one National brainstorming workshop on Microorganism, one National, one Regional and one State level teachers Orientation Training workshops on the topic ‘Let us observe and learn Microorganisms’ since 2005. Since 2006, Botanical Hobby Centre has also been participating every year in the National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) of the Ministry of Environment & Forest; Govt. of India. One popular scientific magazine entitled ‘Malancha’ is being regularly published by the department. Botany Department also brings out its wall magazine named “Gulancha” annually.

Ongoing Minor Research Project :

Recognized Ph. D. Guides of the Department :