Mount Hermon through the ages

Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling, overlooking Kanchenjunga.

This book is a Tribute not only to our great Founders, Principals, Teachers, Students and Others, it is also a Tribute to all Hermonites of all ages who have lived, died and hoped so that MH lives on to reach greater heights.

   Bijay Palriwala, a Hermonite of the Stewart-era from UK who started the ‘MH Revival’ movement in 2011, died in November 2019. This book is a Tribute to Hermonites such as Bijay. I wrote this in Facebook when Bijay passed away: “Bijay’s efforts and hopes will not die in vain. May he rest in peace.” Bijay’s advice to us was: “Only combined, sustained effort can hope to improve the situation so I am hoping that others will join in the effort!” Hail Mt. Hermon!

Knowles 

  The vision and determination of our school’s Founder, Miss Emma Knowles, and her deputy, Miss C.J. Stahl, led to the founding of Queen’s Hill School soon after the 1899 disaster in a new location just above the main road near the Darjeeling railway station in the town area. Miss Stahl deserves our gratitude. She was in Arcadia, Queen’s Hill School, and even lived at the present campus when the school was opened in 1926. She retired as Principal during the period when the school was renamed Mount Hermon School in 1930.

 Though he was never our Principal, Bishop Fisher is considered one of our Founders for he was chiefly responsible for the purchase of the present Mount Hermon Estate, where MH is located. The school was growing and needed more space for expansion. The Estate had around 100 acres in North Point facing Sikkim’s mighty Kanchenjunga (Khangchendzonga), the third highest mountain in the world, and the Rangeet valley.

  Not many people are aware of the role played by one of our Principals in helping MH sail through stormy times. I’m referring to our Principal Lila Enberg who in the mid-thirties restored a major portion of our main building after the devastating earthquake of January 15, 1934. As a reward the Managing Committee of our school failed to renew her tenure after her term came to an end in 1934! They wanted to get rid of her.

Stahl

   Mt. Hermon (MH) went through a very difficult period in the early 1940s. Because of the Second World War many students and staff from Britain left the school. The future of the mission also seemed uncertain. The enrolment of the school dropped to 120 and the school nearly closed down in 1943.

  But somehow Rev. H.  Dewey, the school Principal, kept the school going. Mt. Hermon actually grew in size and substance when Rev. David G. Stewart of the New Zealand and Chinese Inland Mission (now renamed Overseas Missionary Fellowship) took over the school in 1954.

Fisher

  When Stewart took over the school, the enrolment of the school was less than 100 but over the years more students came to study in Mt. Hermon and by the time he left in 1964 the strength of the school had shot up to 365. During the Murray-era (1964-1978), Mt. Hermon became one of the most distinguished co-educational schools in the country.

Of the total of 639 students in 1978, 470 were boarders. MH distinguished itself in both academic and co-curricular activities. Mrs. Murray’s contribution added to the school’s rich musical heritage. Rev. William Jones and Rev. John A. Johnston built on the foundation laid by their predecessors.

Dewey

  As with many great institutions, MH is going through a difficult period today. The absence of dedicated teachers and the departure of many of its old staff members, particularly those from abroad, coupled with frequent changes in the leadership, have been the main reasons why the school is going through another crisis.

  But most Hermonites and well-wishers of the school, who are conscious of the school’s long history and its inherent ability to overcome difficulties, believe that this is just a passing phase and sooner or later it will pull through. The need for schools such as MH is greater now than it was a hundred and twenty five years back. Perhaps it is at times such as these that we ought to remind ourselves of the need to press on and remember Mrs. Fisher’s advice: “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

Former Principals: Stewarts, Murrays, Johnstons and Gardners during Mount Hermon School's Centenary Celebrations in Darjeeling, 1995.

About the Author

Jigme N. Kazi has a special place in Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling. He not only studied in Mount Hermon School (1963-1972), but graduated from Mt. Hermon School's Teachers' Training College (TTC, 1974-1975). He taught at Mt. Hermon School for four years from 1976 to 1979. During his 16 years in the school (1963-1979) he worked under some of the finest principals and teachers of Mt. Hermon School.

   After he left Mt. Hermon School at the end of 1979, Jigme N. Kazi kept a live interest in his alma mater and the Hermonites (alumni of the school), leading to the founding of Hermonites International in 2005 with himself as its Founder-President. He is presently Chairman Emeritus of the global body, which takes an active interest in school affairs.

   A journalist by profession, Jigme N. Kazi is the proprietor-editor of Sikkim Observer and Himalayan Guardian. He is also the author of four books on Sikkim: Inside Sikkim: Against The Tide (1993), Sikkim For Sikkimese: Distinct Identity Within The Union (2009), The Lone Warrior: Exiled In My Homeland (2014), and Sons of Sikkim: The Rise and Fall of the Namgyal Dynasty of Sikkim (2020).