As the winds of history swept over India in the early years of the last century, a group of local theosophists, led by Lala Jugal Kishore responded to the challenge to bring Indian women out of the purdah and into the classroom. Indraprastha Girls School was founded in 1904 - a hopeful beginning in Chhipiwara in the old city of Delhi.
Parents had to be coaxed to send their daughters to school and purdah was strictly observed, but the founders persisted doggedly in establishing the school and encouraging the young girls to join.
In 1924, Intermediate classes were introduced and the University of Delhi, itself founded in 1922, recognised the Indraprastha Girls College, later to become famous all over the country as the Indraprastha college for Women, our present name. Degree courses were introduced in 1930's and in 1938,the University recognised I.P. as a degree college. A committed band of philanthropists - Lala Bal Krishan Das, Lala Pyare Lal, Lala Sultan Singh and Dr. Ram Kishore among them - provided every kind of assistance to supplement a small endowment fund contributed by citizens of Delhi to keep the struggling institution on its feet.
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