By C M Paul
Kolkata, Jan 23, 2026: The Salesians’ Kolkata province is celebrating its centenary with the presence of their Rector Major Father Fabio Attard, the 11th successor of Don Bosco.
The rector major will arrive in Kolkata on February 5 and visit Siliguri. Two days later, he will visit Azimganj in Murshidabad to meet with the youth of central Bengal.
He ends his visit with the conclusion of the centenary celebrations in Kolkata on February 8. On the same day, he will meet the Salesian Family in the province. The family also includes Salesian Sisters, Alumni, Salesian Cooperators, Sisters of Mary Immaculate, Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians, Volunteers of Don Bosco, and the Disciples.
It all began with 11 Salesian pioneers who set foot in Shillong in 1922. Within four years, the first Salesian province in India was formally established.
The Salesians in India now have 11 provinces, 420 Don Bosco Tech centers, 174 Youth‑at‑Risk shelters, and 34 migrant desks.
The mission has emerged as the country’s largest non‑governmental skilling network.
This was possible because the impulse of the early Salesians was not to build a church, but a workshop. They set up Don Bosco Technical School in Shillong, now the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya.
With its printing press, carpentry benches, tailoring machines, shoe making unit, motor mechanics garage, and electronics lab, the school became the cradle of employability in the region. It became the bridge between exclusion and dignity for poor and marginalized youth.
Their legacy spreads from railway platforms to classrooms, and school dropouts in workshops to dignified citizens.
In alignment with national priorities such as Skill India and the National Skill Development Mission, the Salesians have, in recent years, trained more than 481,000 young people, rehabilitated nearly 155,000 street children, and opened pathways for countless migrants and school dropouts.
By skilling “dropouts” and potential “troublemakers,” the Salesians prevented social unrest and transformed youthful energy into constructive livelihoods.
When the Salesians arrived in Shillong, India was a British colony. The wounds of World War I (1914–1918) were still raw, and the empire was anxious about unrest in its distant territories. The Northeast—then classified as the North Eastern Frontier Agency—was regarded as a volatile borderland, inhabited by “tribal” communities and valued chiefly for its strategic role in imperial defence.
In colonial India, “dropouts” and unemployed youth were often branded as potential troublemakers. By teaching trades — printing, carpentry, tailoring, mechanics — the Salesians transformed idle hands into skilled workers. This was social engineering prevented unrest and channelized youthful energy into livelihoods.
Train the Trainers (1933)
At a time when higher education was largely reserved for elites in Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, and Bombay, the Salesians broke new ground by founding Salesian College Shillong in 1933—the first of its kind in the Salesian world, affiliated to the University of Calcutta. Its mission was to open university‑level training to young Salesians, preparing them to serve as educators and mentors of youth.
In a region dismissed as “backward,” the Salesians planted enduring seeds of intellectual leadership. After a devastating fire destroyed the wooden building in 1936, the college was relocated to Sonada, Darjeeling, in 1938. It flourished as a cradle of higher learning. In 2009, the institution expanded further with the establishment of a new campus in Siliguri, extending its legacy of education and empowerment into the new century.
Preparing Leaders for Independent India (1934)
With the founding of St. Antony’s College Shillong in 1934, the Salesians opened the doors of higher education to the less privileged, even as St. Edmund’s College Shillong (established in 1924) continued to serve the elite. It was a bold counter‑narrative to colonial hierarchies. By educating talented yet marginalized youth, the Salesians nurtured future leaders of Northeast India—men and women who would later steer the region through independence and into a new era of self‑determination.
Skilling Youth for Employability
That vision endures today through a vast network of Salesian initiatives. Across India, Salesian institutions stand as the nation’s largest non‑governmental contributor to youth skilling—second only to the Government itself. With nearly 3,000 Salesian Fathers and Brothers working across 11 provinces, their collective commitment ensures the continuity of Don Bosco’s mission in every corner of the country.
The Don Bosco Tech (DB Tech) movement is the most visible expression of this mission. With more than 420 centres across 29 states, DB Tech has trained over 481,000 young people in employability skills. Courses in hospitality, retail, IT, electrical, and automotive connect disadvantaged youth directly to industry partners, bridging the gap between exclusion and opportunity.
Since 1985, Don Bosco Ashalayam in Kolkata has empowered more than 155,000 children, rescuing 150 or more children every month from streets and railway stations, and offering them shelter, education, and dignity.
Across the nation, 174 Youth‑at‑Risk centres provide shelter, counseling, and vocational training, while Don Bosco for Migrants, through 34 migrant desks, offers legal aid, shelter, and reintegration support. During the Covid‑19 pandemic, these desks coordinated relief for thousands of workers and families, safeguarding dignity and safety at a time of national crisis.
Voices of Hope
From modest beginnings in Shillong, the Salesian provincial administration eventually moved to Calcutta, giving birth to ten other Salesian provinces across India.
From 1926 to 2026, the Salesians of Kolkata has celebrated a century of dignity and service—forming educators, empowering school dropouts and street children, and nurturing leaders across Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
(Salesian Father C.M. Paul is a senior journalist acclaimed for symbolic contrast, and ethnographic detail into his features. A frequent contributor to Indian Currents, Matters India, and Don Bosco South Asia, his writing blends authenticity with reach, resonating across diverse audiences.)