Suggested on Saturday by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Ravenshaw University—one of the oldest universities in Odisha—should be renamed. He did, however, express his personal opinion that the 156-year-old institute should change its name.
“There is a need for a name change. What did Ravenshaw, after whom the university is named, do during the famine hurt Odias. It is a matter of pride,” Pradhan during a programme on self-governance day in Cuttack.
The Sambalpur-based BJP MP also brought up the fact that TE Raveneshaw was the state commissioner of Odisha when the disastrous famine of 1866 struck the region.
“Many Odia people were killed in the famine. The calamity had occurred due to the administrative failure of the British authorities including TE Ravenshaw. Why should a prestigious university of Odisha be named after the British Commissioner? The intellectuals of Odisha should think over this,” Pradhan said.
In 1868, Ravenshaw College was founded in Cuttack during the British colonial era. In the 1990s, the college was given autonomous status. In 2006, it was promoted to become a unitary university. The institute is proud of itself for producing numerous notables in various fields.
