BJP’s Latest Odia Asmita Agenda: Know The Source Of ‘Rename Ravenshaw’ Debate As Politics Heats Up In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s suggestion to rename the 156-year-old Ravenshaw University and remove its ‘colonial connection’ has triggered a political blame game with his rivals taking potshots at his alleged ‘lack of knowledge of history’.

The prestigious institution in Cuttack city has been named after Thomas Edward Ravenshaw, a British bureaucrat. He is said to have helped to establish the institution in 1868, just a couple of years after the Great Odisha Famine (Na Anka Durbhikshya). It became a full-fledged university in 2006 and currently comprises nine schools and 33 departments, and has nearly 8,000 students. It is the only public university in the state to have got NAAC A++ grade.

Stating that it was his personal opinion, Dharmendra called for a debate on the issue among the academicians, intelligentsia while remarking that the Great Odisha Famine took place during the tenure of ‘Ravenshaw saheb’, who was the then commissioner of Odisha division.

While the statement was seen as an apparent bid by the BJP, which came to power in Odisha riding on the emotive Odia Asmita card, to further its electoral agenda, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty blasted the Union Minister for his lack of knowledge of history of the state and contribution of Ravenshaw to higher education in Odisha. “It is a very unfortunate statement given on the pretext of Odisha Asmita. He should have read a little history before doing so,” he added.

BJP, however, accused the BJD of turning it into a political issue. “The BJD in the past had argued in support of some non-Odias. Now, they have crossed all limits and are fighting for a Britisher officer. The Union Minister has taken a democratic approach by seeking a debate on the issue. We are not running a draconian government like the BJD, which did not even hand over an inch of land in the name of Ravenshaw University while claiming its love for the institute,” BJP Spokesperson Anil Biswal told a presser.

Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous said that Ravenshaw is an emotion and instead of being bothered about trivial things like renaming it, steps should be taken to develop it into a world-class university.

Former MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said that he was against renaming of Ravenshaw and was ready for a debate on it. “Changing the name doesn’t change the character or increase the quality of education. Education Minister should suggest for improving the quality of education. Steps should instead be taken to restore its past glory,” he added.

OTHER VOICES

Anyone aware of Ravenshaw’s contributions would never suggest changing the name of the university established in his honour. Our ability to read Odia is due to Ravenshaw’s efforts – Satyakam Mishra, an alumnus and former registrar of Ravenshaw University

Changing Ravenshaw University’s name means erasing its century-old identity – Devdas Chhotray, former vice-chancellor of the varsity

Na’anka Durbhikhya was the result of negligence by the Board of Revenue in Calcutta and had no connection with Ravenshaw college – AB Tripathy, former DGP who was the president of Ravenshaw University Development Trust from 1994 to 2015

Ravenshaw actually upheld Odia glory at a time when Odia language was struggling for its identity by establishing the institution and he was not responsible for causing miseries to the Odia people – Sahadeb Sahoo, former Odisha chief secretary and an alumnus of the institute.

THE DEBATE BEGAN MUCH EARLIER

But the debate probably began decades prior to this when eminent writer and former IAS officer J P Das, famous for his Odia novel ‘Desha Kaala Paatra’, suggested that Ravenshaw’s name should be removed from the university at the release of the book’s English translation ‘A Time Elsewhere’. ‘

Desha Kaala Paatra’ is a fictional account of Odisha in the second half of 19th century, when the eastern state suffered untold miseries because of the famine in 1866. Ravenshaw, among others, was blamed for the deaths of lakhs of Odias due to starvation.

Fakir Mohan Senapati, in his autobiography, also blamed Ravenshaw for giving a wrong report to the government on availability of grains in Odisha, which he claimed led to the famine and loss of over 30 lakhs lives.

Back in 1960s, some people had suggested that Ravenshaw College be renamed after either Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das or Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, but it was opposed by academicians and college alumni members.

THE CUTTACK COLLEGE & ITS HISTORY

Cuttack College was named after T E Ravenshaw only after he left Cuttack and Odisha on the insistence of Maharaja of Mayurbhanj Krushna Chandra Bhanjadeo, who contributed Rs 20,000 as a supplementary amount to fulfil the condition for clearance of the former’s proposal to the then lieutenant-governor of Bengal Richard Temple for establishment of the college at Cuttack, in 1879.

The Maharaja proposed the name to perpetuate the memory of then Commissioner for his univocal support to Odia as a separate language and his memorable service for the promotion of western education in the state, especially after the famine of 1866.

Ravenshaw had first founded the zila school and then upgraded it to collegiate school which is now known as Ravenshaw Collegiate School. This was the beginning of Ravenshaw College. Being highly supportive of women’s education, he also founded Cuttack Girls’ School, which was later renamed as Ravenshaw Girls’ School.

The Maharaja also appreciated him for appointing Odia school inspectors for the first time and insisting on making Odia as the medium of instruction in schools.

According to Odisha Review, establishment of Ravenshaw College was the main contribution of T E Ravenshaw for the spread of higher education in Odisha. “At the beginning stage it was only a small school. But this institution was converted into a full-fledged first grade college. The famine of 1866 in which about a million people perished made the then Government conscious of the fact that the seriousness of the situation could not be realised because of lack of proper education in the state. There were only six students on the rolls in the BA Class, in Ravenshaw College in 1875. The institution gradually went ahead and provided inspiration to the upcoming intellectuals. When Ravenshaw was appointed as Commissioner of Odisha Division in July 1865, the education system developed throughout the state. Lt Governor of Bengal, Sir Richard Temple, agreed to open a college at Cuttack for the spread of higher education. Ravenshaw gave a memorandum to the authority for the establishment of a degree college. But the Lt Governor agreed to the proposal on the condition that a contribution of Rs 10,000 was forthcoming from the public. The government sanctioned sufficient financial assistance for its improvement.”

“The establishment of a college at Cuttack is an object of personal importance to myself and also of greatest importance to the spread of Higher Education in Odisha,” it quoted Ravenshaw as writing in his letter to the Lt Governor.

He has been described as a distinguished administrator, who took keen interest in providing quality education in schools and colleges. “This was an important centre of nationalistic activities in pre-independence days. ….all the significant, cultural, intellectual and political movements have sprung from its portals, and it has nourished great souls like Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das, Godabarish Misra, Bhubanananda Das, Acharya Harihara Das, Pandit Nilakantha Das, Pandit Gopabandhu Das…. Political luminaries like Biswanath Das, Dr. H. K. Mahtab, Nityananda Kanungo, S N Dwivedy, Manmohan Mishra, Biju Patnaik, Nandini Satpathy and Rabi Ray were once students of Ravenshaw College…..Ravenshaw College had shaped the minds of great creative writers like Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, Annada Shankar Ray, Gopinath Mohanty, Sachidananda Rautray, Surendra Nath Mohanty and Manoj Das.”