Renaming Odisha’s Ravenshaw University ! Know Dharmendra Pradhan’s Views

Cuttack: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday that the name of Ravenshaw University, one of the oldest and prestigious educational institutions in Odisha, should be changed.

Noting that the famine of 1866 had taken place in Odisha during the tenure of Thomas Edward Ravenshaw as the British Commissioner of the state, Dharmendra said many people had perished in the famine.

The calamity had occurred due to the administrative failure of the British authorities including TE Ravenshaw, he said, and sought to know as to why a prestigious university of Odisha should be named after him.

The Union Minister, who was speaking at a function held at Cuttack on the occasion of Local Self Government Day, said there needs to be a debate on this and the intellectuals of the state should think over issue.

Dharmendra, however, made it clear that this is his personal opinion and there should be a debate on this suggestion. Naming a university of Odisha after a British officer, who was responsible for causing miseries to the people cannot be a matter of pride for the state, the senior BJP leader said.

It may be noted that the Britishers had established Ravenshaw College in Cuttack city in 1868. The college was granted an autonomous status in the 1990s and finally upgraded into a unitary university in 2006.