Time For Odisha Govt To End Ravenshaw Varsity Name Change Row, Says Soumya Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: Reiterating his stand against changing the name of Ravenshaw University in Cuttack, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, chairman of Eastern Media Private Limited, on Tuesday said the Odisha government should end the ongoing row by announcing not to go for the change considering the contributions of Thomas Edward Ravenshaw to development of the state.

Speaking to the media persons, Patnaik said he has been closely monitoring the ongoing debate over the issue for the lst 10 days. “Since the controversy was started with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan mooting the proposal on August 31, I have not come across any strong and viable reason for changing the name of the state’s prestigious university,” he said.

He said it is a historically undisputed fact that Ravenshaw had failed to contain the Great Odisha Famine (Na Anka Durbhikshya) in 1866 when he was the commissioner. Due to his failure, lakhs of Odia people perished due to the drought that gripped the state for long nine years.

“At the same time, one cannot forget landmark measures taken by Ravenshaw in various fields including education, health and road infrastructure for development of the state. Besides establishing the university in 1868, just a couple of years after the Great Famine, he was instrumental in starting the SCB Medical College at the time,” Patnaik said.

Besides, Ravenshaw had started women’s college for higher education of the neglected section of the society, initiated training school for skill development of the students and played a major role in starting the canal network in the state.

“I think, he (Ravenshaw) has done more good than what he is blamed for. Under the circumstances, I think it is time, the state government should end the unnecessary controversy surrounding the university. I appeal to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to announce that the name of the university in Silver City will not be change,” Patnaik said.