Ravenshaw University’s name should be changed, says Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

The name of Ravenshaw University in Odisha needs to be changed, said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday.

The Minister questioned the role of Ravenshaw (Thomas Edward Ravenshaw) after whom the university has been named.

“What did Ravenshaw do during the famine in Odisha? Is the person who was tormenting Odia people a matter of pride for us?” asked Pradhan during an event in Cuttack on the occasion of local self-governance day.

However, Pradhan said that it’s his personal opinion and there should be debates on the matter.

“It’s my personal opinion. Intellectuals in Odisha should mull over it. There should be debates over the matter,” said the Minister.

However, some former students and educationists differed with Pradhan regarding the change of the name of Ravenshaw University.

“The name of Ravenshaw University should not be changed. Ravenshaw is not a name rather it is a way of life. It has more than 100 years of history behind it. It can’t be related to ‘asmita’ (identity). Asmita cannot exist without tradition. I think the Minister’s statement is unrealistic and I differ with him,” said Hemendra Narayan Das, a former student of Ravenshaw University.

“Those who know about the contribution of Ravenshaw will never say that the university named after him should be changed. If our students have read Odia, it’s because of Ravenshaw only. When there was a conspiracy not to teach the students in Odia medium in schools, Ravenshaw was strongly against it. He has written many letters in this regard,” said Satyakam Mishra, a former student and administrator of the Ravenshaw University. 

“Those who don’t know about Ravenshaw’s contribution, will talk about famine. The famine didn’t occur due to Ravenshaw, rather it happened due to wrong information given by the then administration that enough food stuff was available. Ravenshaw played a great role in spreading education in Odisha,” said Mishra.

“Ravenshaw never tormented people. He played a great role in spreading education in Odisha. People honoured him by naming the prestigious college after him. There is no need to change the name of Ravenshaw University. As the former students of the college, it is our ‘asmita’ to be identified with the prestigious Ravenshaw College which has a rich heritage,” said Sahadev Sahoo, a former student of Ravenshaw and former Chief Secretary of Odisha.