MYSORE: The first seeds of the University of Mysore, it can be said, were sown in 1912 when the then Chief Engineer of Mysore Province, Sir M Visvesvaraya, speaking at the College Day celebrations of the Central College, Bangalore, felt the need for a university in the province. His logic was that when Canada - having a population of just about 24 per cent more than the province - could have 18 universities, why couldn’t Mysore have one.
Sir MV then prepared a blueprint of the Mysore University under the patronage of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar.
His dream fructified when the university came into existence on July 27, 1916. Prior to that the colleges in the region came under the University of Madras. So when the proposal for a new varsity was mooted there wasn’t much keenness in the parent varsity.
A few members of the Senate reportedly protested asking whether they should bless a daughter who was running away from her home.
Today, 93 years after its formation, it can be said that the “prodigal daughter” has grown more charming and beautiful than the mother. In 1956, the varsity became autonomous and the post-graduate campus came up in 1960, in the picturesque environs facing Kukkarahalli tank in the city.
Manasagangothri campus
This was when Rashtrakavi Kuvempu was the Vice-Chancellor, who called the campus Manasagangothri or the fountain-spring of knowledge. The varsity also acquired the Kukkarahalli tank and its surroundings and developed it into ‘Kuvempu vana’.
To begin with nine districts came under the varsity. After the establishment of Bangalore, Mangalore and Kuvempu universities, only four districts — Mysore, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar come under it. Initially, the Mysore University had two campuses, one in Mysore and the other in Bangalore. Mysore campus was situated in Maharaja College and Bangalore campus at Central College.
Maharaja & Yuvaraja colleges
Any account of the university is incomplete without the mention of the Maharaja College. It was founded in 1833 as Raja Free School by Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. This school was revised to the status of a high school by James Dunning. After the Maharaja’s death in 1868, the school was constituent college of the university.
Started in 1928, it was initially called Intermediate College in Arts and Science.
In 1954, its silver jubilee was celebrated and the last Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar inaugurated it.
It was then that the college was renamed Yuvaraja College, as the Maharaja himself was a student there.
Fine aesthetics
The beautiful Crawford Hall which houses the administrative section and the convocation hall of the Mysore University was named after W L Crawford and C S Crawford, two brothers who contributed Rs 1 lakh to the university, given their affection for Mysore where they had spent many years. W L Crawford was a coffee planter in Hassan district.
Close to the Crawford Hall is the Oriental Research Institute, another remarkable building. Being part of Mysore University, it has a library with a collection of 12,000 books and 10,000 manuscripts, including exquisitely illustrated ones. Opened in 1891, it became part of the university in 1916. It published in 1908, the ‘Arthashastra,’ a treatise on Indian polity, economics and administration by Kautilya of the 4th century BC.
Facelift for Jayalakshmivilas
Another eye-catching building in the Manasagangothri campus is Jayalakshmivilas Mansion, which got a facelift thanks to help from Sudha Murthy of Infosys Foundation. It houses the varsity's folklore museum.
Museums
The zoology museum of the Mysore University has an excellent collection of about 2,000 varieties of the Cinderella of Genetics, the fruit fly. The zoology department is the national facility for genetic stocks and the fruit fly.
Prominent personalities
Among the key figures who helped the university become what it is are Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, the last Maharaja and Dewan Mirza Ismail who studied in Mysore with Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. The country’s second president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was appointed Professor of Philosophy in the Mysore University in 1918.
Achievements
The varsity has developed multivoltine breeds of sericulture like MVI, MVID, MV11, MV303 and MV 520. It has got A+ ranking from NAAC. An amount of Rs 100 crore was sanctioned for its development in the 2008-09 budget. It has nearly 1,500 foreign students from nearly 50 countries, the second largest number in the country. The varsity has collaborations with Michigan, Pittsburgh and Syracuse universities in USA, Trieste University in Italy and many other universities. The varsity has been chosen to locate the proposed Indian Neutrino Observatory, a global effort for neutrino-related research.
With inputs from K Shivakumar in Mysore
It was the foresight of the Wadiyars of Mysore and Sir M Visvesvaraya that helped in the establishment of a world-class university. Today it is attracting talent from far and wide The emblem of the Mysore University contains the slogan ‘na hi jnanena sadrsam’, meaning nothing is equal to knowledge.
It also has a central shield with the ‘Gandaberunda’ or the double-edged eagle. with two yalis or trunked lions supporting the shield.
H V Nanjundaiah was the first Vice- Chancellor (1916-1920) Post-graduation campuses at: Mysore, Mandya and Hassan know your university Dunning Maha ence. named Maha raja there e -- taken over by the government which imposed a small fee on the students.
Subsequently, it became the branch station of the Madras University for annual exams. In 1879, it became a second grade college.
Yuvaraja College is another
The emblem of the Mysore University contains the slogan ‘na hi jnanena sadrsam’, meaning nothing is equal to knowledge.
It also has a central shield with the ‘Gandaberunda’ or the double-edged eagle.
with two yalis or trunked lions supporting the shield.
Other key personalities associated with MU
● D M Nanjundappa, Prof C D Narasimhaiah, Nittoor Srinivasa Rao, Dejagow, B Sheikh Ali (former V-C of Mangalore and Goa universities)
● Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy graduated from National Institute of Engineering, which was then affiliated to Mysore University
H V Nanjundaiah was the first Vice- Chancellor (1916-1920)
Post-graduation campuses at: Mysore, Mandya and Hassan
V-C wants it to be a model varsity
The Mysore University that is among the very few prestigious education centres of the country will soon become a model university and centre of excellence, says Vice- Chancellor V G Talawar. He has a blueprint to take education in Mysore University to greater heights.
The University has started the Centre for Proficiency Development (CPD) and placement services as, at present, most of those with graduation, post-graduation and doctorates do not possess adequate skill or guidance for securing jobs.
Therefore, CPD will liaise with institutions, industries and government departments to gather information on job opportunities, skills required for the jobs and create a database. It will pass on the information to the students. CPD will also encourage campus interviews.
The present curriculum is broadly theory- based, at a time when training in the required skills for the students in different sectors, is becoming very crucial for opportunities to open up both in the public and private sectors.
Therefore, to become a model university, it is very important for Mysore University to revamp the entire course curriculum, says Talwar. But the university will implement the change in phases. It plans to make the honours and post-graduate degrees viable and marketable, to make it easier for students to get jobs and secure their future.
Another aspect of the revamping will be inculcating interest among students to go for research.
The planned changes also include evaluating performance of students with regular feedbacks, besides developing key infrastructure like laboratories, libraries and web pages. The varsity also proposes independent computer centres at the Manasagangothri campus, as well as other PG centres.
One of the major programmes intended to be taken up, using the Rs 100-crore special grant from the Centre, is the establishment of a Bio-diversity and Sustainable Life Centre of Excellence, which will cater to the requirements of research scholars in India and abroad.
Attached to this centre will be a huge biodiversity park on the banks of the Kukkarahalli Lake and a science park which will function as a centre for scientific treasures and facilitate dissemination of knowledge to all educational institutions, in and around Mysore.
Talawar said that there were also plans to have a training centre for college teachers.
Another key initiative will be organising special camps for students to encourage them to study science.