BHUBANESWAR: The Ravenshaw University Development Trust that once spearheaded the formation of the university has appealed to the State Government not to repeal the Ravenshaw University Act - 2005 in view of the glorious heritage of the institution.
Trust Chairman Anant Mahapatra in his appeal to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the Ravenshaw Unitary University created in 2005 was one of the first in the country and the main objective of the Act was to restore the past glory of the institution which was one of the leading Centres of Excellence in the country in the mid 20th century.
“After the university was formed, several other universities have come up in Odisha on regional grounds. Ravenshaw was an exception as it was and continues to be pan Odisha,” he stated. Former Chairman of the Trust Amiya Bhusan Tripathy said that the history of Ravenshaw was the history of Odisha.
“Ravenshaw was the leading lamp lighting the Renaissance of Odisha in different fields including politics, creativity, art, literature and sports,” he said and added that movement for a separate state of Odisha took its root in Ravenshaw and so also the freedom movement.
“During discussions with the Chief Minister in the years 2000 to 2004, the need for a Special Act for Ravenshaw was emphasised and he fully appreciated it. Retaining the Act in no way would hamper the proposed amendments and it is advisable to have separate acts instead of one omnibus law,” he said.