BHUBANESWAR : Members of Ravenshaw Heritage Forum have decided to write to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to ensure that the name of Ravenshaw University remains unchanged.
At a meeting held in the city on Tuesday, the members said they are against changing the name of the university on the basis of what TE Ravenshaw did during the Na’Anka Durbhikshya (The Great Orissa Famine of 1866).
They said the BJP was in power in the state from 2000 to 2009 and the then Higher Education minister was a BJP leader. The unitary state university status was given to the institution in 2006 by passing the Ravenshaw University Act.
“There was no opposition to the name then. Why is it being raised now?” questioned Congress leader and member of the forum Sudarsan Das.
The members said they will also write to students of Ravenshaw University across the country and abroad to seek their opinion on the issue. The forum comprises old students of the prestigious institution.
Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had opined that the name of Ravenshaw University should be changed considering the role its founder TE Ravenshaw had played in escalating the famine situation in 1866.