Call for Renaming Ravenshaw University Sparks Debate in Odisha

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan suggested renaming the historic Ravenshaw University in Odisha, stating that it's his personal opinion. He cited the famine of 1866 during TE Ravenshaw's tenure as a reason for the change. The proposal aims to remove the British colonial legacy from the institution's name.

Odisha's prestigious Ravenshaw University might undergo a name change, as Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently suggested.

Although Pradhan clarified that his suggestion is a personal opinion, he underscored the impact of the 1866 famine, which took place during TE Ravenshaw's tenure as state Commissioner, as a key reason for reconsidering the university's name.

‘It's a matter of pride,’ Pradhan emphasized during a self-governance day event in Cuttack, arguing that the university should not honor a figure linked to the British colonial rule. Ravenshaw College, established in 1868, became a unitary university in 2006 and has since been a significant educational institution in Odisha.