Demand to rename Ravenshaw University not new, being made since Independence: BJP MP

BHUBANESWAR: BJP's Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab said the demand to change the name of Ravenshaw University was not new and it was being made since Independence. Speaking at a seminar on Friday, Mahtab said it was time to consider changing the varsity's name as lakhs of people died because of famine when Thomas Edward Ravenshaw was the commissioner in charge of Odisha between 1865 and 1878.

"It has been 77 years since India got Independence. Efforts have been made for changing the name of the university since 1949 when several princely states, including Mayurbhanj, were integrated into Odisha. The issue was raised in Vidhan Sabha when Lingaraj Mishra was the higher education minister of the state," he said.

Mahtab said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had only suggested a debate on renaming the university but a controversy erupted.

"Why an institution set up with the grant of people of Odisha be named after an Englishman? Is there any institution in the name of Odia people outside Odisha? Then why are we showing so much love for an outsider? There should be no problem if we change the name of Ravenshaw," he said. Mahtab said the state government has to take a call on the issue.