Bhubaneswar: The BJP on Sunday came out in support of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan a day after he suggested that the name of the 156-year-old Ravenshaw University (erstwhile Ravenshaw College) should be changed to reflect Odia identity.
Comparing T.E. Ravenshaw (the institute was named after him) to that of General Dyer, responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Odisha BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said, “Is it not a fact that over a million people in Odisha died in the 1866 famine due to T.E.Ravenshaw’s incompetence? Making a wild comparison, I can even say that giving Ravenshaw’s name to a university in Odisha is like giving General Dyer’s name to a govt college in Jallianwala Bagh.”
Biswal said the institution was initially named Cuttack College.
“Later, the name was changed to Ravenshaw College. Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo of Mayurbhanj had made immense contribution to this institution. Even other kings and notable personalities had contributed to the development of this institution,” he added.
Opposing the name-change suggestion, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the Union minister’s primary focus should be to make Ravenshaw University an institute of eminence.
“There are a lot of issues which should be taken care of by the Union minister instead of raising this debate on changing the name of the university,” Mohanty said.
Barabati-Cuttack Congress MLA Sofia Firdous said there is no need to change the name.
“Instead, govts at the Centre and state should take necessary steps to make the institution big,” Firdous said.

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