Who was TE Ravenshaw?

Thomas Edward Ravenshaw, born July 1, 1827, to John Hurdis Ravenshaw in the Bath area of England, was a bureaucrat of the British East India Company. His grandfather, John Goldsborough Ravenshaw, held the office of chairman of the British East India Company. Ravenshaw served as the Commissioner of the Orissa Division from 1865 to 1878 and played a key role in the spread of education in the state with help from royal families.

What did he do to spread education in Odisha?

The establishment of Ravenshaw College (now Ravenshaw University) is regarded as his biggest contribution to furthering higher education in Odisha. The progress of education in the state was very slow due to the apathy of the people and of the Bengal Presidency to which most parts of the state were attached. Poverty, caste prejudice and conservatism stood in the way of the progress of education. The situation became dire after the 1866 famine when several schools were about to be shut down because of a lack of subscriptions as well as the withdrawal of government aid. Realising that lack of education in the hinterland was one of the major factors behind the large-scale deaths in famine, Ravenshaw strongly protested the stoppage of government grants. He also succeeded in keeping the schools open by securing local subscriptions with the help of officers.

At that time both Odia and Bengali textbooks were used in Odisha schools and he suggested the exclusion of Bengali to push interest in Odia literature among the students. At his insistence, the government added a collegiate class to the existing zilla school in Cuttack in 1868 with famous Odia poet Radhanath Ray, being its first-ever student.

In January 1875, Ravenshaw proposed to convert the Collegiate School into a full-fledged degree college. The Bengal government accepted the demand with the condition that a public contribution of Rs.30,000/- be deposited. Ravenshaw guaranteed the collection of the required amount. Due to his efforts and the support of the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj, Krushna Chandra Bhanjdeo the Collegiate School was finally converted in 1876 to a full-fledged Government Degree College, bearing the name ‘Cuttack College’. Ravenshaw persuaded Bhanjadeo to donate ₹5000 which led to the setting up of a Medical School in February 1875. The medical school was later rechristened as SCB Medical College and Hospital. Ravenshaw left Odisha in April 1878. In 1879, the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj suggested to the government to rename the college as Ravenshaw College. He worked in India as the Commissioner of the Burdwan Division till 1881, when he retired. He died in August 1899.

What is the role of Ravenshaw College in Odisha's history?

The college played a key role in the battle for India’s independence struggle with the students of Ravenshaw College taking the lead in organising protests.

During the Salt Satyagraha, the postgraduate students of Ravenshaw College boycotted exams in support of the struggle. When Odisha got statehood in April 1936, the grounds of Ravenshaw College were chosen for the very first meeting of the Legislative Assembly as there was no Assembly building then. The new Legislative Assembly of Odisha started functioning from the examination hall of Ravenshaw College. The college remained the centre of the state’s politics until the capital was shifted to Bhubaneswar. The college is considered the source of many significant cultural, intellectual and political movements.

Some of its alumni are Madhusudan Das, Gopabandhu Das, Acharya Harihar Das, Nilakantha Das, Godabarish Mishra, Dr. Pranakrushna Parija, Biswanath Das, Harekrushna Mahatab, Biju Patnaik, Nilamani Routray, Nandini Satpathy, Janaki Ballav Patnaik and Rabi Ray.

What did Dharmendra Pradhan say that has triggered outrage?

Speaking at a function in Cuttack to mark the local self-governance day, Pradhan questioned the role of Ravenshaw, raising questions about his role during the infamous Na' Aanka famine in 1866 when 30 lakh people died.

“The devastating famine of 1866 had taken place in Odisha during the tenure of TE Ravenshaw as the British Commissioner of the state. Many Odia people had perished in the famine. The calamity had occurred due to the administrative failure of the British authorities including TE Ravenshaw. What did Ravenshaw do during the famine in Odisha? Is the person who was tormenting Odia people a matter of pride for us? Why should a prestigious university of Odisha be named after the British Commissioner? The intellectuals of Odisha should think over this,” said Pradhan.

How did the Odisha famine happen and what was Ravenshaw's role?

The Odisha famine of 1866 was one of the most decisive events in the economic history of the riparian state. It is estimated that 8% of the total population of 1.18 crore population died within the calendar year of 1866. The famine of 1866 was due to both a decline in agricultural output and a decline in the income of large sections of people. The famine was the result of a multitude of factors beginning from the failure of rains the previous year, a considerable rise in exports of rice, an indifferent bureaucracy, lack of communication, unprecedented floods that year and apathy of local zamindars who despite having some rice throughout the famine did not part with keeping it for immediate use or for their dependents.

An inquiry ordered by the then-colonial rulers found several flaws in the way the situation was handled including Ravenshaw’s role. On August 2 that year, Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, Secretary of State for India, told the House of Commons “This catastrophe must always remain a monument of our failure, a humiliation to the people of this country, to the Government of this country and to those of our Indian officials of whom we had perhaps been a little too proud."

However, many historians and former officials say blaming Ravenshaw for the mismanagement of famine relief may be harsh. "It is possible that Ravenshaw was totally swept over by the ferocity of the famine. He was barely there when the famine struck. He didn’t have a grip on the field. His earlier experience was functioning as the Commissioner of anti-dacoity operations for the entire presidency, a sort of crime branch activity. In Odisha, in his new charge as Revenue Commissioner, he hardly knew the lay of the land and the cunning alleys of the marketplace. As a laissez-faire textbook economist, he believed that if there is scarcity, the market mechanism itself would throw up the hoarded food grains by the laws of demand and supply. He was sadly mistaken," said former IAS officer and former vice-chancellor of the university, Devdas Chhotray.

What is the stand taken by political parties in the name-changing episode?

BJD leaders say Pradhan should not try to destroy the Ravenshaw brand by linking it with the Odisha famine. "Ravenshaw University is the pride of each and every Odia. Pradhan can never understand the contribution of Thomas Edward Ravenshaw to the growth of higher education of Odisha. “It is a very unfortunate statement given on the pretext of Odia Asmita. He should have read a little history before doing so,” said Lenin Mohanty of BJD.

Congress MLA from Barabati-Cuttack Sofia Firdous said Ravenshaw is an emotion and instead of being bothered about trivial things like renaming it, steps should be taken to develop it into a world-class university. “Change of name is not required, rather it should be given the status of central university. If the Centre does this, it would provide many opportunities to students,” she said.

BJP leaders however defended Pradhan saying BJD and Congress have either not understood what Pradhan said or they do not have the intellectual capacity to perceive the context in which the Union minister made such a statement. Referring to the book ‘Desha Kala Patra’, a historical collection of writings by renowned Odia author Jagannath Prasad Das, BJP leader Anil Biswal said Ravenshaw made uncharitable remarks about the Odia people during his deposition before the famine commission headed by George Campbell.

“When the entire country is trying to shed the colonial tag and come out of the legacy of invaders, this is the right time to give the sons of the soil, who played a significant role in the establishment of the institution, their due,” Biswal said.