Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday suggested renaming of the prestigious Ravenshaw University, one of the oldest educational institutions in Odisha.

He, however, said that changing of name of the 156-year-old institute is his personal opinion.

"There is a need for a name change. What did Ravenshaw, after whom the university is named, do during the famine hurt Odias. It is a matter of pride," Pradhan during a programme on self-governance day in Cuttack.

The BJP MP from Sambalpur also pointed out that the devastating famine of 1866 had taken place in Odisha during the tenure of TE Raveneshaw as the Commissioner of the state.

“Many Odia people were killed in the famine. The calamity had occurred due to the administrative failure of the British authorities including TE Ravenshaw. Why should a prestigious university of Odisha be named after the British Commissioner? The intellectuals of Odisha should think over this,” Pradhan said.

Ravenshaw College was established during the British rule in Cuttack in 1868. The college was granted an autonomous status in the 1990s. It was upgraded into a unitary university in 2006.

The institute has its own pride as it has generated many luminaries in different sectors.

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