CONTESTED LEGACY

From July 1937 until the foundation of Bhubaneswar as Odisha's capital in 1949, the assembly hall of Ravenshaw College in Cuttack served as the venue for the state's newly set up legislative assembly.

- Arkamoy Datta Majumdar

It is almost symbolic that the institution that shaped the minds of many Odia luminaries was the first seat of recognition of its statehood. Now, this 156-year-old institution finds itself at the centre of a debate about colonial legacy and Odia's identity after Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently suggested that its name be disassociated from that of British administrator Thomas Edward Ravenshaw, who played a key role in its establishment.

And why has the minister taken this stand? Because, as the Commissioner of Bengal Presidency's Orissa division, Ravenshaw was at the helm during the Na Anka Durbhikshya or Great Orissa Famine of 1866, which is estimated to have claimed over a million lives.