Cuttack, Aug. 20: The Ravenshaw University, which traces its roots to an intermediate college in 1868, today announced plans to celebrate its 150th year celebrations starting next year.

A good deal of what the university has in its year-long celebration plan is intended to appeal to present and former students. Some initiatives meant to reflect the influence that Ravenshaw has had not only as a centre of learning but also in shaping the history of modern Odisha. 

The university plans to hold “a special assembly session of Odisha Legislative Assembly to be addressed by governor at the old assembly hall on the campus”.

Announcing the plans at a news conference here today, vice-chancellor Prakash Chandra Sarangi said: “We plan to start the year-long sesquicentennial celebrations on January 20, 2017, with inauguration by the President of India along with an international seminar titled Ravenshaw: Past, Present and Future on that day and a closing in ceremony on January 20, 2018.”

All the plans, however, are still in the proposal stage.

The institution had its beginning in 1868 as an intermediate college named Cuttack College and was raised to the status of a first-grade college in 1876. Later, the college was named after T.E. Ravenshaw, the former commissioner of Odisha to commemorate his contribution to education. The first postgraduate classes started in 1922 in English, a year after the college was moved to its present 87.4-acre campus. The college was affiliated to Calcutta University till 1917 and then to Patna University till it was finally affiliated to Utkal University in 1943. The college got autonomous status in 1989-90. In was accorded the status of a unitary university in 2006.

“The institution has been the alma mater of many distinguished personalities of Odisha. Utkal University, Odisha State Museum and Madhusudan Law College are offshoots of this institution,” said Chittaranjan Mohanty, who was president of the students’ union of Ravenshaw College in 1971.

To commemorate Biju Patnaik’s cycle expedition from Ravenshaw to Peshawar, the university has planned a cycle expedition by 25 boys to north and west Odisha from January 1 to 19, 2017, and another cycle expedition by 25 girls to south Odisha from January 12 to 19, 2017. The vice-chancellor said the list of proposals also included an International Youth Festival on January 23, 2017 on the occasion of Netaji Jayanti, setting up of a museum and a T20 cricket match between Ravenshaw and the rest of Odisha as part of the closing ceremony on January 20, 2018.