LN Mittal receives the Global Xaverian award from Father Felix Raj at Beyond Boundaries 2013 in London on Saturday night

Old boy Lakshmi Narayan Mittal made an important announcement for his alma mater and arguably an even more important suggestion for his bleary-eyed successors on the benches that he used to occupy three decades ago.

The man of steel promised to provide funds for one of the buildings on the new campus at Rajarhat, even as the college waits for government approval for university status, drawing loud applause from Xaverians at Beyond Boundaries, the St. Xavier’s College Calcutta Alumni Association (SXCCA)’s annual international meet, in London.

The applause at the British Museum hall on Saturday night was only matched by the wholehearted cheers he drew when he urged principal Father Felix Raj to improve the attendance in the morning classes by... “opening it up to girls”. That, as every boy who has ever studied commerce in St. Xavier’s would know, will be the true wake-up call for the morning batch.

“I am very excited at the prospect of the college growing. Naturally I will do whatever is there in my capacity to help St. Xavier’s expand. I will start with helping to build the new campus. But I want the new campus to have the best infrastructure in the world and that would need a lot of funds. So I appeal to the alumni all over the world to contribute towards this,” said Mittal, after being given the Global Xaverian Award 2013.

The fourth richest man in the UK [Sunday Times] spoke about his college days and recounted the incredible story of a boy from a Hindi-medium background who convinced Father Joris to admit him to the commerce department, promising to be a “good boy”, went on be the university topper in 1984 and then the boss of the largest steel conglomerate in the world.

The good boy then is the good old boy now. “I hope I have been able to keep the faith that Father Joris had reposed in me. After I topped the university he asked me to teach accountancy but I said I can’t do it if it is at 6am every day. I have had three years of that! Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been if I had taken up the teaching assignment,” he mused.

Mittal was the focal point of Beyond Boundaries 2013 that drew a 100-strong team of Xaverians from Calcutta led by Father Felix Raj and steered by honorary secretary of the SXCCAA, Firdausul Hasan, plus 80-odd Xaverians from countries like Dubai, Singapore and even Luxembourg. “I can’t be actively involved in the college but I would like to advise Father Felix Raj, the faculty or whoever needs it,” was his parting shot.

Along with Mittal, five Xaverians settled in London donated £21,000 each for the cause of the Rajarhat campus. Kuntal Roy Chowdhury, Rajan Tandon, Ram Chandra Saraf, Sudhir Maheshwari and Shirish Apte were also the men behind the London meet which was also supported by West Bengal Tourism and North Bengal Development Authority.

Earlier, Father Felix Raj had charted out Vision 2020 for the institution: “When the new campus comes up at Rajarhat, it will be dedicated to the St. Xavier’s University. It will not be an extension of the college as we do not want to mix the two brands.” Why was the state government yet to give its nod to the university? “We want the Jesuit identity and administration intact while welcoming state participation. The government has offered an 80:20 partnership model with the government holding 80 per cent while we have asked for a 90:10 model with St. Xavier’s holding 90 per cent,” said Father Felix Raj.