150 Years for Madras University
One of the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions in India is celebrating its 150th birthday. The President of Madras University, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, whose love for the university spans back to his time as a student there, inaugurated the celebrations last week. He urged more research, explaining that “Good teaching emanates from research,” and emphasized the importance of connectivity and technology, saying, “Technology is a learning tool, linking economy and the environment.”
But he was hardly making idle claims, as Madras University is commemorating its anniversary best by undergoing a glorious expansion. The President opened a virtual university portal alongside Calcutta and Bombay Universities (the country’s other two oldest universities), which will enable millions of students to have access to a level of high-level education that they previously did not. Meanwhile, P. Chidambaram, the Union Finance Minister, announced a grant for a super-speciality nanotechnology R&D center that will operate under the university.
Following in the theme of technological expansion, the inauguration celebrations also marked the opening of a new digital library. The President additionally released sixteen books about the university, slightly over ten per cent of the—yes—150 university books honoring the anniversary. A commemorative postage stamp an a First Day Cover were also unveiled, along with a new anthem composed by lyricist Vairamuthu.
Perhaps the most important ceremony—if not as vast in its import as the tri-university portal—was the re-opening of the Senate House. This historic structure on the university campus was built in 1869, and showcases an important example of Indo-Islamic architecture, with trellis work and valances adorning its porches and minarets. Despite its significance as the site of many of the city’s important functions, the structure fell into disrepair in the 1960s. The Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI), aided by other organizations, took up renovation in 2003.
Other expansion plans for the University are unfolding, including a new 150-acre campus (yes, 150) to provide space for new centers and programs. Proposed locations include a plot behind the Taramani campus, one one the New Mahabalipuram Road and one on the Old Mahabalipuram Road. The University plans to begin five new centers, for population studies, herbal science, environmental sciences, ocean management and an institute for infrastructural studies.
Madras University, founded in 1857 some 140 years before Madras was named Chennai, has its origins in a public petition to create a university. It remained the only university in India’s southern region until independence was won in 1947. Among its many notable alumni are President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former Presidents Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Neelam Sanjeera Reddy, and Nobel Prize Winners Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Its already expansive four campuses, housing over fifty departments, look to continue flourishing over the next 150 years.