Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw College, is a co-educational

state university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

situated in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

on the eastern coast of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

has nine schools, thirty three

academic departments An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, universities tend to use the term faculty; faculties are typically furthe ...

and a student enrolment of nearly 8,000. It is one of the oldest educational institutes in the country and its history is synonymous with the history of modern

History

Early years

After the great famine of 1866, the people of

and some liberal Britons wanted to start a college at

. Thomas Edward Ravenshaw, officiating commissioner of

Division made the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

realise the difficulties of Oriya students in getting college educations and succeeded in obtaining permission to start collegiate classes in the

Zilla School. Thus the first college in Odisha was born in January 1868 with intermediate classes and six students. Commissioner Ravenshaw proposed to convert the Collegiate School into a full-fledged degree

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

. The

accepted the demand with the condition that a public contribution of Rs. 30,000 be deposited for the proposed college. Ravenshaw took up the matter as an object of personal interest and guaranteed the collection of the required amount. H. Woodrew, DPI of

, supported Ravenshaw. H. J. Reynolds,

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

to the government of Bengal, requested the government of

to sanction the incidental charges and the post of the principal on the additional condition of meeting half the monthly expenses by public donation. Due to Ravenshaw's efforts and the financial support of the Maharaja of

Mayurbhanj Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in eastern India and the largest in the state by area, nearly equivalent to Tripura. The district's headquarters is located in Baripada, with other major towns including Rairangp ...

, HH Shri Krushna Chandra Bhanjdeo, the college department of the Collegiate School was converted in 1876 to a full-fledged Government Degree College bearing the name

College affiliated to the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. Samuel Ager was appointed as the first principal. The college had only 19 students. Krushna Chandra Bhanjdeo donated Rs. 20,000 as a permanent endowment which almost fulfilled the condition imposed by the government for public contribution. On Bhanjdeo's insistence the name was changed to Ravenshaw College in 1878 after Thomas Edward Ravenshaw to commemorate his services to the cause of education in

. The college was granted permanent status by 1881. Growth in the initial days was slow. Altogether 94 graduates were produced by the closing year of the 19th century and the student strength had increased to 97. The science stream remained confined only to intermediate level until 1912 when Bihar and Odisha were separated from Bengal. It is the college where many Indian freedom fighters completed their graduation. There is no evidence of Thomas Edward Ravenshaw have a formal education. He came to India as an employee of the privately owned East India Company.

Ravenshaw in the 20th century

The college entered a new phase of development after 1912. School and survey classes were removed. Teachers of Indian Education Service were appointed as professors. New subjects such as Political Economy, Political Philosophy and honours in History and Persian were introduced. Infrastructure facilities for teaching of science at B.Sc. level were augmented. The student strength rose to 280 in 1912 and 375 in 1915. A new site (the present site) for the college at Chakkar Padia was located by the government to construct a complete set of new buildings at an approximate cost of Rs.10,00,000. In 1916 the University Bill proposed the transfer of Ravenshaw College from Calcutta University to Patna University. Although there was some public resistance for the change of affiliation, the then commissioner rightly supported the transfer by writing "Divorced from the Calcutta University, its progress would be rapid and in course of time it should be able to supply every educational need of the people of Odisha." Accordingly, the affiliation was transferred to newly created Patna University on 1 October 1917. The college was shifted to its present site in the erstwhile Chakkar Padia in 1921. While laying the foundation stone of the present building in November 1919 Sir Edward Gait, the governor of Bihar and Odisha wished that this mighty monument would one day grow into a university. The Maharaja of

donated Rs. 1,00,000 for the electrification of the new building and purchase of equipment for science laboratories. A library building with an area of was opened in 1922 by Lt. Governor of Bihar and Odisha. Maharaja of Kanika Sri Rajendra Narayan Bhanjadeo generously donated Rs. 55,000 for its construction which stands today as a beautiful piece of architecture. In his honour the library is named Kanika Library and is very close to the hearts of educated Odias. In recognition of the public generosity, the government sanctioned Rs. 25,000 towards purchase of books for the new Kanika Library. After the shifting of the main library to the centenary building, the old premises houses the journal section. Legislators from Odisha such as Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das and Sri Krishna Mohapatra demanded time and again for further growth of the college in Bihar Odisha Legislative Council and Viceroy's Council. In the words of Krishna Mohapatra "Orissa had a pet child and that child was the Ravenshaw College." In response to public pressure, Mathematics honours got recognition by 1920. A year later affiliation was granted to B.Sc. in Botany and the college became a postgraduate institution with M.A. classes in English started in 1922 through the munificence of Maharani Smt. Parvati Devi, the queen of

Sonepur Sonepur or Sonapur may refer to: ;India * Sonapur, Alipurduar, village in West Bengal, India * Sonapur, Assam, town ** Sonapur College * Sonapur, Bhandup, urban area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India * Sonpur, Bihar, town in Bihar, India ** Sonpur c ...

, in granting Rs. 1,71,500 for its opening. The staff position of Ravenshaw College was strengthened with the appointment, in 1918, of scholars such as Sir Jaudunath Sarkar and R. P. Khosla as professors of History and Economics respectively. By 1922 the sanctioned strength of teaching staff had reached 31, out of which 13 came from Indian Education Service, two were Europeans and the rest were from provincial Education Service. Honours classes in Physics, Chemistry and Botany were opened from July 1930 and steps were initiated to start postgraduate teaching in all subjects which was fulfilled after Odisha became a separate province. Co-education began in 1929–30 with four girl students taking admission in the college. Their number gradually rose over the years. Medical facilities opened in the college with the appointment of a sub-assistant surgeon and medical examination became compulsory for all students from October 1929. The college remained affiliated to

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern e ...

even after the separation of Odisha from Bihar in 1936. The affiliation was transferred to the newly created Utkal University in 1943.

Ravenshaw in the freedom struggle

Ravenshaw's Assembly Hall was the venue of the Legislative Assembly of the new state of Odisha. It witnessed the debates of the legislators framing laws to govern the state. It remained so until the capital was shifted to Bhubaneswar. All the significant cultural, intellectual and political movements of the state have sprung from its portals. It has nourished such great and kindred souls as

Madhusudan Das Madhusudan Das (28 April 1848 – 4 February 1934) was an Indian lawyer and social reformer, who founded Utkal Sammilani in 1903 to campaign for the unification of Odisha along with its social and industrial development. He was one of the pro ...

Gopabandhu Das Gopabandhu Das (1877–1928), popularly known as '' Pandit Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das'' (''Jewel of Utkal'' or Odisha), was a social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist. Early life Gopabandhu Das was born on 9 ...

, Acharya Harihara Das,

Nilakantha Das Pandit Nilakantha Das (1884-1967) was one of the most illustrious sons of Odisha, who appeared both in its ''political and literary arena'' at the most crucial period of its history, when Odisha had no political identity in the map of India, and ...

Godabaris Mishra Pandit Godabarish Mishra (26 October 1886 – 26 July 1956) was a poet and notable socialist from Odisha, India. He is known for his contribution to Odia literature. Early life Godabarish Mishra was born to Lingaraj Mishra and Apsara Devi in ...

and Bhubanananda Das. It had on its staff such great scholars as Artaballav Mohanty,

Jadunath Sarkar Sir Jadunath Sarkar, (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty. Sarkar was educated in English literature and worked as a teacher for some time but later shifted his focus to h ...

, Sir Ross Masood, Pranakrushna Parija, Balabhadra Prasad, Acharya Jogeschandra Vidyanidhi, Mahendra Kumar Rout, Baba Kartar Singh, Parasuram Mishra, Shri P.A. Sunderam and A.K. Dasgupata, to name a few. Most of the prominent political leaders of the state such as Shri Bansidhar Mishra( Surat Alley ), Shri

Bishwanath Das Bishwanath Das (8 March 1889 – 2 June 1984) né (maiden name) Biswanath Dash was a politician, lawyer and philanthropist from India. He was the prime minister of Orissa Province of British India 1937–1939, the governor of Uttar Pradesh 1962 ...

, H.K. Mahatab, Shri Nityananda Kanungo, Shri S.N.Dwibedi, Shri Srinibas Mishra, Shri

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician and aviator. He served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the State of Odisha from 1961 to 1963 and from 1990 to 1995. He was also the 14th Steel and mines and 1st Coal Uni ...

, Shri Nilamani Routray, Smt. Nandini Satpathy, Shri Janaki Ballabh Patnaik and Shri

Rabi Ray Rabi Ray (26 November 1926 – 6 March 2017) was an Indian socialist politician, a Gandhian, a speaker of the Lok Sabha and a former Union minister. He hailed from Odisha. He joined the Socialist Party in 1948, and later became member of the Sa ...

etc., were Ravenshavians.

Ravenshaw after independence

Indian Science Congress Association Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Calcutta and it meets annually in the first week of January. It h ...

meet of 1962 was held in Ravenshaw College Quadrangle. The college achieved the unique distinction of being one of the three colleges of the country to have been awarded national honour by the government of India through the issue of a commemorative stamp in 1978. The college has seen 55 principals. It has been accorded autonomous status since 1989. It stands today on a sprawling campus of . The magnificent red brick building of Gothic architecture has had several blocks added to it. The main library is in the new centenary library building.

Government of Odisha The Government of Odisha and its Districts of Odisha, 30 districts consists of an executive branch, executive, led by the List of Governors of Odisha, Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the ...

accorded it unitary

status in the year 2006 by passing the Ravenshaw University act. Subsequently, it got accredited with University Grants Commission under the section 2f of the UGC act. This was possible because of the efforts of the first vice chancellor of the

Devdas Chhotray Devdas Chhotray is an Indian Odia author, administrator and academic. He was the first vice-chancellor of Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha. His work consists of poetry, short stories, lyrics, musicals and screenplays. Chhotray's father G ...

. Since then a number of self-financing courses have been offered and the student strength has increased dramatically. Teaching is now imparted to more than 7000 students in arts, Science and Commerce, management, computer science, electronics and telecommunication, information technology and hotel and hospitality management. Altogether there are 33

out of which 28 have postgraduate teaching facility and M.Phil. and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

courses are available in 22 departments. In addition, several new courses have been added under autonomous functioning besides the regular courses. There are 11 hostels, 9 of which are on the campus, accommodating about 2,500 boarders. A new 140 acre campus is being built at Naraj in Cuttack. The college houses, besides Ravenshaw Junior College having student strength of 1536, the Cuttack Study Centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University having student strength of 1133, IAS Coaching Class and Pre-Examination Training Centre for SC/ST students.

Academics

Ravenshaw University has nine degree-granting

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

and they offer

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

programs in science, arts, commerce, management, computer science, electronics and telecommunication, hospitality and hotel management and information technology; graduate programs in science, arts, commerce, management (MBA) and computer application (MCA); and

master of philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

and

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degree programs in science, arts and commerce.

Schools and Departments

*School of Languages (Departments: Hindi, Odia, Sanskrit and English) *School of Regional Studies & Earth Sciences (Departments: Geology and Geography) *School of Social Sciences (Departments: Economics, History, Philosophy, Political Sciences,

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, Sociology, International Studies, Rural Development, Education and Journalism and Mass Communication) *School of Life Sciences (Departments: Botany, Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Zoology) *School of Mathematical Sciences (Departments: Mathematics and Statistics) *School of Information & Computer Sciences (Departments: Electronics and Telecommunication, Information Science and Technology, Information Technology and Management, Computer Science and Computer Applications) *School of Physical Sciences (Departments: Chemistry and Physics) *School of Commerce (Department of Commerce) *School of Management Studies (Departments: Business Administration, Hospitality & Hotel Administration, Integrated MBA in Financial Markets and MBA)

Admissions

Admissions to various

, graduate,

and

degree programs are made through entrance examinations held every year.

Research

Ravenshaw has been at the forefront of the research activities since its inception. Established as the first institution of

for higher education,

and

degrees were awarded by the various departments of Ravenshaw for the first time in the history of

. However, keeping in mind the changing scenario of modern science and technology, its research infrastructure and library facilities are now being augmented through external research grants and internal resources. Currently 22 departments of the

offer

and

degrees.

Campus

The current campus sits on an 87-acre campus in the heart of

. The campus is located very close to the

Cuttack railway station Cuttack Junction railway station, (station code CTC), is a railway junction and serves Cuttack in the Indian state of Odisha. Cuttack Junction railway station is one of the busiest railway station in Odisha. History During the period 1893 to ...

, and is only about a 45 minutes’ drive from the

Bhubaneswar airport Biju Patnaik Airport is an international airport serving Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, India. It is situated around south-west of Bhubaneswar Railway Station and from the city center. Named after Biju Patnaik, the former Chief ...

. The university has acquired another 140 acres of land on the bank of the river

Mahanadi The Mahanadi River is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independenc ...

, to build the second campus for its new disciplines of management and applied sciences. The foundation stone of the new campus at Naraj has been laid by

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (; born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and writer, who served as the 14th List of Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the List of longest-serving I ...

Hostels

The

has 13 hostels, 7 for boys and 6 for girls. These hostels accommodate 1400 boys and 2200 girls students. Mahanadi and Lalitgiri hostels with capacity to accommodate 600 girls and 400 boys were recently inaugurated by

Ravenshaw Radio

Ravenshaw Radio Ravenshaw Radio is the community radio station (CRS) of Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India. It is the first campus community radio station in Odisha, and was launched on 14 April 2011, the Oriya New Year. It was opened by the Vice-Cha ...

90.4 MHz is Odisha's first campus community radio station (CRS). It started

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

from April 2011. However, it has faced repeated problems and failed to provide continuous broadcasting services to the students and local community.

Notable alumni

Rahul Shrivastava Rahul Shrivastava is an Indian diplomat currently serving as the High Commissioner of India to Namibia. He previously served as the Ambassador of India to Romania, Albania, and Moldova from 2020 to 2024, and as Ambassador of India to Venezuela ...

, IFS Officer &

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, Lawyer, Freedom fighter, Social activist, Minister *

Baidyanath Misra Baidyanath Misra (22 November 1920 – 8 May 2019) was an Indian economist, educator, author, and administrator from the state of Odisha. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Deputy-Chair ...

, former Vice-Chancellor of the

Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was established in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India in 1962. It is the second oldest agricultural university in the country. It is dedicated to agriculture-related research, extension and educati ...

, Chairman of Odisha State Planning Board and Chairman of Odisha's First State Finance Commission. * Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das, social worker, reformer, political activist, journalist, poet and essayist. *

Nabakrushna Choudhury Nabakrushna Choudhury (also spelled Nabakrushna Choudhuri; 23 November 1901 – 24 June 1984) was an Indian politician and activist. He served as Chief Minister of the Indian state of Odisha. He was a freedom fighter who participated in the N ...

, former Chief Minister of Odisha and freedom fighter *

, former Chief Minister of Odisha and freedom fighter, Pilot *

Janaki Ballabh Patnaik Janaki Ballabh Patnaik (3 January 1927 – 21 April 2015) was an Indian politician who had been 25th Governor of Assam from 2009 to 2014. A leader of the Indian National Congress, he was Chief Minister of Odisha from 1980 to 1989 and again fro ...

, former Chief Minister of Odisha, 25th Governor of Assam. *

Biren Mitra Biren Mitra (26 November 1917 – 25 May 1978) was an Indian politician, a leader of the Indian National Congress and the List of Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chief Minister of Odisha from 2 October 1963 to 21 February 1965. Personal Life Mitra wa ...

, former

Chief Minister of Odisha The chief minister of Odisha, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Odisha. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Follow ...

Harekrushna Mahatab Harekrushna Mahatab (born Harekrushna Das, 21 November 1899 – 2 January 1987) was the leader of the Indian National Congress, a notable figure in the Indian independence movement and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and from 1956 ...

, former

* *

Dayanidhi Choudhury Dayanidhi Choudhury, also known as D.N. Choudhury()(1 January 1916 – 22 September 2000) was the first Odia IFS (Indian Forest Service) and he is the former Chief Conservator of Forest, Govt. of Odisha. During his period lot of developments h ...

, former Chief Conservator of Forests, First Odia IFS *

, former Chief Minister of Odisha and freedom fim fighter *

Nilamani Routray Nilamani Routray (24 May 1920 – 4 October 2004) was an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1977 to 1980. He served as the Health and Family Welfare Minister and then Forest and Environment Minister in the Union Government ...

, former Chief Minister of Odisha *

Nandini Satpathy Nandini Satpathy (9 June 1931 – 4 August 2006) was an Indian politician and author. She was the Chief Minister of Odisha from June 1972 to December 1976. Early life Nandini Satpathy was born on 9 June 1931 as Nandini Panigrahi to Kalin ...

, former Chief Minister of Odisha *

Pradip Kumar Mohanty Pradip Kumar Mohanty (born 10 June 1955) is an Indian attorney and Jurist currently serving as a Judicial Member of Lokpal Committee since 23 March 2019. He retired from the post on 23 March 2024. He is former Chief Justice of the Jharkhand Hig ...

, former Chief Justice of

Jharkhand High Court The Jharkhand High Court is one of the newest high courts in India. It was established in 2000. The court has jurisdiction over Jharkhand state. The seat of the court is at Ranchi, the administrative capital of the state. The court has a san ...

Bira Kishore Ray Bira Kishore Ray (21 October 1891 – 26 July 1958) was an Indian judge who was the first Chief Justice of Orissa High Court. Early years Ray was born on 21 October 1891 in an aristocratic Karan family at Bagalgarh village of Cuttack district ...

, first Chief Justice of

Orissa High Court The Orissa High Court is the High Courts of India, High Court for the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Odisha. The then Bengal Presidency was a vast province including present day Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West ...

Sukanta Kishore Ray Sukanta Kishore Ray (5 November 1918 – 23 December 2002) was an Indian politician and judge. He served as the Chief Justice of Odisha High Court. He was also the acting Governor of Odisha. He was the 2nd Lokpal of Odisha from 17 August 1989 t ...

, former Chief Justice of

Gopal Ballav Pattanaik Gopal Ballav Pattanaik (born 19 December 1937) is an Indian lawyer and later a jurist who served over a period of 19 years in the bench of the Odisha High Court as a permanent judge, as chief justice of the Patna High Court, Judge of the Suprem ...

, former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

* Sarangadhar Das, Indian nationalist revolutionary & politician *

Kalicharan Pattnaik Kalicharan Pattnaik (23 December 1898 – 24 July 1978), also known by his sobriquet Kabichandra, was an eminent literary and artistic figure of Odisha. He had contributions in the field of Odissi music, Odissi dance and Odia theatre. He had s ...

, was an eminent literary and artistic figure of Odisha *

Annada Shankar Ray Annada Shankar Ray (15 March 1904 – 28 October 2002) was an Indian poet and essayist in Bengali. He also wrote some Odia poetry. He wrote several Bengali poems criticising the Partition of India. Most notable is "''Teler shishi bhaanglo bole ...

, indian writer & essayist *

Gopinath Mohanty Gopinath Mohanty (1914–1991), winner of the Jnanpith award, and the first winner of the National Sahitya Akademi Award in 1955 – for his novel, ''Amrutara Santana'' – was a prolific Odia writer of the mid-twentieth century. Satya Pra ...

, Jnanpith award-winning writer *

Prana Krushna Parija Prana Krushna Parija OBE (1 April 1891 – 2 June 1978) was an Indian botanist. His research work comprised mainly fundamental and applied aspects of plant physiology, experimental plant morphology, and ecological studies of plant environment. ...

, Academician, Scientist * Prabhat Nalini Das, Public Intellectual, Vice Chancellor, Academician, Feminist, Dean IIT Kanpur *

Manoj Das Manoj Das (27 February 1934 – 27 April 2021) was an Indian author who wrote in Odia and English. In 2000, Manoj Das was awarded the Saraswati Samman. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2001, the fourth-highest Civilian Award in India, and Padm ...

, Indian author *

Manoranjan Das Manoranjan Das (23 July 1923 – 17 February 2013) was an influential Indian dramatist, and pioneer of modernism in Odia Literature. He was known for his experimentalism and deep socio-political awareness, who became most known in the 1960s ...

, Indian writer *

Artaballabha Mohanty Artaballabha Mohanty, was a notable writer and literary critique. Personal life He was born on 30 July 1887 at Cuttack in a Karan family. Career He received Master of Arts in Odia literature and M.A. in Sanskrit. Then he became a professor ...

, Indian writer, literary critique * Biswajit Das, short story writer, film director and script writer *

Buddhaditya Mohanty Buddhaditya Mohanty is an Indian actor. He was born in Cuttack, completed his schooling at Stewart School, Cuttack and his college education at Ravenshaw College. After that he studied at Delhi University. He works in Mumbai as well as in Odi ...

, Indian actor *

Akshaya Mohanty Akshaya Mohanty, also known as ''Khoka Bhai'', was an Indian singer, lyricist, composer, musician and writer in Odia. He has contributed Odia bhajans, Odissi songs, folk songs, film and non-film modern light songs in Odisha on contemporary t ...

, Indian singer, lyricist, composer, musician and writer * Bidhu Bhusan Das, Public Intellectual, Academic, Vice Chancellor, DPI Odisha * Deepak Mohanty, executive director, Reserve Bank of India * Oopali Operajita, Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Mellon University; Odissi Exponent; Adviser to India's Parliamentary Leaders *

Amitav Acharya Amitav Acharya (born 1962) is a scholar and author, who is Distinguished Professor of International Relations at American University, Washington, D.C., where he holds the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance at the School of ...

, Academician *

Trilochan Pradhan Trilochan Pradhan (3 January 1929 – 4 December 2021) was an Indian scientist. Career Pradhan obtained his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1956. He headed the Theoretical Nuclear Physics Division at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics ...

, Scientist, Academician *

Ibrahim Suhrawardy Ibrahim Suhrawardy (16 January 1896 – 20 May 1971) was an Indian educationist, author and linguist from Balasore, Odisha. He is credited to have written the first English grammar books in Odia for the native students. He achieved high disti ...

, linguist and author *

Farhat Amin Farhat Amin (born 26 February 1967) is an Indian journalist, cartoonist and social activist. She's Odisha's state convenor of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a national rights based organisation which fights for the rights of Muslim women. Farh ...

, journalist and social activist *

Sitakant Mahapatra Sitakant Mahapatra (born 17 September 1937) is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1961 until he retired in 1995, and has held ''ex officio'' posts such as the ...

, notable Oriya poet,

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...

* R.C. Majumdar, Historian, ex Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University. *

Kalindi Charan Panigrahi Kalindi Charan Panigrahi (2 July 1901 – 15 May 1991) was a noted Odia poet, novelist, story writer, dramatist, and essayist. He is famous for his magnum opus ''Matira Manisha''. He has been awarded Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Akademi award for ...

, Writer,

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

awardee * Jogesh Pati, Academician, Scientist *

Gopal Krishna Sarangi Gopal Krishna Sarangi is an Indian economist specializing in energy economics, climate change, energy regulations, energy access, etc. He is at present an assistant professor at Department of Policy Studies, Teri University. Education His doctor ...

, Energy Economist *

Sarojini Sahoo Sarojini Sahoo (born 4 January 1956) is an Indian feminist writer, a columnist in ''The New Indian Express'' and an associate editor of Chennai-based English magazine ''Indian AGE.'' She has been enlisted among '' 25 Exceptional Women of India ...

, feminist writer, blogger and columnist *

Ramesh Prasad Mohapatra Ramesh Prasad Mohapatra (1 October 1939 – 14 January 1989) was an Indian archaeologist and scholar on Odia Studies. He served as curator for archaeology at the Odisha State Museum from 1963 to 1989 and made significant contributions to histor ...

, archaeologist, Indologist, scholar of Odishan studies, art historian *

, former Speaker of Lok Sabha * Chintamani Panigrahi, activist, politician and former Governor of Manipur *

Jayanta Mahapatra Jayanta Mahapatra (22 October 1928 – 27 August 2023) was an Indian poet. He is the first Indian poet to win a Sahitya Akademi award for English poetry. He was the author of poems such as "Indian Summer" and "Hunger", which are regarded as c ...

, poet * Sachidananda Rout Roy, poet and Jnanpith awardee *

Mayadhar Mansingh Mayadhar Mansingh (13 November 1905 – 11 October 1973) was an Indian poet and writer who wrote in Odia. He received the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, in 1967. Personal life Mansingh was born in Nandala village, Rama ...

, poet and educationist *

Rudra Madhab Ray Rudra Madhab Ray (23 November 1937 – 31 May 2016) was an Indian politician. He was a member of the Indian Parliament, and represented Kandhamal (Lok Sabha constituency). He was suspended from Biju Janata Dal The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is ...

, member of parliament * Radhakant Nayak, member of parliament *

Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo Brigadier Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo AVSM (born 6 August 1941), the scion of Dhenkanal is a former Member of Parliament and a retired Indian Territorial Army officer. He was a member of the 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th and 13th Lok Sabha. He wa ...

, member of parliament *

Ranganath Misra Ranganath Misra (25 November 1926 – 13 September 2012) was the 21st Chief Justice of India, serving from 25 September 1990 to 24 November 1991. He was also the first chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He also served as M ...

, former Chief Justice of India *

Lalit Mansingh Lalit Mansingh (born 29 April 1941) is a former Indian diplomat. He was the Foreign Secretary of India from 1999 to 2000, and Indian Ambassador to the United States from 2001 to 2004. Prior to this, he was Indian High Commissioner to the United ...

, former foreign secretary of India * Karamat Ali Karamat Indian Urdu language poet, author, literary critic and mathematician. *

, Administrator, Writer, Poet *

Pratibha Ray Pratibha Ray (born 21 January 1944) is an Indian academic and writer of Odia language, Odia-language novels and stories. For her contribution to the Indian literature, Ray received the Jnanpith Award in 2011. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan ...

, Jnanpith award-winning writer * Ajay Kumar Parida, Indian Biologist *

Atanu Kumar Pati Atanu Kumar Pati is an Indian zoologist, served as the Vice-Chancellor Gangadhar Meher University (GMU), Sambalpur, Odisha from 2017 till 2020. Early life and education Pati did his B.Sc. from Utkal University and M.Sc. (1977) and Ph.D. (19 ...

, Indian Zoologist *

Michael Patra Michael Debabrata Patra (born 29 September 1960) is an Indian economist and former central banker who has served as the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India from 2020 to 2025. As a central banker he has spent most of his career at RBI. E ...

, Indian economist and Deputy Governor of the RBI *

Subrat Kumar Prusty Subrat Kumar Prusty (born 1976) is an Indian Odia language, Odia-language scholar, activist, social entrepreneur, Literary criticism, literary critic and author. He is Member Secretary of the Institute of Odia Studies and Research, Bhubaneswar, ...

, linguist, Presidential award of Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman-winning Researcher *

Pratap Jena Pratap Jena () is an Indian politician and a former Cabinet Minister in the Sixteenth Odisha Legislative Assembly, holding portfolios in Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, Law, Housing & Urban Development (2019–2022). He has been elected as Mem ...

, former Cabinet Minister of Odisha *

Soumya Ranjan Patnaik Soumya Ranjan Patnaik (born 18 August 1952) is an Indian politician and the founder-editor of the Odia daily Sambad. He is also a feature film producer as well as a successful business personality. He was elected to 11th Lok Sabha from Bhubanes ...

, editor of Sambad, Politician, Parliamentarian *

Bansidhar Mishra(Surat Alley) Bansidhar Mishra (Nepali language, Nepali/Maithili language, Maithili:वंशीधर मिश्र) is a Nepalis, Nepali politician of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist), CPN (Unified Socialist). He is also a member of the standin ...

, Freedom fighter, founder of the British Communist Party in London. * Srinibas Mishra, Ex MP Lok Sabha, Cuttack.

Notable faculty

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

, former Vice Chancellor of

Ross Masood *

Jagannath Prasad Das (psychologist) Jagannath Prasad Das (also known as JP Das) is an Indo-Canadian educational psychologist who specialized in educational psychology, intelligence and childhood development. Among his contributions to psychology are the PASS theory of intelligen ...

References

External links

Ravenshaw University Webpage
{{authority control Autonomous Colleges of Odisha Universities in Odisha Education in Cuttack Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance 1868 establishments in India Universities and colleges established in 1868