The 140-year-old Maharaja’s College has missed the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) heritage tag status. The autonomous Maharaja’s was among 60 institutions across the country that had entered the final race for the unique tag under the UGC heritage college scheme.
But the UGC finally selected 19, which included Government Brennen College, Thalassery, and CMS College, Kottayam, in Kerala. The select colleges will receive up to Rs.5 crore assistance for conservation and academic initiatives.
Maharaja’s College had submitted a report to the UGC as per the heritage scheme guidelines, but is learnt to have missed out in the final lap. It was among the 11 colleges recommended by the UGC South Western Regional Office in Bangalore. The Rs. 5-crore ambitious plan included conservation and maintenance of its heritage buildings and repositories of intellectual heritage resources. “We really deserved it considering the rich heritage and legacy of Maharaja’s. The college had sent a comprehensive plan as part of getting the UGC heritage tag,” P.K. Abdul Azis, chairman of the college Governing Council, told The Hindu .
The elaborate proposal had recommended conservation of the college library, museum, herbarium, scientific instruments of yesteryear and gallery among a slew of other academic and conservation plans.
“Experts from the college had also made a presentation before the UGC in New Delhi. The Public Works Department had submitted a detailed work plan aimed at restoring the heritage and tradition of Maharaja’s,” pointed out T.V. Francy, former Principal.
The heritage tag would have given the college an opportunity to improve the conditions of its heritage structures besides giving a boost to its conservation efforts. “A.F. Sealy, the first Principal of Maharaja’s, had designed the main building based on the traditions of European and Indian styles. The famous galleries of the college made with teakwood followed the style of Cambridge University,” recalled N. Shaji, who had presented the college’s heritage proposal before the UGC in New Delhi. Maharaja’s had proposed three new short-term courses as part of the heritage scheme.
