Thaindian News

Kolkata, June 6 (IANS) A grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is determined to help revive one of Kolkata’s best known academic institutions that has produced gems like Swami Vivekananda and Satyajit Ray.

Sugato Bose, who has agreed to be the chairman of the mentor group to revive the Presidency University, said the group will have distinguished people from diverse fields.

Bose told a Bengali TV channel Sunday: “I believe most members will be Presidency (University) alumnus, but other distinguished personalities may also be there.

“Higher distinction in any particular field will be the yardstick for selecting the group members.”

Bose, who teaches at Harvard, said the group would be small.

“We have decided to constitute an outstanding and diverse group and seek the advice of famed alumni/alumnae. The group will be formed after careful consultation.”

Originally called Hindu College, it was renamed Presidency College in 1855. It was last year upgraded to a university.

The institution, with around 2,500 students, still churns out talent but faces criticism about falling standards due to alleged politics in teacher recruitment and frequent student unrest.

The college’s alumni include Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray, Marxist star Jyoti Basu and scientist Satyendranath Bose.

India’s first president, Rajendra Prasad, and former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also studied in the college.

Noble laureate economist Amartya Sen, also from Presidency, has agreed to be chief mentor of the university.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the formation of a mentor group on the lines of the newly revived Nalanda International University in Bihar to change the fortunes of Presidency University.