GENESIS & EVOLUTION: UNIVERSITY OF RAJASTHAN

On the 8th of January 1947, the University of Rajputana appeared like a nascent star on the educational horizon of pre-independent India.

The efforts for a separate University for Rajputana State were initiated as early as 1921, when the Act for the Allahabad University was passed. The Act prescribed for separation of Intermediate classes from the Degree classes as a condition for affiliation, which meant more expenditure for the then colleges at Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ajmer, the only colleges then imparting University education and affiliated to Allahabad University. The location of the University became a controversial issue. The question was considered in all its aspects at a meeting called by the Agent to the Governor General in Rajputana and attended by the ruling Princes and Chiefs at Mt. Abu on 20 June 1924.

After a gap of nearly two decades, the efforts were again initiated in 1942 by Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Prime Minister of Jaipur, who appointed J.C. Rollo as Special Education Officer for this purpose. Sir Mirza Ismail and his successor in office Sir V.T. Krishnamachari took the initiative of holding talks with the representatives of Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Alwar, and Jaipur in December, 1946. They agreed to the establishment of a University at Jaipur and on January 8, 1947, legislation was promulgated and the colleges in the State formally federated into the University of Rajputana, which came into existence in July the same year.

Dr. G. S. Mahajani, Principal of Ferguson College, Poona (now Pune), was appointed the first Vice-Chancellor of the University and was an ideal person in many respects. He was a member of the Servants of India Society and was elected as a fellow of prominent institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences, India, and the Cambridge Philosophical Society at St John's College, Cambridge.

The University was allocated an annual grant of Rs.2.5 lacs by the participating States of Rajputana. The remarkable thing is that the States made it clear that the "acceptance of the grant will in no way detract from the autonomy of the University and its freedom to organise its teaching and administration as to embody in them the highest conception of University life."

Shri C. Rajagopalachari, the first Governor General of free India, had a very clear idea of the importance of the universities and their dignity. Addressing the students of Loyola College, Madras in August 1948, he advocated "we have to maintain the highest standards for our universities. The pressure of democracy may be allowed to bear on anything else, but not on the standard of education."

The foundation stone of the University Campus was laid by Shri C. Rajagopalachari on February 20, 1949. He concluded his address with the words: "Nothing can be achieved unless we learn to be good and correct and self-disciplined and cultivate self-restraint and that, which is called dharma in our beautiful language."

The jurisdiction of this University at that time extended over the entire Rajputana State with the exception of Ajmer-Merwara. In the beginning, it was only an affiliating University with twenty-two colleges in different parts of the state.

The University of Rajasthan has acquired the status of University with Potential for Excellence. Over the years, the University has redefined itself by meeting the challenges of changing trends in the educational system and has made a significant contribution in the field of higher education.