Netaji's grand nephew to help revive Presidency

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 on 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.
IANS