University of Kerala (KU)

The history of the University of Kerala is integral to the history of the state itself. One of the first 16 Universities in India, the University of Kerala was founded in 1937. It was formerly called the University of Travancore in the erstwhile prin the University of Travancore in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore (now southern part of Kerala and some neighbouring parts of state of Tamilnadu). The University came into being by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Sri ChithiraThirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University. Sir C. P Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Diwan (Prime minister) of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. He was an eminent scholar and an able administrator. It is said that the Government made an unsuccessful attempt to invite Albert Einstein to be the first Vice-Chancellor. The University was modelled after the best Universities of the United Kingdom, and even today retains some of these features. The affiliating system of the University however evolved differently from the college system in British Universities. The earliest origins of the University may be traced back to two institutions of modern learning in Kerala - the University College, Thiruvananthapuram and the Trivandrum Observatory. The University College was initially founded as the Maharaja's Free School by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal in 1834, with Mr John Roberts, a Christian Missionary as Headmaster, and soon grew into a college in 1866, affiliated to the Madras University. When the University of Travancore was founded, the departments of the college became University departments, only to switch back again when the transformation to University of Kerala happened in 1957. The University College still retains its connection with the University as an affiliated college. The Trivandrum Observatory was founded in 1838 and had an internationally reputed scientist, John Caldecott FRS as its first Director. It became a part of the Travancore University, but was administered as an independent government institution for some time. It is now the oldest institution under the Kerala University. The University has been publishing the prestigious Journal of Indian History since 1946. The Manuscript Library of the University is a treasure trove of archives on Indian culture. The library has over 65,000 works in 30,000 copies, mainly of palm leaf manuscripts, in addition to paper manuscripts,copper plates, writings on Bhurjapatra (birch bark), Agarutvak (the bark of Amyris agallocha) and textiles. The manuscript collection also includes those belonging to other Indian states and nations such as Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal etc. About eighty per cent of the collections are in Sanskrit. The initial moulds of scripts of modern Indian languages like Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Oriya, Assamese and Burmese are also found. The Centre for Adult & Continuing Education (CACEE) received the UNESCO- NLM award for literacy in 2005. The first world Malayalam Conference was organised by the University of Kerala in 1977. The University has honoured many scholars, scientists and technologists, artists and thought leaders with honorary degrees. Amartya Sen, K. J. Yesudas, Laurie Baker, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, Bharatha Rathna M. S. Subbalakshmi, Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, O. N. V. Kurup, G. Madhavan Nair, Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, Ilya Prigogine, Dr. Jayant Narlikar, Prof. C.N.R. Rao are among the recipients. The University Grants Commission has identified the University as one of the 26 institutions selected for promotion of India Studies by foreign students. The University has been awarded an 'A++' grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. ...view more