Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, will soon have an archive to scientifically preserve its rare documents, records and artefacts. It is a dream come true for the well-wishers of the college, the royal family of Cochin, old student association, parent-teacher association and the student union. The move comes as the authorities realised the immense historical value of several college records which were examined as the institution marked the centenary of its college magazine.
The exclusive collection of the college comprises of admissions records and fees descriptions since the time when the institution began functioning as an elementary school in 1845, documents about the first principal of the college A.F Sealy and records from the period of later British principals D.M Cruickshank, F.S.Davis and Glyn Barlow. Other important records include those on the visit of eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore and C V Raman, and politicians.
The State Archival Department is taking initiatives to conserve the irreplaceable documents of the educational institution which boasts of a rich heritage of 173 years. This action came on a recommendation made by the Kerala Minister for Ports, Museums, Archaeology and Archives Kadannappally Ramachandran, who had visited the college to inaugurate the centenary celebrations of college magazine last month. Archival and Archaeology department president J Reji Kumar and other officials visited the college on Friday in this regard and examined the documents.
Reji Kumar promised to start the official procedures for setting up the Museum immediately. He also assured that an expert panel will be formed to scientifically preserve the rare documents under the guidance of State Archival Department and the panel will visit the college shortly.
The meeting that followed was presided by the college principal Dr.K. N. Krishnakumar. Mahatma Gandhi University Syndicate member Dr.M.S. Murali, College Governing Council Members Dr.Vinod Kumar Kallolickal and Dr.K Prakash spoke on the rich heritage of the institution.