Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry requested Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to reinstate the name of University of Kerala with its previous name of University of Travancore or Travancore University. The members of the Chamber met the Governor on Friday and submitted a memorandum in this regard to Khan. Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that it is only right to rename the varsity as the University of Travancore or Travancore University. They said that the move was essential in order to reflect the cultural identity of the area and to recognise the contributions made by the people of Travancore to the growth of higher education in India, reported India.
The memorandum said, "We understand that renaming a University is a major decision and requires careful thought. Nonetheless, we believe that this change would be a positive step towards preserving the cultural identity of the region and acknowledge its rich heritage."
The memorandum detailing the history of the decades-old university said that the university was acclaimed internationally for its educational quality.
The then travancore University was set up by the rule of Travancore King Sri Chitra Thirunal Balarama Varma in 1937.
Chamber president S N Raghuchandran Nair, in the memorandum, said the Travancore University was renamed the University of Kerala in 1957 to reflect the entire State of Kerala.
The name "University of Kerala" seemed appropriate at the beginning since the university had three campuses in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode.
However, he pointed out that all the present universities in the state represent their respective regions. He said that the developments have reduced the jurisdiction of the University of Kerala to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha districts and some parts of Pathanamthitta.
"University of Kerala's name is irrelevant to the situation at hand and does not appropriately reflect the region or legacy that the institution is meant to represent, either," he said.
As a result, they requested to change the name since it would be a positive step towards preserving the cultural identity of region.