Exactly 100 years ago, renowned barrister Sir Sultan Ahmed took charge as the first Indian vice chancellor of the then-young Patna University which flourished in the 1920s as several historic academic institutions of the PU were born during his illustrious tenure.
The once-famed Patna University, whose aura has diminished in the past few decades, came into being on October 1, 1917, with J G Jennings as the university's first VC.
Ahmed, a legal luminary, was appointed as the third VC of the varsity and took charge on October 15, 1923, and served on the key post till November 11, 1930, one of the longest terms in its history by far, according to archival records.
The hallowed Patna Science College whose charming campus sits in the vicinity of the PU administrative block, Bihar College of Engineering (later upgraded to NIT-Patna), Prince of Wales Medical College and Hospital (renamed Patna Medical College and Hospital after independence), Bihar and Orissa Veterinary College (later Bihar Veterinary College), all saw their birth during his tenure as the VC.
Former vice chancellor of Patna University, RBP Singh, during whose tenure the PU completed its centenary, hailed Ahmed and his illustrious legacy.
"He was a formidable barrister and served in various key positions in the then British government. Sir Sultan finds his name in history also as the first Indian vice chancellor of Patna University and his contribution to the growth of the university is phenomenal as academic institutions for engineering, medical, science and veterinary streams were born during his tenure," he told PTI.
The Patna Science College was set up in 1927 and moved to its own campus having a cluster of handsome buildings with cutting-edge laboratories later which was inaugurated by the then viceroy Lord Irwin on November 15, 1928.
Legendary professor of physics at Patna College (set up in 1863, later came under PU), V H Jackson, who later served as the second VC of the university from October 16, 1920, to October 14, 2023, went on to become the first principal of Patna Science College and its institutional legacy rests a lot on his vision.
Bihar College of Engineering came up in 1924, Prince of Wales Medical College and Hospital was set up in 1925, and the foundation stone of Bihar and Orissa Veterinary College was laid on April 2, 1927, by then governor of the province Sir Henry Wheeler, who on February 25, 1927, had officially inaugurated the medical college, first conceived in 1921.
Singh, the former VC, said, Wheeler and Ahmed both were "great patrons of education" and several education institutions were either built or inaugurated by the then governor (tenure 1922-27) in the province in the 1920s.
The university, which began its journey from a wing in the Patna High Court building (completed in 1916), five years after Bihar and Orissa was carved out as a separate province from Bengal in 1912, also found a permanent home in a new university building on Ashok Rajpath in the 1920s.
The capacious senate hall of the university -- Wheeler Senate House -- was inaugurated in 1926 by Sir Henry Wheeler, who had also laid its foundation stone in 1925, according to archival records.
A ceremony was held on October 1 in the historic hall to mark the 106th anniversary of the university.
An old portrait of Ahmed, along with Mahatma Gandhi and first president Rajendra Prasad, and others still adorns the famed walls of the Senate House.
A few days ahead of the anniversary function, the historic Wheeler Senate House was renamed after socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan as 'Jayaprakash Narayan Anushad Bhawan', and a new plaque was installed on the right side of the 97-year-old building's facade mentioning that it has been rechristened.
The plaque bears the emblem of the university on top, and the inscription in Hindi reads: "Patna University - on September 13, 2023, after approval by Bihar Governor-cum-Chancellor Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Wheeler Senate House has been renamed 'Jayaprakash Narayan Anushad Bhawan'...".
The plaque also mentions that the Senate House was conceived during the tenure of the then vice chancellor Sir Sultan Ahmed and built during 1925-26 through the endowment of Raja Devakinandan Prashad Singh of Monghyr (now Munger in Bihar).
"It was opened on March 20, 1926, by the then Bihar Governor-cum-Chancellor Sir Henry Wheeler".
Ahmed's great-grandson Alamdar Hussain, a lawyer in the Patna High Court lamented that his great-grandfather's legacy has been "forgotten by people in power and masses in general".
"Good, that they have mentioned his name in a plaque. But, he was the first Indian vice chancellor of Patna University, how much of his life and legacy is talked about by anybody today," he said.
The Sultan Palace (currently housing the state transport department office) he built in Patna in 1922 as his grand residence has been facing demolition since last year, a court stay has for the time being halted the move, but "heritage is suffering in Patna" and the starkest example is the razing of the centuries-old Patna Collectorate in 2022, despite passionate efforts on the ground and a protracted legal battle, which all went in vain, Hussain rued.
"We hope people will come forward to save Sir Sultan's palace and the rich legacy he left behind for posterity, in academia and elsewhere," he told PTI.
