International music college in Mumbai to be named after Lata Mangeshkar
The Maharashtra cabinet has decided to name a proposed international college of music in Mumbai after legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, minister said in Pune on Wednesday
PUNE The Maharashtra cabinet has decided to name a proposed international college of music in Mumbai after legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar who died February 6, Uday Samant, minister for Higher and Technical Education said in Pune on Wednesday.
According to Samant, the proposed institution will now be known as the Bharat Ratna Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar International Music College.
“One-and-a-half years ago, my department had decided to set up the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar International Music College on land in Kalina, which belongs to Mumbai university. A committee was set up, of which Hridaynath Mangeshkar (Lata Mangeshkar’s brother) was made chairman, while Usha Mangeshkar (her sister), Adinath Mangeshkar, Zakir Hussain, A R Rahman, Suresh Wadkar and several other personalities were its members. A survey was also done under Lata didi,” Samant said at a press conference.
Mangeshkar died on Sunday at the age of 92, after enthralling millions with her divine voice for almost eight decades. The process of land acquisition for the project took some time, Samant said, adding, “But unfortunately, Lata didi passed away.”
“During our meeting with her family members, they proposed that the college name be changed to Bharat Ratna Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar, as Deenanath Mangeshkar was her father and guru. So a decision was taken at the cabinet meeting that the international institution for music in Mumbai will be named after Lata didi and it will be set up on the land of the higher and technical education department,” Samant added. There will be an international standard museum at this college, where people can also do research, he said.
Savitribai Phule statue to be inaugurated at SPPU on Feb 14
The statue of Savitribai Phule in front of the main building inside the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) will be inaugurated on February 14 by Bhagatsingh Koshiyari, Governor of Maharashtra, who is also chancellor of all the state universities.
According to Samant, chief minister Uddhav Thackarey will attend the function online, while deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar along with other ministers and dignitaries will be present in person.
State technical and higher education minister Uday Samant visited SPPU on Wednesday and reviewed the work on the statue and other university-related works. “The statue of Savitribai Phule, a pioneer for women’s education is going to be finally inaugurated on February 14. It is the first-of-its-kind statute which is going to be installed in any university in the country.”
The minister has also decided to allocate ₹3 crore after March this year for the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Adhyasan Kendra in SPPU.
“It will benefit students who will be learning the teachings and lives of both Savitribai and Jyotiba Phule through this Adhyasan Kendra,” he said.
Exams online?
Talking about the examinations to be held at universities, Samant said, “As we had decided earlier, all exams till February 15 at any of the state universities will be held online and after that we are again going to take a review meeting of the Covid situation and accordingly take a further decision. I would like to tell the students that online exams is temporary and they should get ready for offline exams too.”
Eye on JNU’s new V-C
Reacting to the appointment of Prof Santishree Dhulipudhi Pandit as vice-chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, Samant said, “We are happy about the appointment of an SPPU professor to a central university.”
When asked about previous inquiries against Prof Pandit, Samant said, “I took the information about Prof Pandit and got to know that she had gone on leave without pay for around 1,200 days in SPPU. Also, an inquiry was held against her in the university after which the committee stopped five of her increments.”
The minister said he will personally write a letter to the Centre asking for the justification about how this appointment has been made. “Prof Pandit, is now a vice-chancellor of a central university, that does not come under our jurisdiction,” said Samant