LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF ....

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History Repeats Itself

Till about the middle of last century University of Madras was a monolith spread over the entire states of Tamilnadu and Pondicherry. It was cracked for the first time through the efforts of two influential members of the Syndicate of the University Prof. S. J. Savarirayan and Prof. T. Totadri Iyengar from Madurai and the University of Madras Extension center was born.  Post graduation education was made possible in colleges in the south Tamilnadu. The American College readily offered space in first floor of James Hall for the office of the center. Professors of University Extension Center were provided offices in the College. Very soon the library of the extension center was created and housed in our Flint House. Madurai University which for a short time was known as Kamaraj University and later called Madurai Kamaraj University was born. The initiative and efforts of Principal Savarirayan towards the establishment of a University in Madurai was such that at one time he was tipped to be the first Vice Chancellor of the University. The language agitation (known as Anti-Hindi agitation) came in and Prof. Savarirayan who was very firm in protecting his students from police action during the agitation days was branded as an anti-Hindi man and his chances of becoming the first Vice Chancellor was lost. There are many in Madurai who will remember all these. Following this model, Universities in Coimbatore (Bahrathir)and in Tiruchirappalli (Bharathi Dasan) universities were born much later with the creation of University of Madras extension centers in those cities.

Why recall this history now one may wonder. Principal American College has a Midas touch. The news papers carry news of the initiative taken by one of the successors of Principal Savarirayan in the establishment of the INO (Indian Neutrino Observatory) near Madurai. That is remarkable. It is certain that he will succeed. This will probably open up a new chapter in the establishment of INO and many such central research centers in this part of the great country. As the great historian Trevelyn has remarked“History repeats itself”

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INO PROJECT

INO project headquarters to be set up in Madurai
Shastry V. Mallady

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Chosen to provide facilities for scientists

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MADURAI: The headquarters of the Rs.1,200-crore India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project, coming up in the Western Ghats, will be set up in Madurai.
While the country's first-ever underground neutrino observatory will be set up in Theni district, it was decided to have the headquarters in Madurai to provide facilities for scientists, administrative operations and for residential quarters.

A 12-member INO technical committee comprising scientists and engineers from different collaborating institutions is visiting Madurai on October 5 and 6 to finalise the detailed project report for the observatory, according to T. Chinnaraj Joseph Jaikumar, chairperson, INO-Madurai Cell.

“The project was earlier estimated to cost Rs.900 crore. But, it is now estimated at Rs.1,200 crore,” he said.
He told The Hindu on Sunday that a request was being made to the State government/district administration to allot suitable land in Madurai for the headquarters.

“We are meeting Madurai District Collector C. Kamaraj soon to make a formal request for land. The technical committee will discuss the matter here and the scientists are also visiting the actual observatory site at Pottipuram [West Bodi Hills] in Theni district,” Dr. Jaikumar said.
The technical committee meeting will be held at American College here. He said the land requirement will be a minimum of 30 acres.

While the Department of Atomic Energy will fund this project, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, along with nearly 25 leading research institutes/universities in the country, is steering the project by involving scientists and engineers.
Naba K. Mondal, Chief Spokesperson of INO Project, and G. Rajasekaran of Institute of Mathematical Sciences are among those attending the meeting here on Tuesday. The next day, the committee members will visit the site in Theni.

The INO Project is an underground facility with a huge detector and two man-made caves amidst a rock mass to study the properties of neutrinos through experiments and understand the various processes in the universe. Once started, this project is expected to take five years for execution.

Steps for getting various mandatory clearances for the proposed project have been taken up.
“Once the threadbare discussion is completed by the technical committee, it will go to the Union Cabinet for clearance,” Dr. Jaikumar, who is the American College Principal, said.


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