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With
one foot steeped in history, tradition and tribal culture, the other
in industry, commerce and space technology, Gujarat has a large
number of institutes of learning, research and development, many
of which have been rated among the finest in the subcontinent. From
historic universities and institutions started by Maharajahs, the
British colonial powers and Mahatma Gandhi to the modern techno
parks that have brought the state to the threshold of the information
technology era, the range of institutional effort in Gujarat has
few equals in India.
The former princely
city of Vadodara, the capital of one of the three premier 21 gun
salute states in India, is well known for the M.S. University, named
for the late Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad (1875 to 1939) whose name
is associated with progressive administration and education. The
Maharajah established institutions of higher learning, and first
mooted the possibility of making Vadodara a university town in 1909
AD. The late His Highness Maharaja Sir Pratapsinh Gaekwad finally
followed up with the government and the Maharaja Sayajirao University
was established on 26th April 1949. An interesting aspect of this
historic university is that it has achieved name and fame in diverse
fields of arts, science and commerce studies, including subjects
like fine arts and home science that are ignored by many other universities
of India. The departments of the university introduce visitors to
archaeological, zoological and geological research undertaken by
the students and faculty, and exhibitions are held from time to
time displaying the work of the fine art students. Some of India's
finest artists are alumni of the MS university.
Another unique
institute of Vadodara is the Railway staff training college, which
is housed in the 1914 AD Pratap vilas palace at Lalbagh designed
by Stevens and set in a multi-acre complex of landscaped lawns and
gardens. The college was earlier sited at Dehradhun and moved to
Vadodara in 1952 AD.
The college offers
formal learning, seminars, workshops and tutorials in classrooms,
some of which were once the living quarters of royalty7, has a huge
library of books, journals and periodicals in English and Hindi,
with computer aided reference facilities, audiovisual tapes and
software. A unique aspect of the institute is the Model Room which
has different types of stations and enables students to work on
various kinds of signals, interlocking systems and other railway
technologies. The college is now working on applying information
technology for railway staff training.Among the many palaces that
have been converted to colleges, one of the most impressive is the
Vadia palace of Rajpipla near Vadodra. The fabulous palace complex,
with its acres of grounds suitable for forestry plantations, has
been converted to a Forest Ranger's college.
Anand, on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad highway, is the centre of the white
revolution in Gujarat. The AMUL dairy project and Gujarat Cooperative
Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is perhaps the largest food products
marketing organisation in all of India. What has been set up here
is an apex body of more than a dozen milk cooperatives in Gujarat
established to give remunerative returns to millions of livestock
farmers from over 10, 000 village societies, without ignoring the
needs of the customer in terms of quality and prices. Consumers
by providing quality products which are good value for money. The
sales turnover of cattle feed and milk products runns into millions.
The advertisement campaign of Amul butter has set many records in
the field of Advertising and Marketing.
The
city of Ahmedabad has some of the best known educational institutions
and research centres in all of India. One of the ultimate pedigrees
for a management student is a post-graduation or fellowship from
the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, an autonomous institution
set up in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat and the Indian
Industry, with the lead taken by scientist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai,
industrialists like Kasturbhai Lalbhai), and government representatives
like Dr. Jivaraj Mehta.
The objective
of the institution was to give a professional edge to business,
industrial, social, education, agricultural, population and health
management in India. Activities include teaching, research, training
and consultancy. The IIM was a pioneer of case-management studies
in India, in its early years collaborating with Harvard to set up
its curriculum and standards, and the world renowned architect Louis
Kahn was commissioned to create the right ambiance and spaces in
keeping with the objective of the institution.
Other unique institutions of learning in Ahmedabad are the National
institute of Design, a prestigious educational institute for industrial
design, the Center for Environment Planning and Technology, one
of the finest schools of architecture in south Asia, and MICA, which
has fast risen to be a name in the field of communications. Among
the many institutes of research in Ahmedabad are Physical research
laboratory, Space application centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad Textile Industry's
Research Assocation, Gandhi Labour Institute, National Institute
of Occupational Health. Entrepreneurship Development Instititute
of India, Institute for Plasma Research, Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute
of Indology, Nehru Foundation for Developement and Centre for environment
education, Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research,
Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration, and Vikram A. Sarabhai
Community Science Center. Among the many historic institutions of
AJimedabad is the Gujarat Viclyapeeth founded by Mahatma Gandhi
in 1921 AD, which is an important centre of cultural studies in
Gujarat.
South of Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar has a unique Institute for Marine
salt research. The first arts college in Saurashtra was set up in
the 1880s in Bhavnagar, and counts among its alumni Mahatma Gandhi.
It is now called the Shamalclas arts college and Sir PP science
institute.
West of Bhavnagar, Rajkot has many schools and colleges with historic
associations. Rajkumar college was founded in 1868 AD by the rulers
of Kathiawad in 1938 AD. The school has palatial gardens and lots
of memorabilia of its princely alumni and British principals.
The craft rich district of Kutch has a number of organisations that
are working to promote artisans, ensure their remuneration and market
hancicrafted products that are high quality and good value for the
consumer. Shrujan at Bhujodi and Kutch Vikas Sanghatan at Bhuj are
two well known NGOs working towards this end in Kutch.
