‘Calling All Aloysians for a Meeting TODAY to Discuss on Retaining ‘St Aloysius College Rd’- SACAA

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Alfie Dsouza, Team Mangalorean.
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‘Calling All Aloysians for a Meeting TODAY to Discuss on Retaining ‘St Aloysius College Rd’- SACAA

  •  ‘Calling All Aloysians/Alumnus of St Aloysius Institutions, Mangaluru for a Meeting TODAY Evening 12 October 2020 at 5.30 pm in College Auditorium ( Gelge Hall) to Discuss about Retaining ‘St Aloysius College Road- St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA ). As an Aloysian join in the FIGHT to retain ‘St Aloysius College Road’ and show that an ‘Once An Aloysian Always An Aloysian’! , will stand by its Alma mater for a good cause.

Also Read : Aloysius -Rock & Star! Why should ‘St Aloysius College Road’ Name be RETAINED as It Is ? 

Mangaluru: As the saying goes for all of us who studied at the prestigious institution in Mangaluru-St Aloysius Institutions/College, ‘Once an Aloysian, Always an Aloysian” remains true, for the fact, we Aloysians no matter which part of the world we are, always remember and keep our bond of our good old college days at St Aloysius Institutions. And for what we all are now, we owe all owe sincere gratitude to our Alma Mater -St Aloysius Institutions, and to the Jesuit priests, teachers and staff for moulding us to be responsible persons of this country and the globe. It’s a matter of pride to call us “ALOYSIANS”, and it would also be a matter of Pride, that the Road right in front of the College, retains its name “ST ALOYSIUS COLLEGE ROAD”, which was christened in 1976.

Now the management of St Aloysius Institution has expressed its dismay and pain that the road from Catholic Club, Hampanakatta to Ambedkar Circle is renamed as ‘Mulki Sundararam Shetty Road’ by Mangaluru City Corporation as per the Government Order. It is stated that Mangalore City Corporation has taken the decision after getting the consent of several secular organizations. But, St Aloysius College has no intention of creating a controversy about the services rendered by Mulky Sundararama Shetty. The college has high regards towards him. However, there have been several roads and buildings named after him in the state. One of the major landmarks in the said road is St Aloysius College. This road was earlier known as Light House Hill road and later it was named as St Aloysius College road on the request of the college. The name board still exists. (See photo in the report). So what was the need of changing the name of the road at this juncture.
Here is a letter to all the Alumni of St Aloysius Institutions from the President of SACAA’ Santhosh Kumar Kadri –

Dear Alumni of St Aloysius Institutions,

Greetings from St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA). We are all aware of the recent renaming of the road leading to our College. SACAA would like to take up this issue further in consultation with the alumni. We have procured the following evidences from the available records for your kind attention-

– The College Annual of 1976 has a write up on the road being named as St Aloysius College Road by the then Municipal Corporation

– A plaque of St Aloysius College Road is still found on the wall of erstwhile Syndicate Bank facing this road

– In the letter head of MCC bank situated on this road, the bank address mentions ‘St Aloysius College Road’.

– St Aloysius College was the Imp-leading respondent in the High Court proceedings on the road issue

To discuss the future course of action, SACAA has called for a meeting on Monday 12 October 2020 at 5.30 pm in the College Auditorium (Gelge Hall). Kindly be present and give your opinion .

Thank you, Santhosh Kumar Kadri, President, SACAA

As an alumni of this prestigious institution, I can say that the contribution of the college to the society and the nation is very unique. Apart from maintaining high academic standards, the college has been striving after value based education and training to prepare the students as responsible citizens of the nation. Needless to say that the institution is established and managed by Jesuit Fathers who are known all over the world for their self-less services in education, healthcare and social services. St Aloysius College has immensely contributed in making Dakshina Kannada an educational hub. St Aloysius College is the pride of Mangaluru. The College, having a glorious history of 140 years of its existence, has rendered outstanding service to the society. It is to be noted that the famous Fr Muller Hospital was established by Jesuits. The services of Fr.Muller Hospital have been recognized by naming the main road after it. In this context the least we could do to appreciate the services of St Aloysius College is to retain the name of the said road as St Aloysius College road.
This is a 140-year-old Jesuit institute, much older than Fr Muller Hospital which has a road to its name. Hope the concerned authorities in the district administration and MCC will change their mind, and retain the ‘St Aloysius College Road’ marker as it is! In order to avoid future controversy in this regard, MCC should change its decision in renaming the said street. Why did MCC bother to change “St Aloysius College Road” marker to Mulki Sundararama Shetty Road”- why couldn’t they find some other street/road and name it after him. Or build a new monument or a park, and name it after M S Shetty. There is already a Circle in the City named as “A B Shetty Circle” after Attavara Balakrishna Shetty- the founder chairman of Vijaya Bank. For that matter, why is Vijaya Bank Head Office located in Bangalore-they should have retained it in Mangaluru, when most of its clients are Mangaloreans.

But if you compare the contribution done by St Aloysius Institution and Mulky Sundararama Shetty, definitely the former has done much more contribution/service than the latter- so it is befitting to retain the name after St Aloysius College/Institution. The Jesuits still have respect for MSR Shetty, but they don’t want to give up a street name that has been named after the institution decades ago. The Jesuit priests are making a humble request without stepping into protests or any warnings, so MCC considering this should retain the old road marker as it is. I am not blaming anyone nor I am against MS Shetty- but being an alumni of this prestigious institution and in the interest of other old students of SAC and citizens of Mangaluru, I feel however its not a fitting tribute to MS Shetty by changing the name of a road, which has existed and associated for years with ” St. Aloysius College”. The MCC can think of a “better idea” in finding a “Better Road or a Place” to be named after MS Shetty, rather than get into all these hassles and controversy.

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