Ravenshaw University came into existence on the 15th day of November, 2006. It was an upgradation of Ravenshaw College established in 1868, one of the oldest and largest colleges in India which subsequently became an autonomous college with CPE status by UGC and ‘A’ grade by NAAC. The College with all its glorious academic achievement and ceaseless scholastic pursuits had already created a distinct niche for itself in India and beyond. The history of this great institution is, in a manner of speaking, the history of modern Orissa. It was the cradle of ideas fostering national unity and nationalism, promoting social mobilization and gearing up the freedom struggle.The grand hall of this institution was a theatre of history: on the 1st of April'1936 it was the venue for the declaration of Orissa as a separate province; thereafter it housed the state's first legislative assembly up to and even after Independence till it was shifted to Bhubaneswar, the new capital of the state. During Quit India Movement of 1942 the students of this institution brought down the Union Jack as a mark of nationalistic fervour.