Mangalore: The renaming of St. Aloysius College Road as Mulky Sunder Ram Shetty Road in still in debate. In this regard St. Aloysius college Alumni Association (SACAA) arranged a meeting with all Alumnus, well wishers of the Institution on Monday October 12 at Gelge Hall of St. Aloysius college.
Sumit Rao, alumni of SAC, who spoke first, said, “I am here not as a Hindu, a Christian or Muslim, but I am here as an Aloysian. The sad thing about the renaming of the road has become a community Vs Community fight. As Aloysians we should not stay calm instead fight and see that the road retains the name ‘St Aloysius College Road’, for which we need the involvement of more Aloysians, unlike today’s attendance. Why would anyone think of changing an existing name which was christened in 1976, to a new name? Doesn’t make any sense to me. We need to involve Aloysians with more power and influence in the society, so that they can even convince the President or PM of India or fight in this battle to win, and succeed in retaining the St Aloysius College Road name”.
Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, Fr Melwin Pinto Sj said, “I am here not as a Rector but as an old-student of this Institution putting efforts in trying to retain St Aloysius College Road. How do we react? It will be a long journey to success, but with determination and commitment, we can do it. The Jesuit community has decided to give the full responsibility to the SACAA Board and members to carry forward with the fight for justice- but the management of the Institution and Jesuit community will support fully in your efforts, fighting for a good cause. It is indeed undemocratic and unjust to take a unilateral decision to revoke the order which was rightfully and contested by us, without taking us into confidence which amounts to non – compliance of the directives contained in the order of the high court and our request. It should be noted that St Aloysius College is a 140-year-old institution which has formed thousands of men and women of great eminence, who have excelled in their fields and have grown to international eminence.”
If you look around, we observe a clear pattern in the scheme of things that are happening in the city of Mangaluru, which is known for peace and harmony for centuries. Only SACAA and its members and other alumni and well-wishers can fight and win in retaining the St Aloysius College Road name. My prayers are with you all for success in this battle for justice” added Rector.
Aloysians/Alumni who were present and gave their suggestions views - Nelson Pais-Architect/Urban Planner; Roy Castelino-Entrepreneur and former President Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy/Ex-President of Mandd Sobhan; Dr Akther Hussain – a leading and renowned Dentist in the City; Archie Menezes- Executive Board Member-SACAA; Dr Chandrashekar Shetty- HoD of Chemistry-SAC; Ivan Pinto-Executive Member, SACAA; and Ms Arathi Shanbaugh- Dean of BBA at SAC. The principal of St Aloysius College, Fr Praveen Martis SJ Naveen Mascarenhas, a faculty at SAC compered the programme.