Mountstuart Elphinstone - Earned His Name

On 18th July 2018, when I was in the first year of my degree college. That day my friend Vikarnat's birthday, and we all asking him to give us a party. He agrees and says that he knows a good restaurant near Elphinstone college. I have no idea where this college is. I randomly dum guess that it would be near Elphinstone road station Because the name sounds similar. My friends laugh at me and say, "are you mad? It is not on Elphinstone road. It is in the fort, and by the way, the Elphinstone road name will be renamed soon as Prabhadevi after midnight of 18th July 2018, so next time you will not confused, lol! Now let's go to the restaurant. I booked the cab . 5 min after the cab arrived, and we all sat in the cab. According to Google Maps, it takes 1 hour to reach the restaurant, but I was thinking about Elphinstone's name through all journey.

I recall the famous Shakespeare quote, " what is in a name ?"

Why are they changing the name . is Elphinstone who did big things in Mumbai? That's why we honor his name to college. Or some controversy is in the name. That's why they are changing the name of the station?

One of my studies friends, Govind, sat next to me in the cab. So I asked him about all my queries. Fortunately, he knows the answer to all my questions. He told me about Mountstuart Elphinstone.

He was a Scottish historian, a co-founder, a fellow of Royal Geographical Society, and a civil servant in India, where he served as Governor of Bombay from 1819 until 1827. In the British East India company period, the British were against educating native Indians, where Mountstuart promoted Bombay's education. His chief concern was "the welfare of people " that place him in a different category of official than most of his peers, whose primary interest was in an East India company's balance sheet. He was marked by several significant developments. One of these was the opening of a College in Poona in 1821 for the study of Sanskrit, ancient Hindu literature, and science. In a Minute on Education penned in 1824, he advocated the retention of Indian institutions, favoring a Western curriculum's grafting onto traditional Indian learning.  

While talking about the Native School of Bombay, why I did not mention Hon. Jagannath Shankarsheth Murkute. he Was one of the School Society's founders and the Native School of Bombay, the first of its kind in Western India. The school went through a series of name changes: in 1824, it became the Bombay Native Institution, in 1840, the Board of Education, and in 1856 the name which continues to this day, the Elphinstone Educational Institution. i.e., Elphinstone College is endowed in Mountstuart Elphinstone honor. The well-known Balshashtri Jambhekar, Dadabhai Nauroji, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar were the students during that period. Later, even Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak had attended the Elphinstone College for studies.

 

However, the Elphinstone Road railway station and the Elphinstone circle were named after lord john Elphinstone his nephew, who also became governor of Bombay in the 1850s.

Why Elphinstone road Renamed?

The reason behind renaming Elphinstone Road station to Prabhadevi was its carry a sense of colonial mindset. They were given the name of Prabhadevi in honor of the local deity Prabhadevi. 

Look! Somewhere Elphinstone name admiring, Somewhere erasing. Same name, but Individuals works define their value. Mountstuart Elphinstone Earned his name. One Indian writer describes him as an "enlightened governor" of Bombay.

Oye Hello! have you finished your talk? We have reached the restaurant. Said Vikrant.