Osmania University flooded with pleas for honorary doctorates

HYDERABAD: Osmania University, gearing up to celebrate its centenary in April, is being flooded with requests to confer honorary doctorates.

While OU is considering honouring chief minister K Chandrasehkar Rao with a doctorate, other groups have proposed as many as 50 names.

Telangana Vidyarthi Parishad (TGVP) handed over a representation to university vice-chancellor S Ramachandram a few days ago asking for such a honour for the chief minister. Some leaders of Telangana Jagruthi, have sought similar honorary doctorate for Jagruthi president and Nizamabad MP K Kavitha. The group that submitted this request says the Telangana Jagruthi leader conducted several awareness programmes during the agitation for a separate state and is also striving hard to popularise Telangana culture across the globe. The same group also asked the university to bestow an honourary doctorate on former



union minister and Congress leader G Venkata Swamy. The All India Student Federation and Students Federation of India for their part have proposed the name of balladeer Gaddar.

Some Congress leaders and JAC members of OU demanded that All India Congress president Sonia Gandhi's name be considered for the doctorate. "Sonia Gandhi too should get the honour as the state was formed because of her. The university should also give doctorate for Srikantha Chary, who immolated himself for the cause of Telangana," a member of OU JAC leader and Congress leader Manavata Rai said.

Speaking on the number of requests they were getting, a senior official of OU said, "Even persons who have been nominated may not be aware their names were proposed. For instance, former chief minister of Karnataka Dharam Singh and former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil were proposed by local organisations."