DU move to rename Dyal Singh Evening College sparks row
Move inappropriate, says NN Vohra, President of The Tribune Trust
A proposal to rename Delhi University’s Dyal Singh Evening College after Sikh warrior Banda Singh Bahadur has sparked strong reactions from the college staff association, which says the move will erode the legacy of Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a great visionary.
The proposal is rooted in remarks DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh made on Vir Bal Diwas (December 26, 2025). “Today, as Banda Singh Bahadur is being spoken about... although the decision is yet to be finalised… we wish to name Dyal Singh Evening College after Banda Singh Bahadur,” Singh said.
DU registrar Vikas Gupta confirmed to The Tribune that there was a proposal to rename Dyal Singh Evening College and the matter would be placed before the University Executive Council.
In a statement issued here today, NN Vohra, President of The Tribune Trust established by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia in 1881 and former J&K Governor, said, “Dyal Singh Morning College and Dyal Singh Evening College memorialise Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, one of the great sons of India. Sardar Dyal Singh gave his arguing that the two colleges with the same name cause confusion among students; hence the need to rename.
DU registrar Vikas Gupta confirmed to The Tribune that there was a proposal to rename Dyal Singh Evening College and the matter would be placed before the University Executive Council.
The Dyal Singh Evening College Staff Association has, however, passed a unanimous resolution opposing the DU move. “The college has long been associated with the eminent Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia and his memory. All teachers, non-teaching staff and students are deeply attached to this name. We are constrained to submit that such an important move was initiated without prior consultation with the stakeholders. The matter was neither discussed in the staff council nor shared with the staff association,” the resolution said.
The association also said the agreement between Dyal Singh Majithia Trust and the University of Delhi restrained the college from changing its name.
Jagbir Singh, staff association secretary, Dyal Singh Evening College, told The Tribune that legally the college could not change its name and if such a change was attempted, the institution would be required to relocate from its present premises. “A step of this magnitude must be approved by the statutory legal body, namely the staff council. Also, we don’t want to relocate nor do we want to lose our association with Sardar Dyal Singh ji,” he said.
Association president Mithilesh Singh said the concerns were administrative, academic and emotional. “Name change threatens our very identity. The legacy of Sardar Dyal Singh is central to the institution’s ethos,” he said.
In a statement, NN Vohra, president of The Tribune Trust established by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia in 1881, said: “Dyal Singh Morning College and Dyal Singh Evening College memorialise Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, one of the great sons of India. Sardar Dyal Singh gave his entire wealth and dedicated his life to promoting three ideological objectives: a free Press, a first class college and a public library to spread education and awareness among the people of North India, particularly Punjab. Towards the inculcation of a scientific temper and to eradicate ignorance, he willed vast portions of his enormous wealth for the establishment of an educational trust to establish a secular college and in 1910, Dyal Singh College was set up in Lahore. After the Partition, the Trust formed academic institutions in India. Dyal Singh College, Delhi, traces its history to the vision of Sardar Saheb, the great founder of The Tribune and Punjab National Bank, who deployed his fortunes for the larger public good. Any proposal to rename the college dedicated to the visionary would be most inappropriate and ill-considered.”
Dyal Singh College owes its origin to the foresight of Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, who willed his wealth in 1895 for the setting up of an education trust for a truly secular college.
Dyal Singh College was established at Lahore in 1910. After India’s Partition, Dyal Singh College was established in Karnal and in 1952, at Delhi. It started functioning in the Capital at Rouse Avenue as a constituent college of the University of Delhi in 1959 and at the present location since October 16, 1962. The DU took it over as a university-maintained institution in 1978.
