Gurugram: A newly constructed medical college in Koriawas village in Haryana’s Narnaul has landed in a controversy, even before the first patient has walked through its doors.
The village panchayat, which donated 80 acres for the project, is demanding that the college be named after legendary freedom fighter Rao Tula Ram. However, a section of villagers believes the current name given to the institution by the state—Maharishi Chyawan Medical College—rightly reflects the region’s deep-rooted spiritual heritage.
The rift has deepened in the past few weeks as villagers held a panchayat meeting, backed by local sarpanch Monika Yadav, to pass a formal resolution urging the Haryana government to rename the college in honour of Rao Tula Ram.
“We gave our land for the development of the college, but our voice is not being heard,” Yadav told ThePrint Friday. “Why ignore Rao Tula Ram, the pride of Haryana and a hero of (the revolt of) 1857, when the land was given in goodwill?”
Despite the panchayat’s demand, first put up in 2023, the Haryana government has already formalised the college’s name and it was notified through the state gazette on 12 February last year.
On 21 March this year, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) released a recruitment advertisement referring to the institution as Maharishi Chyawan Medical College, Narnaul.
The college, built over 76 acres at a cost of Rs 725 crore, was founded in 2018 by then chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Its construction is almost complete, and emergency services and outpatient care are expected to begin this year, followed by MBBS classes upon National Medical Commission approval.
The college site was chosen for its proximity to Dhosi Hill, an extinct volcano believed to be the meditation ground of Maharishi Chyawan, a sage from ancient Hindu texts.
Some local residents also argue that the college land is not part of sage Chyawan’s meditation ground but that of Raghunath Baba, another revered local saint.
Yadav too contended that naming the college after Maharishi Chyawan “erases the legacy of Raghunath Baba, whose spiritual footprint is directly connected to this land”.
However, speaking to ThePrint, Dr Ramniwas ‘Manav’, chief trustee of the Manumukt Manav Memorial Trust, through which the demand to name the college after Maharishi Chyawan was raised with the government in 2023, strongly defended the institution’s current name, stating that any opposition to it was not only unjustified but also deeply unfortunate.
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Rao Tula Ram & Maharishi Chyawan
Rao Tula Ram was a key leader of the 1857 uprising against British colonial rule in Haryana and Rajasthan. He led local forces in the Rewari region and managed to briefly push out the British. He later sought military help from Iran and Afghanistan before dying in exile in Kabul in 1863.
He is revered in Haryana as one of the earliest revolutionaries in India’s freedom struggle.
Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, a descendant of Rao Tula Ram, has reportedly written twice to the Haryana government—in 2023 and 2024—requesting that the medical college be named after his ancestor, but no response was received.
Maharishi Chyawan is believed to have meditated on Dhosi Hill that straddles the Haryana-Rajasthan border. He is famously associated with the invention of Chyawanprash, an ayurvedic health tonic named after him.
The hill continues to draw pilgrims and is already home to several initiatives in the sage’s name, including a helipad and ropeway project under construction.
A political undercurrent?
According to former village sarpanch Dalip Singh, politics may be behind the government’s “reluctance” to honour Rao Tula Ram.
“Everyone knows Rao Tula Ram is the ancestor of Union minister Rao Inderjit, who hasn’t always been in sync with the Haryana leadership. But why should our village bear the brunt of that political tension?” he asked.
Meanwhile, those supporting the existing name of the college argue that the spiritual and ayurvedic legacy of Maharishi Chyawan aligns perfectly with the purpose of a medical institution.
“This land has long been associated with wellness and meditation. It’s only fitting that the college reflect that heritage,” former municipal councillor Dayanand Soni told ThePrint.
Dr Ramniwas, who had led the campaign that resulted in the Haryana government’s approval of the college’s current name, however, emphasised that Maharishi Chyawan was a legendary physician whose contribution to humanity through ayurveda, particularly the formulation of Chyawanprash, made him a globally revered figure.
He reminded that the sage chose Dhosi Hill as his place of penance, thereby bringing spiritual and historical significance to the region.
Questioning the motives behind the opposition from the Koriawas panchayat—despite the unconditional land donation for the college—he urged villagers to take pride in the legacy of Maharishi Chyawan and honour the government’s decision.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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Why are we so restricted in our thinking that any time there is a name it comes to rest on a politician or a mythical sage?
Why now name colleges after eminent people in the domain? Why can’t an airport be named for JRD Tata who was an Indian aviation pioneer, Rakesh Sharma the first Indian in space or even an eminent aviator from another country..
Same for a medical college. It could be named for Hippocrates or Ibn Sina, Galen or Harvey. or Alexander Fleming or Ronald Ross.
But no, we’ll argue over sage vs politician as if nothing else is possible.
How can a medical College have the name of a Maharishi associated with ayurveda? You can name an Ayurvedic College after him but not a medical College. It will be better to use Rao Tula Ram’s name for this College.