Assam renames Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College to Barpeta Medical College
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Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday announced that the state government has decided to rename the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital in Barpeta as Barpeta Medical College and Hospital.
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was the fifth President of India and the only person from Assam to have held the country’s highest constitutional office.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said the decision was taken because most government medical colleges in the state are named after geographical locations, such as Gauhati Medical College and Dhubri Medical College.
“But somehow Barpeta Medical College was named as Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said, adding that the name had led to confusion.
Sarma claimed that some people mistakenly assumed the institution was a private medical college because it carried Ahmed’s name.
The chief minister said that while the state Cabinet has approved renaming the college, it has also decided to name another institution in honour of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in a manner befitting the stature of the former President. He added that the Cabinet has authorised him to take an immediate decision in this regard.
The medical college is affiliated with Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences. According to PTI, it has been offering undergraduate medical courses since 2012 and postgraduate programmes since 2019.
Ahmed served as President of India from August 24, 1974, to February 11, 1977. Before assuming the presidency, he was a Union minister in the Cabinet led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.