Homi Muluk Irani’s pledge to build a women’s college was redeemed this January
Khursheed Dinshaw
The tastefully designed Pilloo Homi Irani Women’s College for Arts and Science in Gulbarga, Karnataka was officially inaugurated by the governor of Karnataka, T. N. Chaturvedi on January 18, 2007. The building consisting of a two storey framed structure with 15 rooms and a built up area of 12,000 square feet is located near the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Circle in the heart of the city.
Lauding the efforts of the late Homi and Pilloo Irani’s progeny — Nina, Neville, Nawaz and Navroze — the governor referred to the contributions of the small Parsi community in the major streams of commerce, trade, education and arts right from Dadabhai Naoroji’s time.
Just before his death on May 19, 1999 Homi Muluk Irani had pledged to build a women’s college for arts and science in memory of his late wife Pilloo. This pledge was fulfilled by his two sons Neville and Navroze, who are both postgraduate engineers.
The foundation of the institution was laid in 1999, starting with 25 students in one room. Today there are 450 collegians who are taught subjects like sociology, basic Kannada, history, economics, political science, optional Kannada, English and Hindi by a 10-member, well qualified teaching staff. They have one NSS unit of 100 students and an energy club.
"Our students have participated in various inter college and inter state sports and cultural events,” informs Dr Jyoti Swami, principal.
Clockwise from above: View of the College; Karnataka governor inaugurating it; members of the Irani family at the function
In 2001-’02 one student from the College secured seventh rank in the Gulbarga University. In 2003-’04 two students got gold medals in Kannada and five gold medals in other subjects. In the same year the College’s team won the inter collegiate volleyball tournament conducted by the Bijapur University. In 2006, one of the students participated in the national level yoga competition held in Uttaranchal. The biggest achievement of the College has been the steady growth of results from 45 percent to 92 percent.
In the 1950s Homi Irani had co-founded the Hyderabad Karnataka Education (HKE) Society on the self-undertaken mission to develop the educational facilities in Gulbarga city.
His association with Gulbarga commenced in 1951 when he had built a bridge on the outskirts of the city on the river Bhima. He had completed his masters in structural engineering from Stanford University, California, USA. Having constructed many educational institutions in Gulbarga, he also served as commandant, Home Guards for Gulbarga district for 36 years. Apart from being the recipient of the President’s medal for distinguished service, he was also honored with the Rajotsava award from the Karnataka government. His wife Pilloo, a trained Montessori teacher, gave utmost importance to education too.
With a resolve to promote education, Homi Irani had built the Muluk Sheriar Irani College in memory of his father and handed over the management to the HKE Society nearly 25 years ago.
The Pilloo Homi Irani Women’s College for Arts and Science has been donated to the Karnataka People’s Education Society. The sentiments of the college students can best be summed up in the words of a student Sulochana, who says, "I am so thankful to the College for providing us with a good infrastructure and for their guidance in all walks of life. I come from a nearby village and always dreamed of educating myself and being self-sufficient. This dream of mine will become a reality soon…”