Vasantrao Naik Govt. Institute of Arts and Social Sciences, Nagpur

Vasantrao Naik Government Institute of Arts and Social Sciences was established in June 1885 as Morris College, making it one of the oldest general degree colleges in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Although Nagpur was the capital of the Central Provinces, it lacked a college until Sir Bipin Krishna Bose, Mukund Balkrishna Buti, Madhao Rao Gangadhar Chitanavis, and others, through the Committee of the Neill City High School, collected Rs 19,000 to start a college in memory of Sir John Morris. They later formed The Nagpur Morris College Association and approached the Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces to establish the college. The institution was affiliated to Calcutta University until 1904, later to Allahabad University, and by 1923 was one of six colleges affiliated to Nagpur University. In 1985, a hundred years after its founding, the college was renamed Vasantrao Naik Government Institute of Arts and Social Sciences by Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik, in honor of his uncle Vasantrao Naik, who had the longest tenure as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The college is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Notable alumni include Gopal Mukund Huddar, an Indian anti-colonial activist and soldier, and Vasantrao Naik himself.