Established 1870s | Rex Vijayan Scholarship College

| Detail | Information | | :--- | :--- | | | July 14, 1873 | | Founder | Thacholi “Rex” Vijayan (1841–1899) | | Original Students | 14 (all male, lower caste and impoverished) | | First Female Graduate | 1914 (P. K. Janaki, age 19) | | Original Tuition | Sliding scale: 2 annas to 4 rupees per month | | Notable Alumni | 3 Padma Shri recipients, 1 High Court judge, 2 published poets | | Current Annual Intake | 550 students (100% on full scholarship) | | Unique Rule | No donor wall; no building named after any person except the founder |

– There is a particular shade of light that falls through the rain-pitted windows of the Old Hall at Rex Vijayan Scholarship College. It is a sepia-gold glow that has, for 151 monsoons, illuminated the faces of the region’s most promising—and most underfunded—minds. Established in 1873, in the feverish wake of the British Raj’s education reforms, this is not merely a college. It is a living endowment. The Founders’ Paradox The name “Rex Vijayan” is a curious study in colonial hybridity. Rex (Latin for “King”) was the adopted English name of Thacholi Vijayan, a minor aristocrat from the North Malabar tharavad system. Unlike his peers who built palaces or temples, young Vijayan, who had witnessed the devastating 1866 famine wipe out entire villages of agricultural laborers, chose a radical act: in 1872, he liquidated his family’s pepper and rice holdings to create a trust. rex vijayan scholarship college established 1870s

By Ananya S. Narayan

Then the bell rings again. And for the 152nd year, the granite walls of Rex Vijayan Scholarship College open their doors—not to the wealthy, but to the worthy. | Detail | Information | | :--- |