Some times it is surprising to know how much one single person can change the lives of thousands of people in just a short period of time. One such person was Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III who changed the face of Baroda forever and put the city on the map of the country. So in 1938, when the Maharaja completed 60 years of his rule, the people of the city arranged for a pompous celebration for their revered king. Even a committee called was established to manage the huge amount of funds gathered by the citizens.
The funds gathered were so huge, that even after the celebration was over, a whopping amount of Rs. 1 crore was left. To put the money to good use the committee decided to open a vocational training institute out of it. This idea was conceived to help the less fortunate people of the city. Providing practical training to the people who didn’t have proper education due to the lack of money, became the aim of the institute. This idea strengthened, even more, when the committee received the same amount of donation from the heir apparent, Yuvraj Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad.
Finally, the institute was established and came to be known as the Diamond Jubilee Institute. The campus created for the institute almost became a mini education complex with different sets of departments. These included electroplating, wood work, printing, sewing, textiles, carpentry, etc. For years, these departments provided the best training to its pupils and made them able to stand them on their own feet.
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Sadly enough, the complex has lost its former fame and has fallen into due to years of not being used.
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