One of the two best Universities in India, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has “the educational philosophy of the university gets translated into its somewhat unorthodox academic structure”. Though of late JNU has been in news for wrong reasons, it continues to serve the society with the same zeal following the very Nehruvian objectives embedded in the founding of the university – ‘national integration, social justice, secularism, the democratic way of life, international
understanding and a scientific approach to the problems of society.’
Sometimes branded as a “Leftist den” and “Ground to groom anti-national activities” by ignorant people, the JNU is a prestigious academic and research institution India and Indians can be proud of. Still a young university, established by an act of Parliament in 1966, the strength, energy, and reputation of Jawaharlal Nehru University results from the vision that ideas are a field for adventure, experimentation and unceasing quest, and that diversity of opinions are the basis for intellectual exploration. JNU is the place for the intellectually restless, the insatiably curious, and the mentally rigorous, giving them the space to grow amidst the calmness of an oasis, a green lung within the hustle and bustle and the crowds of the capital city of India. Coming into being in 1969, three years after its establishment by Parliament, JNU brought frontier disciplines and newer perspectives for old disciplines to the Indian university system.
Justice Mahommedali Currim Chagla who was the Minister of Education in the Nehru Cabinet, after his stints as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and Indian Ambassador to USA, was responsible for establishing the JNU as an another University in Delhi. Chagla writes in his autobiography, “Roses in December”: “I had once told Nehru that if I have his approval, I would establish another university in Delhi. I explained that Delhi was growing and one university was not adequate for its student population, Nehru agreed.” An Oxford trained Gujarati Muslim, Chagla, known for his no nonsense approach, wanted the new university to be named after Jawaharlal Nehru and he had reasons for that too. With some hesitation, he mentioned a more delicate point: “Panditji, I would like to name this university after you. You have been the Prime Minister of this country since independence, and you have ruled over our destinies from this city.”
Nehru flared up: “You know my views about raising memorials to living persons. This is entirely wrong. No statues should be raised to living persons and no institutions should be named after them.” Though Chagla continued to persist, Nehru refused to budge. Instead the Prime Minister said: “There are several names to choose from. Delhi had been called differently at different times in its history, and you can select one of these names.” He suggested “Raisina” as a possibility; as a very fine sounding name. But Chagla dropped the matter for the time being.
It was only after Nehru’s death that the Bill came before Parliament, and according to the Bill the university was to bear his name. Justice Chagla records: “I was violently attacked in the Rajya Sabha by Dahyabhai Patel, the leader of the Swatantra Party, for spreading the personality cult. In answering the charge, I mentioned the talk I had with Nehru on the subject. The House was satisfied that Nehru was never guilty of trying to encourage a personality cult around himself.”
As a Minister of Education, Chagla never wanted the Nehru University to be constituted on conventional lines. During his days as the High Commissioner for India in U.K., he had studied the structure of the new universities set up in England and had discussed the subject with some of the Vice-Chancellors. “This university should be a modern university, that the students should not be tied down only to the subjects in which they were specializing, and that there should be inter-disciplinary facilities. Students should study subjects which had a bearing on one another, and the various disciplines should not function in water-tight compartments. The university should be international in its outlook, and carry on intensive research in, and teach those subjects which were closest to Nehru’s heart, and to which be devoted and dedicated himself throughout his life,- subjects like democracy, secularism, international understanding.”
Evolving such an innovative university is not an easy task. A large campus for the university was bought. But till he left the Ministry, there was no further progress. Later when Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister, Chagla, who was to be the Minister for External Affairs after G.L. Nanda resigned as the Home Minister could become rather instrumental in getting G. Parthasarathy as the first and worthy Vice-Chancellor of JNU appointed.
Chagla was once invited to dinner by Dr. Karan Singh, the Minister of Tourism. After dinner PM Indira Gandhi came and sat by his side. During chatting, Chagla asked her: “Have you as yet thought of someone for the post of Vice-Chancellor of the Nehru University, for the founding of which I worked so hard?” She inquired if Justice had anybody in mind. Chagla writes: “On the spur of the moment, I said, ‘Why not Parthasarathy? He has just returned from the United States, and I think he will do well.’ She immediately agreed, but asked me whether Parthasarathy would accept the appointment if requested to do so. As it happened, he was present at the dinner, and was at the moment standing in a corner talking to someone.” Chagla was prompt to take Parthasarathy away from the gentleman he was talking to and asked him. “Yes” was his reply. PM got him appointed the first Vice-Chancellor. Parthasarathy, a celebrated diplomat, could develop JNU on sound footing. Many members of faculty and research scholars have won prestigious national and international awards for their academic work. A number of academic associations are headed by JNU faculty. JNU expertise is highly sought after by the Government and many members of our faculty have served the Government of India in various capacities including as Ambassadors/ High Commissioners, and members of the important bodies like the Planning Commission. Many of JNU faculty members have also served and serve as Vice Chancellors of other universities. Even one would find most of the senior bureaucrats in India including the IAS and IPS officials as the proud products of JNU.
Chagla, who was closed to both the PMs Nehru and Indira and accepted various assignments including the Ministership in their Cabinet, had no hesitation to oppose the Black Emergency of 1975-77 and was ready to be imprisoned like Jai Prakash Narayan and Morarji Desai! He was a great democrat.
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(The writer is a Socio-political Historian. E-mail: [email protected] )
