SERVING WITH DISTINCTION

Conceived as a university like no other, Jawaharlal Nehru University became India's best. Here is how

- ABHINAV SINGH

This is not going to be a university like so many other universities that exist today, said Union external affairs minister M.C. Chagla as he tabled the The Jawaharlal Nehru University Bill in the Lok Sabha on November 16, 1966. When the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, on December 24, 1964, Chagla, who was former chief justice of the Bombay High Court and envoy to the US and the UK, had been the education minister.

“The object of this bill is to establish in the city of Delhi a distinctive university; a university which will not be a mere duplication of other universities but a university which will have a personality of its own, characteristics of its own, unique in many ways,” he went on to say in the Lok Sabha. It took a couple more years for the Act to come into force, leading to JNU’s establishment in 1969. But, it is no overstatement that India’s best university has become what it was meant to be, and more.

The 1,000-acre campus is housed on the rugged terrain of the Aravali hill range in Delhi. As per its vision statement, it “exemplifies the positive aspects of human habitation and intervention”. As you enter the campus, the greenery takes your breath away. The landscape is an explosion of colours thanks to the innumerable trees and shrubs. The campus, a birdwatcher’s dream, is also home to peacocks and nilgais.

The walls are decorated with posters representing different political ideologies and diverse thinking. JNU is a microcosm of India as it draws students from across the country and from different strata of society. For example, in 2022-23, of the 9,515 students, 1,428 were from scheduled castes, 677 from scheduled tribes, 3,285 from OBCs and 401 students were physically challenged. Women numbered 4,081.