Why did JNU attract the punitive eye of the state? For one thing, it was – and still is – unique and enjoyed the prestige of being named af...
Why did JNU attract the punitive eye of the state? For one thing, it was – and still is – unique and enjoyed the prestige of being named after Indira’s father and India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Although MC Chagla, a jurist and the education minister, introduced the JNU Bill in the Parliament at the end of 1964, the discussions on the university’s establishment began soon after Nehru’s death on 27 May. In August 1964, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund formed a committee of experts to discuss the establishment of an institution of higher learning named after Nehru that would be different from existing universities.
The most detailed advice came from Dr Douglas Ensminger of the Ford Foundation in Delhi. His nine-page note titled “Prospectus for a New National Institution of Higher Learning in India” proposed a small residential institution named Nehru Academy, or the Nehru National Institute for Higher or Advanced Studies, or the Nehru National University. It advised the passage of special legislation to create the institution to ensure that it would be independent and free from government interference.
The note also contained specific suggestions on the structure of the institution, a nontraditional and interdisciplinary curriculum, and the recruitment of...
