Former professor & author Makrand Paranjape talks about evolution of JNU in his latest book

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Amritsar, June 19

Majha House hosted an online session with Makrand Paranjape, a retired professor from JNU and also the author of ‘JNU’, a book that deals with how the university, always mired in controversies, has evolved over the years.

Makrand said the book had been born out of his belief in the idea of the ‘life of the mind’. “The book talks about the importance of debates and dissent and the role of intellectuals in society. If we go back in history, it is fascinating that Dr Radhakrishnan and former education minister MC Chawla found the time, energy and resources to find JNU, and the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, as India had just come out of war with Pakistan. It was quite an extraordinary achievement.” He said the primary aim of these institutes was to keep the deep democratic thinking alive and kicking.

“If you compare the JNU of its heyday with where it stands now, the scenario is hardly different from the divisiveness that we see all over the world and even in such a small unit as a family. There is the authoritarian aspect and the one of quiet revolt and dissent. Originally, JNU was supposed to be a revolutionary type of institution, where you studied and learned and worked.”

He lamented that slowly things changed, resulting in the closure of the mind. It was in 2016 that the university was ‘captured’, brought to a standstill by a mere 200 students. “Buildings were barricaded; political rallies were common; dissent was suppressed. I could see that the idealism of JNU had been attacked,” he shared.

Talking about the attack on a group of students on the campus on January 5, 2020, Makrand said that day marks the downfall of JNU.

“These were signs of simmering and serious discord and unrest. Blood on asphalt was a sign of the troubled times. It was time to ask who the perpetrators were, who hired the goons and why the administration had failed to control all this in a timely manner?” he asked.

He said it was indeed sad that JNU, once a glorious institute, had joined the ranks of BHU, AMU, Urdu National University and others, where politics and religion ruled. “JNU now, instead of being a microcosm in itself, simply reflects the religious and political strain of the country. From the exalted status of an open space where debate and dissent and thoughts flourished peacefully and were invited, to a place where religion and politics of the left and centre run rife, JNU has indeed come a long way. Sadly it is all downhill,” he said.