JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

The sprawling campus of 'Jawaharlal Nehru University' is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. Named after Jawaharlal Nehru (the first Prime Minister of India), JNU is among the premier universities in India. Situated in a bush forest of about 1000 acres (4 km²) in South Delhi, JNU is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with about 5500 students. The faculty strength is around 500, and the University is organized in nine Schools (each of which can have several Centers) as well as four independent Special Centers.

Contents

Academic Reputation

Institutional History

Infrastructure

The JNU Campus

The JNU Students' Union

Schools

Special Centers

Modernization

Hostels

Prominent alumni and former students

Cultural Activities

Annual Cultural Programmes

Sports

Annual Tournaments / Championships

References

External links

Academic Reputation

JNU is not only one of the most prestigious universities in India but also in Asia. International league tables produced in 2006 by The Times Higher Education Supplement(THES)^[1] confirmed JNU's place among the world's top 200 universities. For life and biological sciences, JNU is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world. In 2005, JNU was ranked 192nd; but it climbed up a few notches to reach the 183rd rank in the THES league table of 2006^[2] . JNU's School of Social Sciences received special notice when THES 2006^[3] placed it at the 57th position among the world's top 100 institutes for social sciences.

Institutional History

JNU was established in 1969, by an act of parliament, with the objective of promoting the study of principles of national integration, social justice, secularism, democratic way of life, international understanding and scientific approach in solving the problems of society. Over the years, it has been a model university in terms of academic excellence. Being unique of its kind in India, JNU is truly multicultural and a miniature India can be seen and felt in the residential university. Within South Asia, JNU-ites have already made their impact in policy-making and academic programs across the region. Its true Global Character can be seen from the MOUs signed with major Universities through out the globe. As of now, JNU has exchange programmes and academic collaboration with 71 foreign universities around the world.^[4]. Among others, the list includes Yale University (USA), George Washington University (USA), University of Illinois (USA), University of North Carolina (USA), SOAS (London University), Lancaster University (UK), Australia National University (Canberra), GNU (Korea), Ankara University (Turkey), MVL Moscow State University (Russia), University of Philippines (Quezon City), University of Heldelberg (Germany), University of Syndey (Australia), Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (France), etc. ^[5]
Several prominent political leaders of today has served as guest lecturers in JNU. Prominent among them, are the current Prime Minister of India, Dr.Manmohan Singh, who is a visiting professor at the School of Social Sciences. Former Sri Lanka President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga was a visiting lecturer at the School of International Studies early in her career.
There is a long tradition of holding serious post-dinner meetings in the hostels to which the students often invite well known public figures, writers and intellectuals. The JNUSU is democratically elected student body, primarily responsible for building and preserving a health political culture and an atmosphere of open debate on the campus. Students are kept informed about the various public meetings, discussions and other issues through pamphlets and notices. The Student Union election is another democratic convention of JNU is conducted annually entirely by the students in a lively yet peaceful manner, without any intervention of the administration.
The campus buildings are architecturally distinct and are dominated by a seven storied red-brick library and buildings housing lecture halls around it.

Infrastructure

The JNU Campus

JNU is located in the southern part of New Delhi, Capital of India. The campus is well connected by road from the three main railway stations, New Delhi, Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin, as well as the Interstate Bus Terminus. It is a short distance from the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Spread over an area of about 1000 acres (4 km²), the JNU occupies some of the northernmost reaches of the Aravalli Hills. The campus still maintains large patches of scrub and forest- this is the JNU ridge, home to over 200 species of birds and other wildlife such as nilgai, jackal, mongoose,peacock as well as a large number of snakes.

The JNU Students' Union

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union has traditionally been a prominent leading voice of the left students' movements in India. The JNUSU is the only students' union in the country which has produced two politburo members of the largest communist party in India - the CPI(M) - its present General Secretary Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury. The JNUSU has a unique constitution, entirely drafted by the students. The elections to the JNUSU are administered by students as well. During the Emergency, the JNUSU protested Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's visit to the campus. The refusal by the center-left student organization to protest the Tienanmen Square massacre, however, led to changes in the political climate of the University. In recent years, the union's leftist hue has been somewhat challenged by a number of electoral victories for the Hindu nationalist right wing ABVP, which captured the student union presidency by a margin of one vote in 2000. One of the reasons usually cited is the rivalry between the leftist student wing alliance of the AISF-SFI and the extreme-left AISA. Presently the union is shared between the leftist alliance SFI-AISF and the far-left AISA. The SFI-AISF alliance has dominated the Central Panel in JNUSU over the years. A large majority of JNUSU Presidents have come from SFI.
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Schools

★ 1. 'BioTechnology' [1] 'SBT' is the youngest School of JNU, being formed in 2006 out of the earlier Centre for Biotechnology, 'CBT'.

★ 2. 'Social Sciences' In many ways the JNU has been best known for its strong programme in the Social Sciences. 'SSS' is the largest School (in terms of the number of faculty members) in JNU with 9 centres:

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★ Centre for Economic Studies and Planning '(CESP)'

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★ Center for Historical Studies '(CHS)'

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★ Center for Philosophy '(CP)'

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★ Centre for Political Studies '(CPS)'

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★ Centre for Studies in Science Policy '(CSSP)'

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★ Centre for the Study of Regional Development '(CSRD)'

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★ Centre for the Study of Social Systems '(CSSS)'

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★ Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health '(CSMCH)'

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★ Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies '(ZHCES)'
^[6]

★ 3. 'International Studies' The School of International Studies existed, prior to the formation of the JNU, as the Indian School of International Studies.

★ 4. 'Language, Literature and Culture Studies': 'SLLCS' is the largest School of the JNU in terms of number of students, with the following twelve centres:

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★ Centre of Arabic and African studies.

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★ Centre of Chinese and South East Asian Studies

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★ Centre for French and Francophone Studies

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★ Centre of German Studies

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★ Centre of Indian Languages

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★ Centre of Japanese and North East Asian Studies

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★ Centre for English Studies

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★ Centre for Linguistics

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★ Centre of Persian and Central Asian Studies

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★ Centre of Russian Studies

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★ Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian & Latin American Studies

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★ Group of Philosophy

★ 5. 'Computer and Systems Sciences' has been attracting the largest number of applications as compared to other centres, since its inception in 1974. Apart from leading in the research in wide variety of areas, 'SCSS' also produced excellent professional software developers, IT-managers, and computer engineers for the IT-industry.

★ 6. 'Life Sciences'

★ 7. 'Physical Sciences': 'SPS', formed in 1986, has faculty in the areas of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. At present the degree programs that are offered are the M.Sc. (Physics) and Ph.D. (in Physics, Chemistry or Mathematics). The School has experimental facilities in a number of different areas that include soft-matter physics, low temperature physics, materials science, supramolecular chemistry, as well as extensive computational facilities and the 'NLD Lab', a laboratory [2] dedicated to nonlinear science. SPS is the best place for MSc.[3]

★ 8. 'Environmental Sciences'

★ 9. 'Arts and Aesthetics'

★ 10. 'School Of Information Technology' carved out of the erstwhile BIC the place is in a class of its own. catering to the ever growing need for the confluence of biological sciences with the technological know-how, it offers M.Tech in computational and systems biology and Ph.D courses.

Special Centers

#Special Center for Molecular medicine
#Center for the Study of Law and Governance
#Special Center for Sanskrit Studies
== Institutions affiliated to JNU ^[7] ==
# The National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune
# The Army Cadet College (ACC),Dehra Dun
# College of Military Engineering (CME), Pune
# Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME), Secunderabad
# Naval College of Engineering (NCE), INS Shivaji, Lonavla
# Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), Mhow
# Centre for Development Studies (CDS) ^[8], Trivandrum
# Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad
# National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi
# C.V.Raman Research Institute, Bangalore
# International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi
# Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh
# Central Institute of Medicine and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow
# Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi

Modernization

Like any other university in India, JNU too has had its share of bureaucratic hassles . However, the university administration is modernizing itself by moving toward "paperless"^[9] transparency and e-governance with the help of Wipro. Likewise, the campus is setting up a wireless network that will connect students and teachers to the library.

Hostels

The residential character of JNU is unique and strong component of the intellectual and cultural life of the campus. There are 15 hostels including one for married students. Of the hostels, 7 for men only, 3 for women only, while 4 have both women's and men's wings. The hostels are located in areas named after geographical directions (Uttaranchal, Purvanchal, Paschimabad and Dakshinapuram) and are correspondingly named after different rivers of India: Ganga, Yamuna, Jhelum, Sutlej,(all in Uttaranchal) Kaveri, Periyar, Godavari, Narmada, (all in Dakshinapuram) Sabarmati, Tapti, Mahi-Mandavi, Lohit, Chandrabhaga,(all in Paschimabad), Brahmaputra, and Mahanadi (in Purvanchal).

Prominent alumni and former students

★ Abhijit Banerjee- Professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology

★ Afroz Taj- Professor University of North Carolina

★ Amaresh Singh- Director, Ministry of Home, Government of India

★ Animesh Ray- Professor Keck Graduate Institute

★ Anupam Srivastava- Professor University of Georgia

★ Ashok Tanwar- President Indian Youth Congress

★ Ashutosh Varshney- Professor University of Michigan

★ Baburam Bhattarai- Maoist leader, Nepal.

★ Bharat Dahiya- UN-Habitat, Japan.

★ Biksham Gujja- Worldwide Fund For Nature, Switzerland.

★ Bindu Bhaskaran Nair- Senior Lecturer Hong Kong Shue Yan University.

★ C. Raja Mohan- Editor, The Indian Express

★ Chandra Shekhar Prasad- (1965-1997).

★ Chinnaiah Jangam- Professor New York University

★ Deepak Rawat- Indian Administrative Service

★ Dinkar Singh- Hindi Scholar

★ J.K. Baral- Vice Chancellor, Berhampur University

★ Jaswant Kaur- Professor George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

★ Kuldip Kumar- Eminent Social Thinker

★ Kunwar Pratap Singh- Professor University of Washington, Seattle.

★ Lakhan Gusain- Professor School of Advanced International Studies Washington, DC.

★ Maneka Gandhi- Animal Rights Activist, India.

★ Manish Shrimali-Research Scientist, Tokyo, Japan

★ Muzaffar Alam- Professor University of Chicago

★ Nalini Jha- Professor Pondicherry University

★ Niranjan Kumar- Professor University of Michigan

★ P.Sainath- Rural Affairs Editor, The Hindu

★ Prakash Karat - General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist)

★ Pranay Srivastava- Professor Allahabad University

★ Priyanker Upadhayaya- Professor Banaras Hindu University

★ Saketh Rajan- Naxalite leader, People's War Group , India

★ Sanjaya Baru- Advisor to the Prime Minister of India

★ Sartaj Anwar- Media Personality

★ Satya Prakash- President, India Tour, Seoul.

★ Seema Gahlaut- CITS, University of Georgia

★ Sitaram Yechury- Member, Polit Bureau, Communist Party of India (Marxist)

★ Sukhvant Singh- HRD, Toronto, Canada.

★ Udayan Mukherjee- Business News Analyst, CNBC-TV18

★ Vashudha Dalmia- Professor University of California, Berkeley.

★ Venu Rajamony- Indian High Commission Washington, DC.

Cultural Activities

There are 9 cultural clubs in JNU.
The programs of these clubs are organized by the Convenor and the members of the respective club. They are the Drama Club, Music Club, Film Club, Fine Arts Club, Photography Club, Literary Club, Debating Club, UNESCO Club and Nature & Wildlife Club. Other cultural groups: IPTA (Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association), Bahroop Arts Group.

Annual Cultural Programmes

NORTHEAST NIGHT: This is annually organized by the Northeast Forum during the early winter season. It is a cultural festival that celebrates the cultural diversity of people from Sikkim and the Seven Sister States of India's Northeast. It offers a feast for the eyes, and a chance to get a taste of Northeast ethnic cuisines.
KALLOL (Annual Sports and Cultural Festival) organized by the students of SLL&CS, JNU in the Monsoon Semester.
SUMMIT: Sports and Cultural Festival of SIS organized in the Winter Semester.
KALRAV (International Film Festival) organised by the students of SLL&CS JNU in the Winter Semester with voluntary donations from the students.
HOSTEL NITEs organised by respective Hostels in the Winter Semester with slight variations from hostel to hostel.

Sports

There are various sports clubs, the practice sessions are organised by the Convenor with help of Sport Office, which provides the necessary kit and other sport equipments.
There are three main venues for sport activities in the University:
#Sports Complex / JNU Stadium: for Football, Cricket, Volleyball, Lawn Tennis, Weight Lifting/Gym, Yoga & Athletics.
# Badminton Hall, Students Activity Centre (Tefla’s Building): for Badminton and Taekwondo (with qualified Instructor, Black Belt 4th Dan),
# Basket Ball at the Basketball Court at Central School Grounds near Tapti Hostel.
Apart from these, all the hostels are provided with T.T. Tables, Carroms, Chess & Outdoor Badminton Court. And some also have Gym.
# Mountaineering Club: It regularly organises trekking, rock-climbing, cycling trips and other adventure programs.
# Swimming: JNU doesn’t have a swimming pool but Students can join the JNU Central School or DDA swimming pool (near by).

Annual Tournaments / Championships

All the clubs organise annual tournaments in the winter semester.

References

1. http://www.thes.co.uk/ THES, "The World's Top 200 Universities", ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'', 6 October 2006. (Subscription is necessary to get access to much of THES content).
2. http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2006/top_200_universities/ ''Times of India'' report on IIT and JNU's Global Ranking http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2098304.cms , accessed 6 October 2006
3. THES, "Top 100 in Social Sciences", The Times Higher Education Supplement, 27 October 2006.
4. Global Presence of JNU http://www.jnu.ac.in/main.asp?sendval=GlobalPresence#
5. List of Foreign universities which signed MOU for collaboration with JNU http://www.jnu.ac.in/Academics/MoU%20complete%20list.htm
6. JNU (1997) ''Silver Jubilee Commemoration Volume; A Profile of School of Social Sciences'', New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University
7. Institutions affiliated to JNU http://www.jnu.ac.in/main.asp?sendval=AffiliatedInstitutes
8. Centre for Development Studies (CDS)http://www.cds.edu/
9. "JNU all set to go `paperless' ", The Hindu, 28 October 2006 [On-line] http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/25/stories/2006102519390300.htm

External links

★ JNU home page

★ JNUites Alumni Network

★ JNU Elections Covered

★ JNU Student's Forum

★ JNU Mountaineering Club

★ about JNU - School of Languages