Revisiting the Formative Years of Jawaharlal Nehru University

Strategic Insights -

Sohail Hashmi, a social activist and historian, recently led a walk across Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), revisiting the campus where he was a student from 1972 to 1981. Hashmi recalled the institution's formative years, shaped by student movements, faculty collaboration, and campus culture. The walk took students through various sites on the campus, highlighting anecdotes about student activism, environmental decisions, and social bonding.

Key Takeaways:

  • Hashmi emphasized the importance of student-faculty committees in the early years of JNU, which enabled students to be integral to decision-making, particularly in the admission process.
  • He recalled a specific instance where students from the committee successfully re-examined and admitted a student from Bihar who was initially denied admission due to his weak English language skills.
  • Hashmi mentioned that students played a significant role in deciding the planting choices on campus, with suggestions based on the usefulness of the trees to the environment and local animals.
  • The historian highlighted the long history of student movements at JNU, particularly during the Emergency in 1975, where students from all backgrounds came together to protest.
  • Hashmi shared a poignant story about students officiating a wedding for two Iranian students within the campus forests, naming the site "Parthasarathy Rocks" in honor of JNU's first vice chancellor, Gopalaswami Parthasarathy.
  • He emphasized the unique bond between students and professors in JNU's early years, citing examples of sharing tea with teachers on winter nights, celebrating Holi together, and professors bailing out students arrested during the Emergency.
  • Hashmi spoke about JNU students extending support beyond campus, helping people during floods and protesting for construction laborers' rights and school construction.
  • He concluded that this unique bonding between students, workers, and professors was the key factor in shaping the university's identity.

Statistics:

  • Hashmi was a student at JNU from 1972 to 1981.
  • The student-faculty committees in JNU's early years consisted of five students elected by the faculty and five faculty members elected by the students.
  • The committees played a crucial role in the admission process, with students being integral to decision-making.
  • During the Emergency in 1975, not a single class was held for three days, with students from all backgrounds coming together to protest.
  • JNU students helped hundreds of people during floods and protested for construction laborers' rights and school construction.

Sources:

  • "JNU Walk Revisited its Campus Legend" by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hindustan Times.