Jawaharlal Nehru University

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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 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 and the oldest one is School of International Studies, SIS (each of which can have several Centers) as well as four independent Special Centers.

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[edit] 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. In 2005, JNU was ranked 192nd position [2]; but it climbed up a few notches to reach the 183rd rank in the THES league table for 2006. 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.

[edit] 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. Known as a Thinking University and a Modern-day Nalanda, the University represents and reflects Socratic tradition of knowledge acquisition, Humanistic tradition of Love, concern and action for the poor and underprivileged and a mystical blend Socialistic and Gandhian tradition of Passive Resistance. 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. With the rising interest in India abroad, JNU is eminently placed to go higher.

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. Due to the assertiveness of Left-wing student politics, JNU was traditionally perceived as a bastion of left-wing thought. However, the university represents all shades of ideologies and intellectual traditions - Marxists, liberals, rightists, centrists and free thinkers.

[edit] Infrastructure

JNU Library
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JNU Library
School of Social Sciences
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School of Social Sciences


[edit] 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 Nizammudin, as well as the Interstate Bus Terminusws. It is a short distance from the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Spread over an area of about 1000 acres, 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, as well as a large number of snakes.

[edit] The JNU Students' Union

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union has traditionally been a prominent leading voice of the socialist students' movement in India[citation needed]. 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, however, after some time they have joined other organisations. In the year 2006 AISA bagged with two posts in central panel and some of the councillor posts.

[edit] Schools

It has been suggested that Jawaharlal Nehru University School of Physical Sciences be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)
  1. Social Sciences The School of Social Sciences is traditionally a strong area within JNU in terms of reseach output and teaching excellence [4].
  2. International Studies
  3. Language, Literature and Culture Studies: Unlike others, this school has integrated undergraduate taught-courses. Of late, graduates of this school often find placement in private companies operating in post-reform India.
  4. Computer and Systems sciences
  5. Life Sciences
  6. School of Physical Sciences: This school is preliminarily dedicated to the study of physics. M.Sc and Ph.D. courses are offered in the school. The school has computational facilities supported by the UGC and DST, including a lab dedicated to Non Linear Dynamics.[1][2]
  7. Environmental Sciences
  8. Arts and Aesthetics
  9. Information Technology

[edit] Special Centers

  1. Center for Biotechnology[3]
  2. Special Center for Molecular medicine
  3. Center for the Study of Law and Governance
  4. Special Center for Sanskrit Studies

[edit] Modernization

As any other university in India, JNU too has had its share of bureaucratic hassles . However, the university administration is modernizing itself by moving toward being "paperless" [5] 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.

[edit] 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).

[edit] Prominent alumni and former students

[edit] 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.

[edit] ANNUAL CULTURAL PROGRAMMS

NORTHEAST NIGHT: This is organized by the Northeast Forum annually. 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 dishes.

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

HOSTEL NITEs organised by respective Hostels in the Winter Semester.

[edit] 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:

  1. Sports Complex / JNU Stadium: for Football, Cricket, Volleyball, Lawn Tennis, Weight Lifting/Gym, Yoga & Athletics.
  2. Badminton Hall, Students Activity Centre (Tefla’s Building): for Badminton and Taekwondo (with qualified Instructor, Black Belt 4th Dan),
  3. 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.

  1. Mountaineering Club: It regularly organises trekking, rock-climbing, cycling trips and other adventure programs.
  2. Swimming: JNU doesn’t have a swimming pool but Students can join the JNU Central School or DDA swimming pool (near by).

[edit] Annual Tournaments / Championships

All the clubs organise annual tournaments in the winter semester.

[edit] 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. ^ 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. ^ JNU (1997) Silver Jubilee Commemoration Volume; A Profile of School of Social Sciences, New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University
  5. ^ "JNU all set to go `paperless' ", The Hindu, 28 October 2006 [On-line] http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/25/stories/2006102519390300.htm

[edit] External links

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