Patna, Oct. 11: Patna University vice-chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh today said the institute would soon have a study and research centre named after Loknayak Jaya Prakash Narayan.

Addressing the birth anniversary ceremony of Jaya Prakash (JP) at Wheeler Senate House, which was organised by the university, Singh said: “We will start a JP Study & Research Centre that will provide advanced research facility to scholars and teachers. At the centre, advanced research on democracy and democratic movements can be done. The research work will be of inter-disciplinary nature and will focus on political, social, economic and cultural aspects as well.”

The principles, Singh said, would be analysed with full honesty and scholars from other universities, too, can research and study at the centre. He added: “If we had the centre by now, we could have done the case study of social activist Anna Hazare too. Contemporary issues and trends would be studied in detail at the centre.”

The vice-chancellor said not only in India, but also case studies from abroad would be taken up at the centre.

“For example, Mahatma Gandhi went to South Africa but that does not mean the movement he had initiated in the foreign land cannot be studied. It was a movement and should be studied,” Singh said.

He added that democracy was not just confined to politics. “Keeping this in mind, all other aspects would be focussed during the research here,” he said.

The university’s dean, P.K. Poddar, welcomed the guests on the occasion.

Chief guest and a Gandhian Ramji Singh said: “Loknayak JP was a clean personality. In politics, he was admired more than God.”

Vibhash Kumar Yadav, the registrar of the university, was also present at the event.