The teachers of Jadavpur University said on Saturday that the institution was born out of a nationalist movement and has never indulged in anti-national activities, refuting allegations made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a statement, the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association said: “The university was born out of anti-British movement. We have inherited the legacy of the freedom struggle... A university which was born out of Swadeshi movement, has never compromised with any anti-national activities.”
It added: “Apart from education and research, JU has played an important role in the area of fight for social justice. Despite meeting all the conditions which are required for the Institute of Eminence tag, the university has been deprived of the status.”
Modi, during an election rally in Baruipur on Friday, had described the campus as a hotbed of “anti-national slogans”.
The teachers’ association said that JU has consistently upheld a tradition of “free thinking, liberal thoughts and academic pursuit”, which has brought it national recognition.
The university’s website also traces its origins to the Independence struggle. It says that to trace the history of JU is to trace a part of India’s freedom movement, beginning with the Swadeshi movement.
“It was 1905-1906... The hegemony of the British establishment had to be challenged... Education had to become a new form of resistance through which the emergent nationalist spirit could be propagated. With this in mind, the National Council of Education (NCE) came into being,” the website states.
Partha Pratim Ray, secretary of the teachers’ association, said it was surprising that those accused of supporting the British during the freedom movement were now levelling allegations of anti-national activity against JU.
“We all know how those belonging to the saffron brigade played an active role in taking a side with the British during the freedom movement. It is surprising that they are now accusing JU of anti-national activities,” Ray told Metro.
He said that the Prime Minister should instead take pride in the university’s performance. Despite the Modi-led central government not providing any funds to JU, the varsity continues to perform strongly in the Union government’s annual rankings, Ray added.
An annual ranking exercise conducted by the Union education ministry had placed JU as the best “state public university” in India last year. In the overall university category, which includes central, state and private institutions, JU ranked 9th and was the only state university in the top 10.
Ray also said that the University Grants Commission had selected JU for the Institute of Eminence tag in 2018. The proposal included a promise of ₹1,000 crore in phased funding from the central government, which has not been released, he said.
“The Narendra Modi government has deprived JU of support. Still, JU has excelled. But the Prime Minister has not recognised this,” Ray said. “This only shows how biased his opinion is.”
JU will write to the Union education ministry seeking a refund of 75% of the ₹1 crore application fee submitted to the UGC after the Institute of Eminence status was withheld, vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said recently.
