 "<b>Newsmaker:</b> Jagadesh Kumar")
Jagadesh Kumar is not a native of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where he was appointed vice-chancellor in January 2016. He is an engineer by training who was last at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, is keen as mustard on teaching and is a follower of the Shito-Ryu school of karate.
Kumar is a small-town boy who's made it. Born in Mamidala, in the Nalgonda district of Telangana, this son of a primary school teacher got into IIT Madras from where he got his MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering.
His website is ornamented with wholesome sayings from thinkers and intellectuals: for instance, "When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state (Swami Vivekananda); and rather inexplicably: "Life is unfair. Sensible persons take what they get and find a way to work around it. They don't sulk in a corner (Zhu Rongji, Chinese Premier)."
He may well be a deeply committed teacher but has turned out to be a lamb for slaughter in a place like JNU
JNU faculty is among the best in the world. Teachers on that campus tend to be unimpressed with publications and academic work -their own work is nothing to sneeze at. To make the cut in JNU, you need to be a tough - and yet understanding - administrator, pro-student and have the capacity to stand up to external authority. You win respect if you prove that you will always and every time put the autonomy of the institution above everything else. Early on in his vice-chancellorship, Kumar appears to have failed that test.
Everyone, including the veteran Left teacher and linguistics expert, Noam Chomsky, is asking only one question: "Many of us remain very concerned about the crisis in JNU, which was apparently created and precipitated by the government and university administration with no credible evidence of any seditious activities on campus. Why did you allow the police on campus when it is clear that this was not legally required?" Chomsky asked in an email.
It is now becoming clear that despite his disavowals, the police got the permission from the university's highest administrator. The mystery is, despite being so obviously fond of students and teaching, what caused Kumar to take such precipitate action when all he needed to have done is call the students home for a cup of tea and counsel wisdom? From unverified information that is trickling in, it would seem that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad , which has been struggling to put down roots in JNU, saw this incident as its chance. In which case, the case for the vice-chancellor becomes even weaker because he allowed himself to become a pawn in the hands of two squabbling groups of students.
On the other hand, if he acted under political duress and was guided by political forces, then he'd better forget about getting any respect from JNU. This is a pity. It is rare to find a person who likes administration, is a good teacher and enjoys guiding research.
Kumar is a small-town boy who's made it. Born in Mamidala, in the Nalgonda district of Telangana, this son of a primary school teacher got into IIT Madras from where he got his MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering.
His website is ornamented with wholesome sayings from thinkers and intellectuals: for instance, "When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state (Swami Vivekananda); and rather inexplicably: "Life is unfair. Sensible persons take what they get and find a way to work around it. They don't sulk in a corner (Zhu Rongji, Chinese Premier)."
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He says teaching is his pride and joy and more than once, it has been rated outstanding by the Faculty Appraisal Committee, IIT Delhi. He received the 2013 award for Excellence in Teaching (in large class category) from IIT Delhi. He has impressive academic credentials. He works around nano-electronic devices, nano-scale device modelling and simulation, innovative device design and power semiconductor devices. He has written chapters in four books, has 200 publications in refereed journals and six patent applications have been filed based on his research. That he cares a lot for the growth of his students is clear from the fact that not just M Tech but even several undergraduate students are co-authors in his international publications.
He may well be a deeply committed teacher but has turned out to be a lamb for slaughter in a place like JNU
JNU faculty is among the best in the world. Teachers on that campus tend to be unimpressed with publications and academic work -their own work is nothing to sneeze at. To make the cut in JNU, you need to be a tough - and yet understanding - administrator, pro-student and have the capacity to stand up to external authority. You win respect if you prove that you will always and every time put the autonomy of the institution above everything else. Early on in his vice-chancellorship, Kumar appears to have failed that test.
Everyone, including the veteran Left teacher and linguistics expert, Noam Chomsky, is asking only one question: "Many of us remain very concerned about the crisis in JNU, which was apparently created and precipitated by the government and university administration with no credible evidence of any seditious activities on campus. Why did you allow the police on campus when it is clear that this was not legally required?" Chomsky asked in an email.
It is now becoming clear that despite his disavowals, the police got the permission from the university's highest administrator. The mystery is, despite being so obviously fond of students and teaching, what caused Kumar to take such precipitate action when all he needed to have done is call the students home for a cup of tea and counsel wisdom? From unverified information that is trickling in, it would seem that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad , which has been struggling to put down roots in JNU, saw this incident as its chance. In which case, the case for the vice-chancellor becomes even weaker because he allowed himself to become a pawn in the hands of two squabbling groups of students.
On the other hand, if he acted under political duress and was guided by political forces, then he'd better forget about getting any respect from JNU. This is a pity. It is rare to find a person who likes administration, is a good teacher and enjoys guiding research.