How JNU was conceived of as a small institution of higher learning but turned into a university
‘A Prospectus for a New University’, by Gyan Prakash, excerpted from ‘JNU Stories: The First 50 Years’. Jawaharlal Nehru Unuversity. | Ganga Sahay Meena / CC BY-SA 3.0
Why did JNU attract the punitive eye of the state? For one thing, it was – and still is – unique and enjoyed the prestige of being named after Indira’s father and India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Although MC Chagla, a jurist and the education minister, introduced the JNU Bill in the Parliament at the end of 1964, the discussions on the university’s establishment began soon after Nehru’s death on 27 May. In August 1964, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund formed a committee of experts to discuss the establishment of an institution of higher learning named after Nehru that would be different from existing universities.