Madras Univ faculty opposes JNU VC on crucial panel, calls it ploy to push BJP agenda

"Jagadeesh Kumar is someone who is accused of handling protests in JNU in an undemocratic manner and of violence against students," points out the HoD of the Political Science Department.
Madras Univ faculty opposes JNU VC on crucial panel, calls it ploy to push BJP agenda
Madras Univ faculty opposes JNU VC on crucial panel, calls it ploy to push BJP agenda

The nomination of Jawaharlal Nehru University's Vice Chancellor (VC) Jagadeesh Kumar to a panel that will look for the new Vice Chancellor of Madras University, has been met with criticism. Faculty from Madras University have questioned the move on two counts - the first being that the Chancellor is mired in controversy over the way he handled the student protests that took place in JNU in January. The second reason stated is that Jagadeesh Kumar's qualifications and experience do not make him suitable for the role of selecting a vice chancellor for a state university.

Jagadeesh Kumar was nominated to the panel by Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The other two members on the panel include P Ramasamy, the former vice chancellor of Alagappa University who is a syndicate nominee and P Maruthamuthu, former vice chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University who is a senate nominee. The three year tenure of the present Madras University Vice Chancellor Duraisamy ends in May.

Speaking to TNM, Professor Ramu Manivannan, Head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration, says, "Jagadeesh Kumar is someone who is accused of handling protests in JNU in an undemocratic manner and of violence against students. It is not appropriate to have someone mired in such controversy as part of the search panel, especially when he has been accused of partisan behaviour. This decision is clearly made to push the BJP's agenda in Tamil Nadu's institutes as well."

Ramu Mannivanan alleges that his selection would lead to the appointment of a Vice Chancellor who will promote the Centre's values and agenda.

"They are trying to promote the BJP and Hindutva in the country. This is a way for them to heckle the academic community in the country. We are not against national and international scholars being nominated or even people from outside the state. But we can't have someone who is the cause for the violence on the panel," says the professor.

Another head of the department from the University on the condition of anonymity, told TNM that the opposition to this nomination amongst the staff was also because of the JNU VC's lack of experience regarding state universities. Jagadeesh Kumar has done both his post-graduation and PhD in IIT Madras before working in IIT Delhi, and finally became the JNU VC in 2016.

"Our concern is that this is a liberal arts university and we need an eminent social scientist to take its reigns. Jagadeesh Kumar only has experience handling central Universities and will not understand the requirements for a state run institute. First of all, we are starved for finances and two thirds of our faculty positions are vacant. The manner in which we deal with an issue is very different from an IIT or even JNU. Only those who have experience in a state run university can choose the right Vice Chancellor for us," says the professor.

Former Anna University Vice Chancellor Balagurusamy too maintained that the decision to nominate the JNU VC to the panel could have been avoided.

"When someone is shrouded in such controversy, why should they be on such a panel?" he asks.

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