(Prof Shankar Chatterjee)
Jadavpur University is a state University located in Jadavpur, Kolkata. This university has been in the news for its excellence and terrible and shocking events for the last few years. The University was established in 1905 as Bengal Technical Institute and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2023, it was ranked fourth among universities in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). It also achieved 10th rank in the engineering category and 13th overall in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2023 (wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadavpur University). In 1910, the Society for the Promotion of Technical Education in Bengal, which looked after Bengal Technical Institute (which later became the College of Engineering and Technology, Bengal), was amalgamated with NCE. NCE henceforth looked after the College of Engineering and Technology, Bengal. After Independence, on December 24, 1955, Jadavpur University was officially established by the Government of West Bengal with the concurrence of the Government of India.
According to the Press Information Bureau, the Government of India has taken significant measures to increase gateways to education for the youth by boosting Universities, IITs, IIMs, and similar institutions across the country. The number of universities in the country has witnessed a significant rise in the last nine years, from 723 in 2014 to 1,113 in 2023. Furthermore, 5,298 colleges have been built in the last nine years (up from 38,498 in 2014 to 43,796 in 2023), which has led to increased access to education for students nationwide. Notably, 43% of universities and 61.4% of colleges are in Rural Areas. Moreover, the government has expanded the number of IITs and IIMs nationwide. With seven IITs and seven IIMs built in the last nine years, the Government has ensured enhanced opportunities for students to pursue higher education. Many universities are in the news for good reasons, many are in the news for lousy roles, and many are in the news both for good and harmful activities. Jadavpur University is one such university that is always in the news for good and lousy roles.
A few years ago, a bright student, Swapnodeep Kundu, because of ragging at Jadavpur University. Swapnodeep Kundu, an 18-year-old admitted youth, was admitted to the university to study Honours in Bengali as an undergraduate student. As a senior citizen (nearly 68 years old), I could not control my emotions as Kundu’s death was horrific.
Nowadays, Jadavpur University is in the news because of gundagiri/hooligans. A few posters and writing on the university’s wall against the country are highly deplorable. Even a few TV journalists were attacked on the campus. West Bengal is popular because of its high level of corruption, and Jadavpur University’s incidents have brought another negative feather. The most interesting news is that Kolkata police have asked Jadavpur University for ‘location suggestions’ on campus for a permanent police outpost. If established, this would be West Bengal’s first permanent Kolkata police outpost inside a university campus. Such shameful news has upset me. I am very dejected after R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital’s ‘unnatural’ death of a second-year woman postgraduate medical student in the State-run Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, which triggered massive outrage with family members alleging that the doctor was sexually assaulted before being killed.
West Bengal is ‘popular now in the world after this heinous crime’, as role management was questioned which rational people could know. Now, Almighty God can save the State. Before the partition of India, United Bengal was, in all respects, an iconic State in United India. Unfortunately, after the partition of India, West Bengal was created, where lakhs of refugees migrated mainly for fear of life in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Earlier, the State was in the good news for industrial development, cultural activities, etc. On the other hand, Indians know about poor industrial development in West Bengal, corruption by political leaders, and dirty politics played by some leaders, students, and others. Despite all these issues at Jadavpur University, according to a report in Anandabazar Patrika, the University has done well in the QS Ranking, a measure of the quality of universities worldwide. In 2024, Jadavpur was ranked between 741 and 750 globally. And this time, Jadavpur has come up between 721 and 730 ranks. This is considered to be very prestigious for Jadavpur University. I congratulate the management of the University. But, as an academician and senior citizen, I strongly oppose anti-national and anti-social activities in the prestigious University. I feel timely treatment of cancer ‘by cutting of infected area is sine qua non’.
(Author is a former Professor & Head (CPME), NIRD & PR, Hyderabad, India)
