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Indian universities prefer politicians over scientists & engineers when it comes to chairs

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Most universities have only instituted chairs under the names of political leaders, mostly in keeping with the ideology of the party in power at the Centre.

New Delhi: ‘Metro Man’ E. Sreedharan and Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore and C.V. Raman may be world-renowned pioneers but Indian universities, it seems, are reluctant to give their legacy a fair shot to flourish among the generations to come.

The central government’s suggestions to institute chairs in the names of Indian titans from across the spectrum have largely been cold-shouldered by universities.

The few chairs that have been set up are named after prominent political leaders, information accessed by ThePrint shows.

Most universities, both state and central, have only instituted chairs created by the UGC under the name of Rajiv Gandhi, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Babu Jagjivan Ram, Dayanand Saraswati and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, mostly in keeping with the ideology of the political dispensation at the Centre, the information gathered through the RTI Act shows.

The chairs created in honour of giants from other fields remain untaken. These include the Rabindranath Tagore chair for literature, C.V. Raman chair for physics, Mother Teresa chair for women’s empowerment, peace and human rights, Amartya Sen chair for economics, Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha chair for space sciences, Hargobind Khorana chair for biology, and E. Sreedharan chair for urban development.

A proposal for a chair in the name of Verghese Kurien, the ‘Father of the White Revolution’, is also under consideration.

Political flavour

“Most of these chairs are just for name’s sake,” said a UGC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Under the Congress government, chairs were established in the name of Rajiv Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and since the BJP government has taken over, they are pushing chairs in the names of their ideologues.”

“However, the fact remains that no significant work is happening under these chairs and we just keep adding more and more just to prove a point,” the official added.

“The only chair under which significant work has happened is the Rajiv Gandhi chair for information and computer technology. But since the new government came to office, no new university has applied for that chair,” the official said.

Funded by UGC

The UGC creates chairs, often under the direction of the government, to enrich the academic resources of the university system for a deeper reflection on critical issues. It has created chairs in the name of Nobel laureates and other illustrious persons who have either been Indian citizens or are of Indian origin.

These chairs are created in the areas of outstanding contributions of illustrious persons, Nobel Laureates and persons of eminence in the areas/fields of their contribution. For example, there is a Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Chair to do research in education, Urdu and Arabic literature and freedom movement.

The Indian system of chairs differs from the practice in the West where chairs are established by philanthropists or big businesses to fund research in a particular subject. Individuals may have more personal reasons also. It may be, for example, that a donor’s family member had Alzheimer’s and they wish to make a gift to advance research in that field. Also, it is not necessary for the researchers to study the work of the person under whose name the chair has been established.

Over the past 10 years, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved around 30 chairs in honour of eminent personalities, including scientists, artistes and political leaders, for research in universities and colleges.

UGC provides 100 per cent funding for research under the chairs for five years, which is extendable for another two years after a review of the work done. The commission spends at least Rs 6 lakh on each chair for the five-year period.

To apply, a university first sends the UGC a proposal for the establishment of chairs in their departments. Once this is approved by the commission, the department in question can start work on the particular discipline.

‘A half-hearted initiative’

Academicians, however, question the very policy under which the UGC expects chairs to be set up on account of the five-year deadline. This timeframe defeats the idea of exhaustive research in a field, they said.

“The whole idea of setting up a chair is half-hearted. When the government wants universities to do some research work, how can it be done in just five years?” former Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental told ThePrint.

“This is the reason most universities don’t opt for prestigious chairs like Amartya Sen, C.V. Raman and E. Sreedharan. What is the work they will do in just five years?”

Even the existing chairs, he said, entailed scant research. “Some universities take up chairs in the name of politicians just to please the current government, but hardly any research happens under these chairs,” he said.

पढ़ें हिंदी में: किस्सा कुर्सी का: भारतीय विश्वविद्यालयों में वैज्ञानिकों से ज़्यादा राजनैतिक विचारक हैं पहली पसंद

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