Recently conferred with Padma Shree, the present IIT-Gandhinagar Director – Sudhir K Jain has been appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of renowned Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He has been holding his seat at IIT-Gandhinagar since 2009 and now he is all set to occupy the seat once held by the likes of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya.
As per the appointment letter from the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, Jain’s appointment term at BHU would be for 3 years from the time he assumes office or till he turns 70 years old, whichever is earlier.
Saying that the basic principles of running every kind of education institute remain the same, 62 years old Jain added that he would try to create an atmosphere of efficiency and inspiration.
Bringing top talent, giving opportunities and creating an appropriate atmosphere would be the principles on which he would be working, said Jain who will succeed Prof. Vijay Kumar Shukla as the VC of the BHU.
Also, Jain has served earlier as the president of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering between 2014 and 2018.
About Banaras Hindu University (BHU):
Banaras Hindu University, formerly known as Central Hindu College, was established by Maharaja of Darbhanga Rameshwar Singh, Maharaja of Banaras Prabhu Narayan Singh, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Sunder Lal and Annie Besant in the year 1916. Located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, the university is the largest residential university in Asia with over 30,000 students residing on campus.
Other recent appointments of Gujarat academicians at nationally acclaimed universities:
Interestingly, this is the third important academic appointment from Gujarat in the last five months to nationally acclaimed universities. Earlier, Dr. Yogesh Singh, former VC of MS University, was appointed as the VC of Delhi University and then Prof. Alok Kumar Chakrawal from Saurashtra University was made VC of Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur.
Gujarat which is not particularly famous for it’s educational institutes as centres of excellence, the academics from the state somehow seem to be held in high esteem by the authorities of the day. Dr Nirja Gupta, principal of Sheth Bhavan’s College was appointed as VC of Sanchi University of Buddhist Studies earlier. A precedent was already there in the form of Pankaj Jani, a former VC of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University was made VC of Maharshi Panini Sanskrit and Vedik University.
While casting no doubt on the merits of the individuals, it is assumed that there is common thread of similar ideological leaning with the ruling dispensation. It also confirms Central Government’s trust in the appointees’ administrative capabilities especially in the case of DU and BHU appointments, which saw administrative turmoil in recent past.
