JNU is anything but an elite campus — its students are fighting to preserve its ethos | The Indian Express

JNU is anything but an elite campus — its students are fighting to preserve its ethos | The Indian Express

Written by Ektaa Malik |Updated: November 25, 2019 3:04:20 pm

Ektaa Malik is a special correspondent with The Indian Express. She writes on the ever-evolving digital space, cinema and fashion.

JNU is anything but an elite campus — its students are fighting to preserve its ethos

Contrary to the perception that some have consistently sought to popularise, teachers and professors at JNU do not indoctrinate students with a Marxist ideology and Left philosophy. They do their job, and uphold the high standards of academic excellence that the university is known for.

Students were protesting over JNU’s decision to hike hostel fees. (File Photo)

“We don’t need no education” was the first thing Parnal Chirmuley wrote on the blackboard in our first class. The famous lines from the Pink Floyd song made me chuckle. “Cool teacher,” I thought. But as I looked around, I realised that none of my 16 classmates in the BA(Hons) course registered the cool quotient, neither of the song nor the teacher. I rolled my eyes, happy in my bubble from a private school education and relative privilege. But three years later, as I passed out of JNU, I was aware not only of Pink Floyd, but of Pash, Brecht, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Namdeo Dhasal.