An Interview with Professor Ramesh Dixit

by Bhoomika Meling

Prof. Ramesh Dixit, a former student of JNU (SIS) is presently a Professor in the Political Science Department of Lucknow University.

Bhoomika: When and how did your association with JNU begin? Also, describe the JNU of your days.

Prof. Dixit: Actually, I first joined Indian School for International Studies (ISIS) in October 1968. When JNU came into being in November 1969, ISIS became a part of the University. Prof. G. Parthasarthy was our first Vice-Chancellor. I must say that JNU owes its liberal ethos, all its peculiarities and its transparent, open society to Prof. Parthasarthy and also to Prof. Moonis Raza who was first an O.S.D. and then the Rector of the University. I must say one more thing with all due modesty that we students also contributed to the JNU ethos because we took the initiative in forming the JNU Students’ Union. JNUSU became the most representative body of students with a clear-cut progressive ideology. The aim was to create compassionate intellectuals and to ”Study and Struggle”. Hence, no strike or protest march would disrupt the classes, the library timings or other academic activities.

Much before the Mandal Commission, JNU started practicing an admission policy which stressed on greater inclusiveness and we as students were participants in the development of that policy. It is phenomenal that way back in the sixties, we could think of a reservation policy which sought to include students from less privileged backgrounds and to give them the chance to study in the most prestigious University of the country. I feel that if JNU’s admission policy is applied by all the Universities in India, the scene of Higher Education in our country will change drastically as it would enable students from all sorts of backgrounds to compete for and to expect good education with a sense of equality. We had given weightage on the grounds of region, gender, income and so on… and the system was successful. At that time the social and political consciousness of an average JNU student was much higher than a student of any other institution in this country. We were participants in all the contemporary movements of the world, be it Vietnam, be it Cuba or be it the struggle against Imperialism-we were all on the forefront. This was made possible by the fact that the best students from all over India were coming here through an all-India entrance examination. They felt committed to social causes. And the best part of it all was that a lot of credit for the environment of JNU goes to the kind of teacher-pupil relation that was developed here. The cordial relations between students and teachers replaced the traditional equation of fear and awe. This also helped a lot in awakening a kind of social and political consciousness among the students, who could now debate, argue and evolve with their teachers.

As G. Parthasarthy said once, the  business of a University is not merely to teach. The job of a University is to mould the overall personality of the student. Classroom teaching is only one part of that process. JNU is a different kind of a dream. We must think beyond the classroom. His words have come true today. JNU is presently the premier University of India because it has followed the method of dialogue, of equality between students and teachers and of academic excellence. An average JNU student reads more than even the teachers of other universities for her/his term papers and assignments.

Another area that JNU pioneered in is that of gender sensitivity. Eve teasing is alien to the campus. Outsiders might come in and do such things but students of JNU have never practiced this. In our days, anyone who indulged in any such an activity was socially boycotted. This attitude shows in other areas also. When we negotiated with the DTC to start buses from the campus, the first norm to be formulated was that no student would ever board the bus without buying a ticket. Students followed these rules as they knew that deviance from them would bring social boycott. A relationship of equality came to exist between boys and girls and also between students and Karmacharis. There was no space for misconduct in these areas. The campus functioned smoothly because of co-ordination between students, teachers and karmacharis. No other university at that time had a Co-ordination Committee to monitor harmony between all communities of the University. The ethos was that of creating and imparting knowledge. That knowledge, which one seeks to possess and not pass on, is no knowledge. One of the aims of a university is to make knowledge accessible to all without any bias.   

Bhoomika: Tell us something about your own academic growth in JNU.

Prof. Dixit: As I already told you, I was initially a student of ISIS which later became SIS of JNU. I joined as a Ph.D scholar in the Centre for South-East Asian Studies. Prof. Vishal Singh was the Chairperson of the Centre and I started working under him on ASEAN which has today become a huge association. Now, ASEAN was formed in 1967 and I started working on it in 1968. At that time, instead of M.Phil, we had a one year long Pre-Ph.D Programme. In that one year we were expected to do three things- we had to review latest books on our subject, we had to read as many books as possible in our areas and write some terms papers. The idea was that in one year’s time one was expected to gather all information available on the area (and not only subject) of one’s research. This means that if I’m working on India as a part of ASEAN, I must know everything about the political, social and economic systems of all the eleven countries of the region. Also, the topic was decided only after you completed this one year. Since the concept was that of area studies in ISIS and later in SIS, one had to be acquainted with the entire region. Also, you could not work in isolation on any topic. My topic for instance, was ASEAN and India. But to acquire a holistic view of the research problem, I had to be aware of ASEAN’s position vis-à-vis U.S.A., the European countries and even Africa. Hence, we had to be in constant touch with students of those Centres too. All this contributed towards the inter-disciplinary thrust of research in JNU. And of course this is the only University where students can opt for courses in other Schools, Centres and disciplines.

Professors from those universities where work was being done on South-East Asia were frequently invited to our Centre to deliver lectures and to interact with the students. Hence we were all connected with almost all the people in the world who were working on South-East Asia. This concept was new to India. I still know of very few universities which follow this kind of a method.  Another thing worth noting is that all our Professors were the best experts of their fields they were all well-renowned for their work in their respective fields. I feel that while I was in JNU, it was an entirely different era. It was an era of great tumult in the world and JNU participated in all its capacity in that buzz. People would stand against oppression in any part of the world and voice their dissent.

Bhoomika: How different were your experiences in JNU from those you came across in your student life before you joined JNU?

Prof. Dixit: I completed B.A. from Lucknow University and M.A from Sagar University. I was always a part of students’ democratic movements. I was already a believer in Lohia’s brand of Socialism. I was a political activist before coming to JNU. I entered JNU not as one who only learns but as one who shapes the atmosphere of the place he inhabits. I met other people who thought and felt like me. We were the progressive students of the very first batch. We played a role in the formation of all that you see today in JNU. So it is not so that we came here and found something already existing which was phenomenally different from all that we had seen before. We made it phenomenally different for our successors…

Bhoomika: What do you have to say about the campus as such-the architecture, the material atmosphere of JNU?

Prof. Dixit: The credit of the beauty of JNU campus goes to only one person- Prof. G.Parthasarthy. He was a man with an outstanding vision. Just imagine the situation when JNU campus’ foundation was laid-dry, rocky land stretched out in front of you with not a single speck of green anywhere. You could not walk on those scorching hot rocks during the day. Amidst those rocks, came up the red, unplastered pyramid-shaped buildings of Godavari and Kaveri. It looked weird at that time. But today, with all the greenery around, it looks unique. You must have seen the sprawling teachers’ bungalows in Lucknow University. I saw some in Sagar University too. JNU teachers’ flats are a departure from that kind of a tradition. The attempt here was not to waste land. Even the bigger flats, beginning from 01, Dakshinapuram, (where Prof. Moonis Raza used to stay) do not cover much land. They rise vertically in a duplex structure. All the houses face one common quadrangle. This was done to allow the teachers a community life. Isolated intellectual pursuit is discouraged through the architecture of the houses. The gardens are small and the houses are close to each other. All this was done to promote a community feeling among all the teachers.

Bhoomika: In your academic and professional journey, you have seen three universities very closely- Lucknow University, Sagar University and JNU as a student and Lucknow University again as a Professor. What do you think is the purpose of a University and how is it different from other educational institutions?

Prof. Dixit: In Sagar University, we had some very great teachers. They were all very close to their students. We were given the freedom to interact with them, argue and debate with them and even to disagree with them. There would be no victimization of the students who dared to disagree. I’m saddened by the fact that Lucknow University is a little backward in that sense. When I reached JNU with my Sagar experience, I felt elated to find a similar atmosphere there. I feel that the purpose of a University is to prepare people for the society. Once the students leave the campus, they serve the country in different capacities. Scientists, teachers, bureaucrats, and politicians-a university creates them all. The University must have the motive of training its students to always think of the interests of the most down-trodden people so that their contribution to society is worthwhile. It should teach its students to forget all prejudices and biases and act in a rational way, to treat all human beings equally and to use their knowledge to run the society in a more efficient manner. All the knowledge we have must be shared with those people who did not get an opportunity to go to a University. In India, that girl or boy who manages to reach a University is among the luckiest 7% of the population! The majority have to abandon studies after class four or eight. So when we reach a University we must not forget that the society pays five times the money our own parents pay for our education and upkeep. The entire infrastructure comes from public money. Hence, we must take care that we do not get uprooted from that very public. Our relation with the people of our country must remain alive and must thrive. All the good universities of the world are doing this. They prepare their students to face the hardships of life and to transform them. If a university fails to shape a more humane society, then it has no business to exist. Those universities which have not forgotten their social accountability are the most relevant today. Look at JNU! I get to meet a lot of people due to professional and political reasons. I’ve found that JNUites are the best in whichever field they choose to work in. They all have a social commitment and they do care for the have-nots. I’ve not met any such JNUite till date who is very corrupt or arrogant or who has acquired enormous wealth. This is the success of JNU.

Bhoomika: Is there any such thing which you wanted to do as a JNU student, but could not?

Prof. Dixit: I feel that as students we did all that we wanted to do. The regret is that in the later years, deterioration occurred generally in the JNU standards. A different type of students’ politics began. If I get a fresh chance as a student of JNU today, I would strive to bring the University back to that point from where we began as students three and a half decades back. That was the golden period of JNU, of students’ movement and of that section of society who transcended their class and came forward to speak for the down-trodden people.   

Bhoomika: What message would you like to give to the JNU students?

Prof. Dixit: Do not waver from the path of social commitment. Live up to JNU’s ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. Always remember that you are the privileged lot of the country. To be in JNU is a privilege. Since you all have reached there through an all-India entrance examination, no one can dispute the fact that you are the best youngsters our country has. Personal success and prosperity will definitely come to you. What you must not forget is that there is a world beyond personal interests and that JNU has taught you to reach out to that very world and prove your mettle.