International Panel on Fissile Materials

Professor R. Rajaraman, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, and a founding member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials, will take over as the Panel’s Co-chair, replacing Dr. Jose Goldemberg of Brazil.

Dr. Goldemberg has decided to step down as co-chair of IPFM because of additional demands on his time placed by his country. Recently, the Governor of San Paolo has asked him to be super-Minister responsible for facilitating a vast expansion of biofuel production. It may be recalled that as Brazil’s Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Goldemberg was instrumental in ending Brazil’s nuclear-weapons program, which in turn led Argentina to shut its program down as well.

Professor Frank von Hippel of Princeton University, USA, will continue as Co-chair along with Professor Rajaraman.

About the International Panel

The International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM) was founded in January 2006 and is an independent group of arms-control and nonproliferation experts from both weapon and non-nuclear weapon states. Its members include nuclear experts from sixteen countries: Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and most recently, France. The Panel is now co-chaired by Dr. R. Rajaraman, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India and Professor Frank von Hippel of Princeton University.

The mission of the IPFM is to analyze the technical basis for practical and achievable policy initiatives to secure, consolidate, and reduce stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and plutonium. These fissile materials are the key ingredients in nuclear weapons, and their control is critical to nuclear weapons disarmament, to halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and to ensuring that terrorists do not acquire nuclear weapons.

IPFM research and reports are shared with international organizations, national governments and nongovernmental groups. Its has full panel meetings twice a year at capitals around the world in addition to specialist workshops. These meetings and workshops are often on conjunction with international conferences at which IPFM experts make presentations.

Further Information on the activities of the Panel and access to their technical reports can be had from their website “http:// www.fissilematerials.org”.

Jawaharlal Nehru Chair in International Environmental Law

There have been intense intergovernmental deliberations on “International Environmental Governance” for past some time. As a corollary to this discourse, the UN- S-G’s High-Level Panel on System-wide Coherence has in a report [ on 9 November 2006] endorsed the proposal for a ’specialized agency’ for environment. Moreover, the President of the United Nations General Assembly has [in January 2006] initiated ’informal consultations’ on the institutional framework of the UN’s environmental activities.

The said process has been led by Ambassadors Claude Heller of Mexico and Peter Maurer of Switzerland. Interestingly, the Union Environment Secretary in his statement on 8 February 2007, at the 24^th  United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council meeting in Nairobi underscored support for  “better management of environment institutions as well as enhanced coordination among them”. In fact there has been a shift in MEA(India) view too to consider a ’global environmental entity’. There is a 2003 French [now EU] proposal pending before the UN General Assembly for a United Nations Environment Organization (UNEO). It is akin to JNU Prof. Bharat H. Desai’s 1999 proposal. This proposal,  originally presented on 15 January 1999 at the Legal Department  of the World Bank, Washington D.C. sought to ’upgrade’ UN’s Environment Programme (UNEP) into a United Nations Environment Protection Organization (UNEPO).

In this context, Jawaharlal Nehru Chair in International Environmental Law (CILS/ SIS), organized a panel discussion on Global Environmental Entity [ Legal & Institutional Issues] at India Habitat Centre on 7 August 2007. Dr. Karan Singh, former Union Minister and JNU Chancellor as well as President of ICCR,  inaugurated the workshop. His presence was significant since he was part of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s delegation to the historic 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment. He was privy to the deliberations on the institutional set up in that first UN effort to diagnose global environmental problems.

The workshop deliberated upon various facets of the proposed entity for the global environment including possible models, mandate, membership, funding, voting etc. In a Panel Discussion Chaired by Dr.R.P. Anand [JNU Emeritus Professor], prominent personalities who participated in the deliberations included Prof. Pushpesh Pant [Dean, SIS, JNU], Prof. B.S.Chimini [CILS Chairman], Prof. Bharat H. Desai’s [Jawaharlal Nehru Chair in International Environmental Law], Prof. C.S.R. Murthy [Professor of International Organization, JNU], Kenneth. Macartney [Acting Canadian High Commissioner] Marc  Fonbaustier [Acting French Ambassador], Alexander Spachis [Acting Head of the European Union Delegation], Zhang Diao [Counsellor, Chinese Embassy] and Mathew Sandelands [Second Secretary, United States Embassy] besides other eminent academics, students, senior Government of India Officials, UN officials and members of the civil society etc.

Bharat H. Desai, Professor,
Centre of International Legal Studies, School of International Studies.

P.C. Joshi Memorial Lecture

The Archives on Contemporary  History was created on  1 December 1970 with the collection of documents, pamphlets, newspapers and other sources on the left movement in  India received by Jawaharlal Nehru University from Puran Chandra Joshi. Building on this rich collection, the Archives is today a major resource centre for the study of the Socialist and Communist movements in India.

Born on 14 April, 1907 in Almora and educated in Allahabad, Joshi was an activist and leader of the Communist movement for about fifty years. At the time of his death on 9 November, 1980, he along with K. Damodaran, was engaged in preparing a documentary history of the Communist movement in India.

In his memory, Jawaharlal Nehru University has instituted an annual lecture. The First Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor Irfan Habib, Professor of Medieval History, Aligarh Muslim University, on 4 November 1993.

This year’s memorial lecture- “P.C.Joshi Birth Centenary Memorial Lecture”- was delivered by the well known historian Professor Bipan Chandra on 17 August 2007. The topic of the lecture was: P.C .Joshi: A Political Journey.

Professor Chandra gave some interesting details about P C Joshi when he was a youngman with leftwing leanings and worked in Workers and Peasants Party in Uttar Pradesh. This was the time when Joshi came into contact with Jawaharlal Nehru who had just returned from Soviet Union. Everywhere, in his speeches, he was explaining  socialist ideas to the youth. For Joshi this was a period of imbibing Marxism. During this period apart from organizing students in Allahabad University, Joshi also worked among the mill workers of Kanpur. Joshi formally joined the Communist Party in 1929. Soon after, along with 31 other Communist workers and Trade Unionists he was arrested in the famous  Meerut Conspiracy Case. He was released form Jail in 1933, Communists once again became actively involved in the organization of strikes in various industrial centers of India. There were the years of intense colonial repression. On 23 July, 1934, the Government of India declared the CPI, its sub-committees and branches to be unlawful associations. Joshi was leading the strike of the Muir Mills’ Cawnpore (Kanpur) workers  and was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment.

The scattered Communist group met in Surat in late 1935 and chose P.C. Joshi, when he was just 28 years old, as the General Secretary of the Communist Party. Meanwhile, the Comintern had once again changed its political line because of the rise of Fascism in Europe and advanced the political line of “United Front.” This kind of politics suited Joshi’s ideological temperament as he had the experience of working in close Collaboration with Congressmen and non-communist left groupings. Within months the party was reorganized to work in a coordinated manner, In 1936-37, Joshi toured all provinces and formed actually functioning provincial party committees. Despite repression the party was increasing its strength. In 1943, when the first Party Congress was held, there were 17000 full or candidate members.

His passionate hard work and enthusiasm instilled an immense pride in the Party among its members and sympathizers. From 1939 onwards, he was the editor of the Party weekly  National Front and used this magazine to organize communist activities and propagate anti-colonial socialist views. Various organizations like All India Kisan Sabha, All India  Trade Union Congress, Progressive Writers Association and All India Students Federation were either formed or revitalized during Joshi period . Joshi inspired hundreds of intellectuals, poets and artists in different professions. Many of them dedicated their entire life to the party’s work and lived a Gandhian life-style.

As a result of his efforts, the All  India  People’s Theatre (IPTA) movement was born and foundations of a progressive new culture were laid in India for the first time. This was Indian Communists’ unique and durable contribution to Indian social life. Later on, many of these cultural workers joined the new movement in Hindustani cinema which evolved a new genre of combining entertainment with a strong social message, of hope and faith in India’s future. As a result of Joshi’s vision and multi-dimensional activities, the CPI  though a numerically small party, came to occupy the vast intellectual ground in the life of the nation. Poets and writers like Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Sardar Jaafri, Sahir Ludhianvi, Jan Nissar Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi, Majaj, Krishan Chander, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Yashpal Dinkar and many others came to be associated with the activities of the Party.

From 1945 onwards, a strong group with adventurist ideas of Revolution began to emerge within the CPI under the leadership of B.T. Ranadhive. By 1947, this group had come to acquire a position of dominance within the party. Joshi’s pragmatism, based on an intuitive grasp of the unity of nationalism and socialism under conditions of colonialism, could not confront the infantile Marxist bookish discourse of Ranadhive. Joshi could not theoretically defend his new vision of hegemonic politics, even when successful, against the sectarian onslaught of the received Marxist wisdom. Partly, the reason for this was that Joshi himself shared some of  the dogmas of his tormentors. In fact, till today, on intellectual group or an individual has ever courageously and convincingly confronted this powerful foundational current of sectarianism within the Communist movement.

Soon, Joshi was first isolated and then unceremoniously thrown out of the Party. Those who were better educated and could brandish the weapon of Marxist quotations had managed to hijack the entire Party. Their slogan was: “ Yeh Azadi Jhooti hai.” In order to break his resistance and loosen his grip over the Party rank and file, Joshi was viciously attacked. After Joshi’s exit from the Party leadership in 1948, a large number of artists, writers and other intellectuals felt stifled and left the party in hordes. The Party itself came down from a membership of about 90,000 to barely 18,000. Later on, in the Sixities, Joshi was taken back into the Party. By that time, Stalinist methods of the leadership had destroyed his spirit and he was on longer Joshi of old days. He was even allowed to edit the Party Weekly, New Age, but on certain terms which reduced him to the status of a “Political prisoner.” Despite his opposition he could not stop factionalism, and ultimately, the split within the Communist movement. Up to the end, Joshi remained loyal to the cause of socialist, secular and democratic India.

Bhagawan Josh, Professor,
Archives  on Contemporary History, SSS

SANSKRIT WEEK CELEBRATIONS, (27-31 August 2007)

On the occasion of Shravana Purnima, Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies organised a weeklong seminar (a series of five lectures by eminent Sanskrit scholars) on Regional Contribution to Sanskrit Literature. The theme is pertinent in the sense that the Sanskrit literary discourse is enriched by the scholars and creative writers from all the regions of India. Sanskrit language and literature is not localised in a particular state or region of the country as most of the Indian languages do, it’s a pan-Indian language and literature- available far and wide in this cakravarti kshetra (vide Kavyamimamsa of Rajashekhara). It is noteworthy that because of its national character, Sanskrit never engaged in the politics of ’home-state’ for the Indian languages.

In the inaugural session, Dr. C. Upender Rao, Chairperson of the Centre, welcomed the honourable guests and learned audience. He also introduced the theme of seminar and outlined the contributions of Indian scholars to Sanskrit in the different phases of its history. Prof. B.B. Bhattacharya, Hon. Vice-Chancellor, JNU inaugurated the seminar by lightning the lamp and with his perceptive introductory remarks. He observed that the theme is well in tune with the changing perspective and there is a need to highlight the contemporary works in Sanskrit by the Sanskrit scholars from all over the country. This attempt foregrounds the fact that Sanskrit world is pulsating with renewed creative energy. Prof. Kutumba Shastri, Hon. Vice-Chancellor, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, the chief guest of the session mentioned the importance of Sanskrit in the intellectual heritage of India. Prof. K.D.Tripathy, Prof. Emeritus of Banaras Hindu University delivered his keynote address on “Sanskrit Scholars of Varanasi”. Varanasi has been traditionally a major seat of Sanskrit learning. In his long enumeration of Sanskrit scholars, Prof. Tripathy covered the scholastic tradition of Kashi spread over almost a millennium.

Prof. Satkari Mukhopadhyaya, an eminent scholar of Sanskrit was to deliver a lecture on Contribution of Bengal to Sanskrit Literature. But due to his unfavourable health conditions, he could not participate in the seminar.

In the subsequent lectures Prof. K.K. Mishra spoke on contribution of Bihar, Prof. Prabhakar Shastri on contribution of Rajasthan, Prof. Ramakant Shukla on Haryana, Surendra Mohan Mishra on Orissa and Prof. Vikram Kumar Viveki on contribution of Punjab. All these scholars touched upon the historicity of Sanskrit learning and works in their respective regions. It was truly revealing what a vast and qualitative literary works are available in contemporary writings in Sanskrit on the present issues and with a fresh perspective. The seminar succeeds in dispelling the notion that Sanskrit vanmaya is only philosophical and other worldly and that it has the archaeological values only. The seminar brought forth the living traditions of Sanskrit verbal discourse. The scholars also painstakingly recorded the contemporary Sanskrit researches, existing Sanskrit institutions and manuscript libraries.  Prof. S.P. Kumar, Dr. R.K. Mishra, Dr. S.K. Shukla were present during the seminar.

The seminar concluded with a vote of thanks.

C. Upender Rao, Associate Professor
Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies

J.P. Naik Memorial Lecture

The Educational Records Research Unit (ERRU) has organised the J.P. Naik Memorial Lecture, to commemorate eminent educationist Late Shri J.P. Naik, since 2005. Shri Naik was  an institution builder whose vision and initiatives have left an imprint on most major national level institutions in Independent India. He also played an important role in situating the academic programme of the ERRU at JNU. The third J.P. Naik Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya on 30 August 2007. in the SSS. The session was chaired by professor B.B.Bhattacharya, Vice-Chancellor, and attended by an audience of about 100 scholars.

Speaking on ’The Coming Criss in Tertiary Education’ from an Indian perspective, Professor Sabyasachi Bhattacharya highlighted that a ’Crisis’ in this context does not signify a decisive truing point, rather the beginning of phase that may lead to possible breakdown of the system, he made the conjecture on the basis if observation of certain long-term trends, in the tertiary education system in India. He also suggested that some of these trends,  in the timely and correctly by policy makers, could be provided the right direction to help avert the crisis.

Among the discernable trends, he mentioned the present demographic profile: the substantial and unprecedented increase in the potential college-going age group, for whish the ’tertiary education’ sector is ill prepared; the valorization of professional; education which as put the institutions of more lucrative professions in the forefront- with their evaluation and maintenance of standards being put under supervision of special agencies, while pushing the institutions imparting general education backwards, leading to a degradation in their quality; and the rapid privatization of some important segments of tertiary education, especially of the professional education.

Professor Bhattacharya contextualized these trends in three major

historical phases that India has been going though since its beginning as a colony- characterized by the colonial period, the post-Independence Nehruvian paradigm, and finally, the educational agenda of the neo-liberal ear beginning in the 1990s. he also drew attention to the need to situate the issue in education in the broader perspective if choices that faces the Indian national polity today.

The earlier two lecture in the series were delivered by Professor Aparna Basu and Krishna Kumar in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Deepak Kumar, Director
Educational Records Research Unit