Savitribai Phule Pune University more 'Leftist' than JNU: Vice-Chancellor Pandit

Pune: The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) is more "Leftist" than the New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) though it is not always visible, opined JNU Vice-Chancellor Dr Santishree Pandit.

Pandit, who previously taught at SPPU, said working at JNU was not easy and requires courage, and her stint at the Pune university helped her efficiently carry out her duties in the current role, where she was appointed more than three years ago by the Centre.

She was delivering a lecture on the topic "The Indian Society in the New Age -- Opportunities and Challenges -- at the Vasudev Balwant Phadke memorial lecture series organised by the Maharashtra Education Society here on Thursday.

Pandit remarked that when people ask her how she manages to run an educational institution like JNU, considered a Left bastion, so efficiently, she points to her stint and "training" at SPPU.

Before assuming the role of JNU Vice-Chancellor in 2022, Pandit was a professor of political science in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the Savitribai Phule Pune University. She is the first woman to serve as the Vice-Chancellor of JNU.

Asked why no university in Maharashtra offers courses based on religious faiths, Pandit responded, "Not exactly based on religious faith, but at JNU, we have the Centre for Hindu Studies, the Centre for Buddhist Studies, and the Centre for Jain Studies. I am eager to mention here that the Savitribai Phule Pune University is more 'vampanthi' (Leftist) than JNU, though it is not always visible.

"People appreciate my work and ask how I manage to run an institution like JNU so well. My answer is that my training took place at the Pune University. After training at the Pune University (SPPU), one can work anywhere," she averred.

The VC emphasised that working at the Delhi-based central university, established by an act of Parliament in 1966 and coming into existence three years later, is not easy and requires courage.

"JNU had no motto earlier. If you look at its emblem, it is very much Hindu, featuring a lamp, a lotus bud, and a rosebud. I convinced everyone and incorporated 'Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya' (lead me from darkness to light) as its official motto," Pandit added.