Elevation of Sanskrit Centre to Sanskrit School draws flak at JNU

New Delhi: Elevation of the Special Centre for Sanskrit into the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies has widened the ideological fault lines at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

There is growing disenchantment among the JNU faculty over imposing decisions which, they claim are taken without "wider consultations".

Alleging open violation of the decision-making processes, Executive Council (EC) members alleged that there are no wider consultations on matters of academic importance.

Recently, the EC had invited views over email after the School for Sanskrit and Indic Studies was approved. A section of the varsity's faculty has reacted sharply to this.

A professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning School of Social Sciences said, "The proposal was not exposed to wider consultations while pushing for the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies. The administration has made a mockery of the decision making process."

Another EC member argued that "there was always a consideration of changing the Center of Indian Languages into a school of the Indian language, and Sanskrit could have been a part of that. But the current move is driven by ideological motives, which believes Sanskrit is more than a language, it is a philosophy".

Sources at JNU confirmed that an EC meeting did not take place, but views were invited over email for the new school.