This progress is evidenced by India’s status as one of the largest producers of fruits, vegetables, and dairy, aided by the veterinary sciences and animal husbandry. In 1974, India conducted its first nuclear test (Operation Smiling Buddha) in Pokhran, moved towards enhancing its energy production, and by 1975, it had developed its own satellite, Aryabhata. Initially dependent on imports such as US wheat and tinned milk from the Netherlands, India quickly achieved food self-sufficiency by invoking “Green Revolution” which was followed by “White Revolution” through Amul Cooperative Society, and “Poultry Revolution”. From the 1980s, various Technology Missions helped achieve such goals. The flagship programmes of the Indian government to improve the nutritional status of children and reduce incidence of malnutrition through the Integrated Child Development Scheme and Mid-Day Meal Scheme are exemplary, not to say of other pro-poor welfare schemes and rural development. Even, the first wave of Indian professionals to work abroad included graduates from the world-class technical institutions established in the post-independence era.

However, despite these noteworthy foundational accomplishments, the quality of research and innovation in India has stagnated over the past two to three decades. This is alarming, particularly because other nations—including the countries that lagged far behind India just 40–50 years ago—have rapidly advanced. With a population of 1.4 billion, a growing focus on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and a shortage of job opportunities, India is today at a crucial juncture. Addressing these challenges requires a unified effort from the government, the academia-intelligentsia, and industry. Through appropriate policies, resources, and a shift in research culture, India will acquire the potential to regain its place as a global leader in research and innovation.

Nonetheless, for action after introspection, the relevant data pertaining to our research performance are quite troubling. Some of these may be elaborated below: 

1. Citation Impact: According to the “Scimago Journal & Country Rank” (SJR), which assesses academic impact globally, India ranks outside the top 100 countries for citations per document across all subject areas (https://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php), including Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences. Indian research averages only 12.7 citations per document, significantly trailing countries like the United States, Canada, and scores of countries in Europe, which exceed 25-30 citations per paper. Researchers from several Asian countries, including Saudi Arabia (17.6), Nepal (15.2), Oman (15.1), and Bangladesh (14.5), also surpass India in citation impact. While India performs slightly better in Engineering and Sciences, its ranking is notably lower in Arts and Humanities.

2. H-Index Ranking: India is not among the top 20 nations in terms of the h-index across all subject areas, which measures scientific productivity and citation impact. Although India has largest population, the number of citable documents produced (2.7 million) is significantly lower than that of countries like the USA (14 million) and China (10 million). Particularly the emphasis is quite less in publishing in high ranked journals in the fields of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities.

3. Top-tier [Q1] Journal Publications: High-ranking institutions are often evaluated by their contributions to Q1 (top quartile) journals, representing the top 25% in each field. India’s highest-ranking institutions—the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS, New Delhi)—are positioned only at 1346 and 1360 globally.

(https://www.scimagoir.com/rankings.php?sector=Higher+educ.&country=IND).

For example, if one looks(Fig.1) at the declining publications in the journals of repute by the researchers at a highest funded, historic and a largest residential public university, the Aligarh Muslim University(AMU), then the scenario gets quite depressing, hence, a matter of great concern.

Fig.1: The research ranking of the Aligarh Muslim University refers to the volume, impact and quality of the institution’s research output. On the X-axis is year and Y-axis is global ranking.
Source: https://www.scimagoir.com/institution.php?idp=3231#google_vignette

4. Global Innovation Index (GII): In the 2024 Global Innovation Index, India ranked 39th out of 160 economies (https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/india), indicating room for improvement in innovation capacity.

5. Patent Generation: India granted only 0.03 million patents compared to 0.8 million in China and 0.3 million in the United States, illustrating a significant lag in protecting and commercializing intellectual property.

For instance, if one looks (Fig.2) at the declining number of innovation ranking of AMU, the issue is again quite alarming.

Fig.2: The innovation ranking of the Aligarh Muslim University, which is calculated on the number of patent applications of the institution and the citations that its research output receives from patents. On the X-axis is year and on Y-axis is innovation ranking.
Source: https://www.scimagoir.com/institution.php?idp=3231#google_vignette

Root causes of this decline in our academia:

In our estimation, several factors contribute to India’s declining research quality and innovation output, such as:

1. Evaluation standards focused on quantity: Academic institutions often emphasise the quantity of publications rather than quality. Shifting focus to high-impact research would reward rigorous, ethical research practices and enhance India’s international credibility. Prioritising quality over quantity attracts international collaborations and investment, creating an environment that promotes scientific integrity. Strict standards for recruitment, based purely on merit and publication in reputable journals and books, are sometimes compromised. Promotions to higher-level positions are not stringently monitored by institutions. People who publish in journals or magazines that are not even indexed by the h-index are often promoted readily. Publications with publishers that lack rigorous standards and anonymous peer review are accepted without scrutiny. Furthermore, student feedback in both letter and spirit is frequently ignored in universities and colleges.

The primary focus of faculty members in academic institutions therefore should remain on their core responsibilities of research and teaching. These activities not only contribute to personal academic growth but also significantly enhance the institution’s reputation and academic excellence. Engaging in meaningful research furthers the frontiers of knowledge, while effective teaching shapes the next generation of scholars and professionals.

2. Insufficient R&D investment: India’s research and development expenditure is less than 0.7% of GDP, placing it outside the top 150 countries for R&D investment.

In contrast, the developed nations such as the USA (3.5%), Germany (3.1%), and Israel (5.5%) allocate much more for R&D. Even some developing countries, such as Cuba (11.5%) and Oman (6.8%), outspend India in this area. Thus, adequate funding is essential for basic research, which forms the foundation for applied sciences and technology development. This is why it is paramount to strengthen basic research laboratories. 

3. Inadequate focus on basic sciences: Without robust fundamental research in the basic sciences, the applied researches cannot progress. Industries often hesitate to fund basic research due to its indirect, long-term returns. However, government’s substantial financial support is essential here. Breakthroughs in medical technologies, like X-rays, MRI, PET scans, and radiotherapy were made possible by early investments in basic sciences. To foster innovation, India must prioritize basic research alongside applied sciences.

4. Urgent need for financial support in colleges and public universities: To ensure the quality of education in colleges and public universities, it is imperative to prioritise financial support for critical infrastructure. Laboratory courses, which are central to hands-on learning, have been significantly affected by the lack of equipment. Decades ago, these institutions boasted better-equipped laboratories, allowing students to explore and innovate. However, over the past four to five decades, there has been a marked deterioration in these facilities, leaving many students unable to gain practical skills in key areas. Equally concerning is the condition of libraries, which are fundamental to fostering independent learning and research. Many institutions struggle to maintain updated collections of books, journals, and other resources due to insufficient funding. Addressing this issue is vital to bridging the gap between students’ learning potential and the resources available to them.  Moreover, the shortage of faculty members poses a significant challenge. In many colleges, the faculty strength is considerably below the required levels, compromising the quality of instruction and mentorship.  This situation directly impacts the ability of institutions to maintain academic rigor and to support students effectively.  

5. Limited Institutional Autonomy: Granting universities and research institutions more academic and administrative autonomy would enable them to respond quickly to emerging research needs. Accountability frameworks should be in place to uphold ethical standards, ensuring that institutions remain credible and internationally competitive.

A Curious Case of the AMU: Nepotism and Inbreeding Corroding Meritocracy

Let the foregoing discussion be illustrated with the instance of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), a significantly funded, large residential university. There appears to be an increasing trend where around 20% to 25% of the AMU teachers perennially prioritise grabbing administrative positions including those positions traditionally designated only for the non-teaching staff. Extracting this undue benefit has gone up to the extent that even the positions of the statutory officers are filled in on ad hoc basis, in flagrant violation of the UGC rules, and even on illegal basis, as revealed in a recent information obtained through the RTI Act 2005. Some of these “Non-Teaching Professors” have delayed obtaining their PhD degree and have been happily continuing in the administrative positions.

This sorry state of affairs is owing to the fact that, this is often to gain associated “material” benefits over and above salary, including, institutional vehicles with drivers and security personnel serving as domestic servants of the teacher-officers, at the expense of the University exchequer. Many of these teachers have been holding such positions for an outrageously long time, for the last many years, uninterruptedly. Their poor CVs, with no significant/respectable research output, adversely affect the ranking of the University.

AMU, unlike all other central universities (CUs), has got an overwhelming hegemony of the internal teachers inside its Executive Council which also empanels its Vice Chancellors. In the last two empanelment (2017 and 2023), only internal teachers have succeeded in becoming AMU-VCs. This aggravates the practice of nepotism and inbreeding in recruitments and promotions, at the expense of meritocracy. This has had an additional corrosive effect on research output of AMU.

Having developed deeply entrenched, strong clout, they incapacitate successive VCs and create layers of red-tapism just in order to harass and humiliate academically accomplished teachers. The overall atmosphere and ecosystem of the University is made anti-academic. The academically productive ones are harassed by delaying/denying promotions to them, as the VCs are perennially under the pressure of this internal hegemony. Internal teachers becoming as VCs of AMU do not have the independence (or guts) to act against these interests with whom they have been living, working and will continue to live with them even after completing their tenures as VC!

Non-teaching positions are typically designed to support administrative and operational functions, ensuring the smooth running of the University, and are best suited for personnel with expertise in these areas. Unfortunately, these roles are increasingly being used for personal advantage, benefiting the teachers themselves, their family members, and their friends. At some places, the prolonged (rather than a brief tenure) occupation of such positions has led to the formation of regional and sub-regional layers of hegemony and therefore unbridled nepotism in enrolments, recruitments and promotions. These maladies are actively destroying the academic ethos of teaching and research.

Needless to say, this shift in focus dilutes the academic mission and also undermines the intended division of responsibilities within the universities.

By prioritising research and teaching over such non-academic roles, faculty members can better align with the university’s objectives of fostering an environment of intellectual rigour and student development. Clear policies and guidelines can further help delineate responsibilities, ensuring that non-teaching roles are fulfilled efficiently by the appropriate staff while enabling faculty members to concentrate on their academic and scholarly pursuits. This alignment benefits not only the institution but also the broader academic community.

Just as in AMU, other universities too must have got their own general as well as more specific problems. Insiders of those universities also need to expose their endemic problems on these counts.

By tackling the abovementioned critical challenges head-on, India can revitalise its research ecosystem and emerge as a dominant force in the global knowledge economy. Is the government really prepared to listen?

Achieving this vision calls for a concerted effort: substantial government funding, a robust fellowship system based purely on merit, and strong collaboration between academia and industry. With strategic investments, a transformative approach to academic assessment, and greater institutional autonomy, India is poised not only to advance ground-breaking research and innovation but also to become a global beacon of knowledge and progress.

Sajjad Athar is a Professor of Physics at AMU, Aligarh, a renowned name in nuclear physics, a co-author with the Nobel Laureate Prof. Takaki Kajita who tweets @Mohamma84063425;  Mohammad Sajjad is a Professor of History at AMU who tweets @sajjadhist.

The post Alarming decline in quality of research & teaching in Indian Universities appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Raphael, "The School of Athens" / wikiart.org  

Though at different historical periods dominant political hegemonies have sought to appropriate the University, recent years have witnessed this appropriation to an unsurpassed degree with a qualitatively greater intensity. It can only be compared to the ‘nationalisation’ of the University-structure during the Nazi regime and during the historical epoch of Stalin. Here is the logic of what the French philosopher Jacques Derrida calls “onto-theology of national humanism”: the false universal and universalisation of a specific, particular claim (the claim of a particular people – let’s say the Brahminical order of Hindu religion and culture to be the pan-Indian cultural phenomenon); the deification and mythologisation of a collective fusion (this is the meaning of fascism: the word “fasces” means collective fusion) on an aboriginal consciousness (for example: “the blood and soil” ideology of the national socialists), whether that fusion is thought in terms of a radical purity (Aryan identity) or of a mythic continuum (marked by a “tradition” that identically persists through every moment of historical transformation). 

With the withering away of the “social welfare” model of the nation state in the wake of the extreme form of neo-liberal economic theology, the state is no longer an agent of social welfare but has become an industry among industries, or in fact, it has become the industry par excellence. In such a situation, when the Indian state has given up the “social welfare” model, and yet, on the other hand, has taken up the violent language of an extremely regressive and conservative form of nationalism, the University will be  allowed only one telos (the goal and the purpose): the University must assimilate itself into the overwhelming structure of neo-liberal economy whose false universalisation does not have to be opposed to the nationalism which is culturally based on the most obscure and the most primitive cultural con-fusion. The state can participate, as an industry or a corporate group, in the false universality of the new-liberal economic machine that is fuelled by extremely advanced technological and bureaucratic tools, and at the same time, at the social and cultural level, it can remain as primitive and regressive as in the fifth century BC! This is how the nation-state can claim to appropriate the University which, by definition, exceeds all the logic of territory: the University, by definition, has to be universal! It is the universal institution par excellence because it destitutes – and is this destitution par excellence – of all economic logic of national closures.

Now this paradox is totally hinged by the aforesaid onto-theology: the universality of the University, by its very axiomatic being, is irreducible to the onto-theology of any and all national humanism. The paradox is that the University, residing within the geographical territory of a nation and even with the economic support of the government, exceeds all possible national closures in all futures to come. This is the scandal which no nationalism can hope to bear: more extreme and brutal the form of nationalism becomes, more intolerable becomes the topos (site or place) of the University for the order of the state. Thus, either the University has to be annihilated directly, which is impractical, or the place of the University is to be transformed and converted into the very productive and fecund source where the onto-theology of national humanism grows like “mushroom after the rain” (Søren Kierkegaard). 

Therefore, it is not surprising that in a premier University like the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the honourable Vice-Chancellor wants to reduce, in a typically technocratic-bureaucratic fashion, the whole University into a factory or industry. This is the typical gesture of an engineer, almost here in the social mode: a social engineering, if you like to say so. Behind this, and behind so many of his gestures, what is operating is the economic logic of technological rationality combined with the mystification of a primitive, mythic conservatism, the Brahminical order of engineering in the guise of an extreme, technologically sophisticated, economic and political domination. 

It is not for nothing that Martin Heidegger could say that technology can’t think. The brutal assault on the Universities today has the purpose of creating a thoughtless order, the order that thoughtlessly – that is, without critiques, deconstructions, subversions etc. – accepts the political and economic domination of the neo-liberal Brahminism. 

In Indian society, generally, we always have the weakness for engineering and the civil services. From very early on, we are ourselves engineered to be engineers and civil servants, and we think engineers and civil servants are the highest human beings ever. This is so much so that the dominant political parties, just before elections, suddenly build bridges and repair roads (in other words, do bit of engineering!), and the mass of people are overwhelmed by the illusion of the social progress that is made in two months’ time! And our Universities are now increasingly transformed into producers of engineers, just like IIT’s , while the University, which is by definition an incomparably higher educational institution, is precisely that place where closures of all onto-theological national humanisms are to be interrogated and questioned. This is the highest and greatest contribution that the University can make to the whole human race: that it must exceed, by its very axiomatic presence, all possible closures and hegemonic dominations. The University professor and the University student, by definition, occupy incomparably higher places among the human kind, in their very worldly destitution. In their very fragility, they bear a power that keeps the human race open to its radical and redemptive futurity.                   
 
 

Read Saitya Brata Das's incisive essay on being a Dalit here, and watch his interview with us after the stalling of his promotion by JNU VC here. 
 
Saitya Brata Das teaches literature and philosophy at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

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टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया की एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, शिक्षण सत्र 2015-16 के दौरान विश्वविद्यालयों में दलित छात्रों के साथ जातिगत भेदभाव के तामाम मामले पूरे देश दर्ज किए गए। देश के 11 राज्यों के 19 विश्वविद्यालयों में जातिगत भेदभाव के 142 मामले आए। इन जाति आधारित भेदभाव के मामलों में रोहित वेमुला का मामला जातिगत भेदभाव के तहत नहीं माना गया। जिससे पता चलता है दलित छात्रों के साथ अनेकों जातिगत भेदभाव के मामलों को अधिकारी तरजीह नहीं देते। 
 
हैदराबाद विश्वविद्यालय के अंबेडकर स्टूडेंट यूनियन के सह-संयोजक मुन्ना सानाकी के मुताबिक, "2015-16 के शिक्षण सत्र में जातिगत भेदभाव के 142 मामले दर्ज किए गए, इनमें से 102 जातिगत भेदभाव के मामले अनुसूचित जाति जबकि 40 जातिगत भेदभाव के मामले अनसूचित जनजाति के छात्रों के खिलाफ दर्ज हुए, जिनमें से 114 मामलों को निबटाया जा चुका है।" वहीं रोहित वेमुला मामले को हैदराबाद विश्वविद्यालय ने दलित छात्र मानने से इंकार कर दिया था। इस तरह से हैदराबाद यूनिवर्सिटी में कोई जातिगत भेदभाव का मामला नहीं हुआ। जबकि हैदराबाद विश्वविद्यालय में 5 छात्रों को रोहित की तरह जातिगत भेदभाव को भोगना पड़ा था। ये छात्र अभी भी विश्वविद्यालय में जाति आधारित भेदभाव के खिलाफ लड़ रहे हैं। इन छात्रों ने जातिगत भेदभाव की कई शिकायतें दर्ज कराई लेकिन कुछ हासिल नहीं हुआ है।" 
 
बेंगलुरू विश्वविद्यालय के छात्र के मुताबिक, "रोहित वेमुला की आत्महत्या के 2 महीने बाद यूजीसी ने सर्कुलर जारी करके कहा शिक्षण संस्थानों में जातिगत भेदभाव को रोका जाए।  विश्वविद्यालयों के अधिकारियों और शिक्षकों से कहा गया विश्वविद्यालय में एससीएसटी छात्रों के सामाजिक मूल को लेकर जातिगत भेदभाव बंद कर देना चाहिए। जातिगत भेदभाव के खिलाफ प्रत्येक विश्वविद्यालय में शिकायत करने के वेबसाइट हो जहां पर एससीएसटी के छात्र संस्थान के अधिकारी और प्रिंसिपल के खिलाफ शिकायत दर्ज कर सकें। इन सबके बावजूद यूनिवर्सिटी कैंपस में जाति आधारित भेदभाव लगातार जारी है। विश्वविद्यालयों में रिसर्च टॉपिक चुनने पर भी बहुत भेदभाव होता है।" कर्नाटक के कर्नाटका वेटरनिटी, एनिमल एंड फिशरीज़ साइंस यूनिवर्सिटी में इस साल जाति आधारित भेदभाव की 8 शिकायतें दर्ज की गईं।
 
मुन्ना सानाकी ने कहा जहां तक विश्वविद्यालयों में शीघ्र शिकायत निवारण तंत्र की जरूरत है। सभी विश्वविद्यालय इस समस्या से जूझ रहे हैं। बेंगलुरू विश्वविद्यालय में 18 साल से शिक्षिका रहीं समाजशास्त्री, लेखिका प्रोफेसर समानता देशमाना ने कहा है कि देश के ज्यादातर विश्वविशविद्यालयों में जातिगत भेदभाव होता है।
 
प्रोफेसर देशमाना ने कहा कि "मैं पूरे विश्वास के साथ कहती हूं कि पूरे देश में कोई भी विश्वविद्यालय दलित छात्रों के साथ भेदभाव की बात से इंकार नहीं कर सकता। इन मामलों की उनके पास कोई सूची नहीं है लेकिन प्रबंधन में कुछ लोग हैं जो इन मामलों की परवाह करते हैं।" 
 
कर्नाटक के स्टूडेंट फेडरेशन ऑफ इंडिया के महासचिव गुरुराज देसाई के मुताबिक सरकार से अपील की जा रही है कि विश्वविद्यालयों से जातिगत भेदभाव को खत्म किया जाए। विश्वविद्यालय कैंपस में जातिगत भेदभाव की कोई जगह नहीं होनी चाहिए। यदि विश्वविद्यालय ज्ञान के मंदिर हैं फिर वहां जातिगत भेदभाव क्यों?
 
हम ऐसे देश में रहते हैं जहां जातिगत भेदभाव होता है। हम ऐसा नहीं चाहते थे। लेकिन तथ्यों को नकारा नहीं जा सकता। हमारी भारतीयता से ही पहचान है इसे जल्दी बदला नहीं जा सकता। डॉक्टर भीमराव अंबेडकर का सपना जाति मुक्ति भारत का सपना था। अंबेडकर ने ये बातें अपनी किताब कॉस्ट अनहिलेशन ऑफ इंडिया में लिखी हैं।

Courtesy: National Dastak

The post विश्वविद्यालयों में नहीं थम रहा जातिगत भेदभावः एक साल में 142 मामले दर्ज appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Weapons, violence and militarization have become the norm of the modern India that we live in. However, the disappointing and excruciating reality to which this ideology has been extended to is shocking. Universities and colleges in India today have openly endorsed heavy security mechanisms, including the rampant usage of weapons and guns within the campus for apparent safety and security needs.

A noticeable starting point to the controversy emanates from a few months ago when the University Grants Commission issued guidelines to the extent of making Universities high profile security zones. Amongst other things, some of the most alarming guidelines mentioned are the setting up of police stations and a large number of CCTV cameras. The academic community from far and wide, including the likes of Noam Chomsky, Judith Butler and Ayesha Kidwai came together to criticise these horrible suggestions of the UGC.

Notwithstanding, Indian Universities have seen for quite some time a tug of war between administrations and students, who claim that university spaces are purely academic environments, which needs no presence of the police.

In the most recent of incidents in Universities, one student from O.P Jindal Global University were suspended for questioning the gun policy of the campus where guards were allowed to freely roam around with guns inside the University. Over a point of time, police constables with guns were stationed within the University and were allowed to roam around within the campus.

When a few students objected to the presence of police personnel and free access to guns inside the campus, one student was suspended, and another student was asked to immediately leave campus due to the threat to safety and security of life. The Director of Student Welfare mentioned to the student that because he had questioned the personal security of Mr Omar Abdullah’s son (who is also a first-year student at the campus), this could be seen as a national security question and could also be raised as an issue in the Union Parliament.

The students have been given a year suspension, and a semester medical leave respectively, and have been strictly warned not to disclose the matter to anybody. In an ironically Foucaultian take (which is so fervently taught in most classes in the University), the others are made to take psychiatric help. In fact, one of the students who was sent on medical leave is expected to return only after the production of a fitness certificate by a psychiatrist.

The intolerance and rage amongst people, especially youth is increasing day by day and the last thing that we need is free access to guns in University campus. Security reasons are certainly understandable, but whether VVIP privilege should be tolerated by University campuses, which ought to embody a strict rule of law and fairness to all ethos, is a question that needs to be answered. In Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault writes in length about the subjugation of the mind with regard to disciplining and punishment measures. The prison creates specific rules in great formulaic intensity to achieve the desired subjugation of the mind to conform to the mandated discipline. The idea of the positivist Disciplinary Committee, with its elaborate rules and formulas to discipline and punish, is not just to subjugate the body from repeating actions but also to conform the mind to what is prescribed and expected of. Coupled with the increasing rate of suspensions and expulsions in Universities, academic spaces in India (especially elite violent bourgeois institutes such as Jindal and Amity) are becoming nothing more than a smartly devised, monitored and controlled panopticon. As has become the unfortunate norm, academic spaces are unfortunately trumped by politics of power and influence, and dissent and free thought are erased from praxis. Any transgression to break this norm or challenge the power kicks in the routine of disciplining and punishing to enforce conformism and thereby the pattern is set in stone and established as legitimate.

*The author wants to remain anonymous and India Resists respect that

(The author is indebted to various alumni of the O.P Jindal Global University for their comments and intensive feedback for the piece)

This article was first published on India Resists
 

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