Now Reading: JNU VC wants Venkateswara temple on campus to raise funds
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JNU VC wants Venkateswara temple on campus to raise funds
Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit has proposed building a Lord Venkateswara temple on the JNU campus to generate revenue, calling her institution "beggars" for funds. Speaking at an Indian Knowledge…
The Story in Brief
Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit has proposed building a Lord Venkateswara temple on the JNU campus to generate revenue, calling her institution "beggars" for funds. Speaking at an Indian Knowledge Tradition conference at Banaras Hindu University, she cited BHU's Vishwanath temple model as a sustainable income source and said, "A lot of money would come our way."
Pandit also criticised JNU historians for treating interpretation as sacred while calling facts variable, and argued that no university thrives when one ideology dominates. She described Indian Knowledge Systems as a challenge to intellectual monopoly from both Left and Right, and urged a pluralistic approach drawing from diverse traditions.
The Indian Opinion
The VC's temple proposal is drawing predictable lines: critics call it saffronisation of a secular campus, supporters see a pragmatic fix for a cash-starved university. Neither side is asking the hard question, will a temple actually bring in lakhs, or is this posturing dressed as policy? JNU's finances are a mess, but turning a place of learning into a pilgrim centre raises real questions about academic autonomy. Watch the faculty council's vote on this, not the Twitter noise.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
