Seeking resumes is similar to withdrawing Nobel of a recipient: Former JNU VC

Datta was among the 12 professors emeriti who have been asked by the JNU administration to submit their latest resume for evaluation. The move has drawn criticism from scholars across the country and JNU teachers and students.

Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) decision to seek resumes of its professors emeriti is similar to “withdrawing” Nobel of a recipient, if he or she is thought to be not doing enough good work a decade or two later, former JNU vice-chancellor Asis Datta said in a statement on Friday.

The University had in July asked these professors, all above the age of 75 years, including historian Romila Thapar, to submit details of their last two years work so that the Executive Council (EC) can evaluate it. (Hindustan Times)

Datta was among the 12 professors emeriti who have been asked by the JNU administration to submit their latest resume for evaluation. The move has drawn criticism from scholars across the country and JNU teachers and students.

The University had in July asked these professors, all above the age of 75 years, including historian Romila Thapar, to submit details of their last two years work so that the Executive Council (EC) can evaluate it.

Datta said he had no office at JNU and gets no remuneration from the university. “I visit the university to interact with the faculty and students, and to discuss science which has been my life long quest,” he said.

He said that his work involved being in close contact with the best scientists of the world, including Nobel laureates and the universities they belonged to. “This is like withdrawing the Nobel if the recipient was thought to be doing not enough good work a decade or two later,” the statement added.

The JNU teachers association (JNUTA) also issued a statement saying Datta had given up a tenured job in the US to join JNU in the 1970s, its initial years of formation. The JNUTA again demanded unconditional revocation of the letters to the professor emeriti.

JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar had in a statement said the university is following the “standard procedure” as per the University’s ordinance. “It doesn’t mean that anyone will be asked to discontinue against their will,” he said.