Few educational institutions in India have their history entwined with that of a city — and fewer with a nation’s — than Delhi University (DU). On Sunday, DU completed 100 years. This journey cannot be gauged on just academic achievements — although even there, DU comes out with flying colours. But DU has always been a lot more than studies. DU influenced the growth of a city that had fallen into neglect post the Mughal era only to be revived
Few educational institutions in India have their history entwined with that of a city — and fewer with a nation’s — than Delhi University (DU). On Sunday, DU completed 100 years. This journey cannot be gauged on just academic achievements — although even there, DU comes out with flying colours. But DU has always been a lot more than studies. DU influenced the growth of a city that had fallen into neglect post the Mughal era only to be revived as a new New Delhi when the British shifted the Capital from Calcutta in 1911. The city absorbed the population influx following Partition, DU started new colleges to accommodate students from west Punjab, and the national Capital transformed itself into a truly cosmopolitan land of opportunities.
The first bunch of constituent colleges, which predate DU, were established in the walled city. Even as British influence weighed heavily, many of these colleges were active participants in the freedom movement. Post-Independence, DU grew rapidly to answer the calls of nation-building. The Delhi School of Economics, for example, produced some of the finest economists who contributed to governance. The law faculty gave India some of its best legal minds. Various departments and colleges produced stalwarts who contributed across the spectrum. DU students’ union became the stepping stone for prominent politicians.
Over the decades, DU not only widened the access to higher education across social and economic classes and beyond state boundaries, but also created invaluable intellectual, cultural and social capital for a modern nation. Long may that fascinating journey continue.
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