Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, a Rhodes Scholar, is the founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana (NCR of Delhi)

“The university is reserved for what the human being can find by and within himself: insight into pure science. For this self-activity in the fullest sense, freedom is necessary, and solitude is helpful; from these two requirements flows the entire external organisation of the universities.” – Wilhelm von Humboldt, German philosopher (1767-1835)

Universities are unique spaces inherently engaged in the realm of ideas that shape the character of communities and nations. On the forefront, universities are designed to provide education defined by disciplines which are taught in different academic units called faculties, schools and departments. Arguably, they may seem like a behemoth bureaucracy engaged in moving the wheel of academic governance in any university system. While this is true, the fundamental character of universities worldwide world is its institutional identity that steadfastly protects the value of academic freedom.  

Naveen Jindal’s extraordinary act of philanthropy established O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) in 2009 as India’s first privately-promoted global university. One of India’s leading industrialists, his financial contribution to the tune of Rs. 2,500 crores has  enabled JGU to do everything in the pursuit of developing into a  world-class university. His passionate commitment to the cause of education resulted in the establishment of JGU as a private, not-for-profit, and philanthropically enabled university. However, the challenge of private universities in India have been two-fold—paying lip service to the ideal of not-for-profit governance and indifference towards the value of academic freedom.

The Academic Freedom Index Report Update 2024 by V-Dem and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg states that academic freedom is globally under threat. In fact, more people are affected by lack of academic freedom today than 50 years ago, with more than 50% of world population adversely  affected. In this precarious situation where the world is beset with geopolitical crises and grave human rights violations, protecting academic freedom and institutional autonomy of universities is vital  to preserve freedom of thought and expression in the world.

Understanding the integral value of freedom of expression from his long-fought battle to grant every citizen of India the right to fly the Indian national flag, Naveen Jindal promised to uphold the right of every scholar to explore their ideas and conduct research. Ab initio, he wanted to build a university where Albert Einstein’s thoughts on academic freedom could be enshrined: “By academic freedom, I understand the right to search for truth and to publish and teach what one holds to be true. This right also implies a duty: One must not conceal any part of what one has recognised to be true.”

Since then Naveen Jindal has emerged as a transformative leader in the domain of India’s  private universities. Over the past 15 years,  he has not only contributed substantial resources towards the establishment of the university but consciously distanced himself from its institutional governance. This is a rare and somewhat of an unprecedented phenomenon—indeed, an exception in the private university ecosystem of India. Naveen Jindal’s commitment to academic freedom is based upon the inherent value system of universities where true education flourishes, knowledge is free, ideas are fearless and institutions stand independent. Through his actions, he proves that leadership is not just about building institutions but ensuring that they remain bastions of  free thinking,, debate and progress.

There are five important ways in which Naveen Jindal has demonstrated his leadership and commitment to the cause of academic freedom in university governance:

1. Commitment to defending knowledge through ideas

Democracies thrive around the vision of creating and disseminating knowledge. The goal of universities is to seek knowledge through the generation and exploration of ideas. By establishing a global university, Naveen Jindal recognised that his greatest contribution to the nation building agenda would be to establish an institution that would  defend knowledge derived from ideas. In all its through its schools, institutes and centres, JGU  has been at the forefront of creating knowledge flowing from unfettered ideas developed by its students, scholars and faculty members. Over the past 15 years, the JGU community has produced a combined total of 3,682 Scopus-indexed publications, with 22,920 Scopus citations, and over 260 policy citations in  30 countries. Understanding the value of democratic engagement, Naveen Jindal has created an ecosystem that demonstrates steadfast commitment to defend knowledge, even if it means that some ideas  generated may not be acceptable or may be subject to  criticism.

2. Vision to define the university’s independence

The private university space in India is unfortunately marred by a number of existential challenges. The funding and governance structure of the typical private university restricts the advancement of institutional independence. However, by recognising the value of a university’s independence, Naveen Jindal ensured that his corporation and the corporate structure that provides resources to the university are not engaged in the governance of the university. This aspect of Naveen Jindal’s commitment to respecting the  university’s independence has  empowered JGU  to take its own decisions while maintaining academic identity and institutional autonomy.

3. Institutional freedom in the recruitment of faculty

One of the most important aspects of institutional freedom in universities is the power and authority entrusted to the university management to recruit faculty on the basis of academic qualifications and standards that will ensure primacy of merit and transparency in governance. There is nothing more important in a university than its freedom to  recruit  faculty. Naveen Jindal has ensured that JGU  adheres to global best practices in the recruitment of faculty, with the involvement of subject matter experts and concerned university officials in the process. The character of a university is defined by its people, especially the faculty and administrative staff who lead its  academic, intellectual and administrative agenda. y. With his farsighted vision, Naveen Jindal has ensured  that faculty members who are teaching and pursuing research at JGU maintain the highest academic standards of excellence.

4. University autonomy in teaching and research

Naveen Jindal recognised that autonomy is integral for a university’s pursuit of excellence. Autonomy is critical for universities, especially when faculty members are engaged in teaching and research. The idea of faculty autonomy is inextricably linked to academic freedom which impacts curriculum development and teaching pedagogy. Great universities around the world have excelled by nurturing the values of autonomy and academic freedom to  enable their faculty to pursue their thoughts and perspectives both inside and outside the classroom with freedom and responsibility. As far as scholarship is concerned, autonomy needs to be extended to faculty members to freely publish their research, and advance their ideas of change and transformation to the wider public. Conscious of the fact that all freedom comes with responsibility, Naveen Jindal is always  willing to trust the university and its faculty members to exercise autonomy with responsibility and commitment. Democratic societies pride themselves for constantly creating  ecosystems for free exercise of rights and freedoms. But universities have a greater degree of responsibility towards protecting academic freedom of scholars, and unlike many others in the world of institution building, Naveen Jindal has understood and implemented it.

5. Transparency and integrity in the admissions process

One of the most difficult aspect of university governance is in relation to the decision-making process which determines who gets admitted and how they are admitted. Even top-ranked universities of  the world have faced controversies relating to admissions processes, raising questions about their integrity, lack of transparency and procedural propriety. Naveen Jindal took the road less travelled. It is not uncommon for business leaders and founders of private universities in India to adopt a less transparent admissions process exercising their arbitrary and discretionary powers at the institutional level to admit students. This practice can be undertaken in a variety of ways including the egregious form of adopting a management quota style of admissions where select set of students are admitted on the basis of extraneous considerations other than merit. While it is tempting for any benefactor who contributes significant resources to establish a university to exert influence over the admission process, the remarkable and farsighted vision of Naveen Jindal prompted him to embrace complete transparency and merit-based admissions process without any discretion in these decisions. It is not only rare and unprecedented in the world of private universities, but it also indicates his commitment and dedication to the cause of institution and nation building.

The Way Forward

The purpose of celebrating Naveen Jindal’s commitment to defending knowledge, defining independence and protecting academic freedom in universities is also a recognition of the unique character of universities in nation building. He has set a very high standard as a promoter and benefactor, who despite having contributed all the resources required to establish JGU university has also voluntarily recognised the need for institutional autonomy of universities to be preserved. He, unlike many, knew that this aspect of the university governance is the sine qua non for the pursuit of excellence and the raison d’être for universities pursuing the goals of social and  economic transformation.

Also read: 288 Universities in G20 Countries have partnerships with OP Jindal Global University