Finally, it is the honourable courts of India who will decide on the merits of Dr Ajit Ranade’s continuation as Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), Pune.
As law-abiding citizens, we will respect the verdict of the court, whatever it may be. By way of disclosure let me mention that I also work as a consultant in an organisation where Dr Ranade is one of the trustees.
Last week, the news of Dr Ranade’s termination as VC on technical grounds was received by many with deep anguish. The reason for this is not difficult to fathom: An out-of-box appointment two-and-half years ago, Dr Ranade was transforming Gokhale Institute with fresh ideas and initiatives at a pace not seen at the institute before. Previously, he was the Group Executive President and Chief Economist of the $100 billion Aditya Birla Group before coming down to Pune to live the life of university VC.
One of the few Indians to have met President Xi Jinping during a conference in China, Dr Ranade has a degree in electrical engineering (IIT Bombay); MBA (IIM Ahmedabad) and an MA and Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University. A prolific columnist, he has taught at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (deemed university funded by the RBI); Brown University; Holy Cross College, Wesleyan University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was also a Professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.
In spite of such an illustrious track record, a fact-finding committee found that since he did not have “at least 10 years of continuous teaching experience as a professor in a recognised university or academic or educational institution,” he did not conform to the established University Grants Commission (UGC) norms and therefore, his appointment was “legally untenable”.
As a self-respecting individual, Dr Ranade has challenged his dismissal in the Bombay High Court. While we await the verdict of the court, let me recall my impressions of GIPE which I have been visiting as a journalist, off and on, for nearly four decades now.
In the 1980s and even the 1990s, Pune was a slow-paced town and so was GIPE. Nevertheless, as the oldest research and training institute in Economics in the country, the institute enjoyed a high reputation. Notably, its list of achievements include the development of Asia’s first cooperative sugar factory at Pravaranagar in Ahmednagar district.
Still, GIPE gave the impression of a sleepy, laid-back research institute. In 1993, it grew in stature when it became a deemed-to-be-university with autonomous status.
Dr Ranade’s appointment, however, brought in lot of excitement. One could see fast-paced changes at the institute which literally came to life, buzzing with students, multiple activities and initiatives in sharp contrast to what one saw in previous decades.
In addition to doctoral programmes which were always a hallmark at GIPE, the institute now has a slew of post-graduate, graduate, under-graduate, executive and certificate courses.
New initiatives included a Centre for Sustainable Development, Centre for Geopolitics and Geoeconomics and a Centre for Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Development (CEED). There’s also the deAsra Centre of Excellence in Nano Entrepreneurship, for entrepreneurship policy research and advocacy. A post-graduate diploma in financial economics is among the new initiatives.
Along with preparing students to pursue fruitful careers of the 21st century, one could sense that GIPE was also moving towards facilitating a liberal environment where young minds were exposed to a galaxy of outstanding people from all fields.
Under Dr Ranade’s leadership we could see the campus emerging as a forum for discussion, debate, ideation and innovation. The number of public events — including an annual public policy festival — had gone up substantially.
A memorable talk at GIPE was by Dr Bibek Debroy, the GIPE Chancellor and Chairman of PM’s Economic Council — not on economics, but on his love for Sanskrit. This was his lecture on ‘An Economist’s Journey into the Epics’.
The Swedish-Pakistani scholar Ishtiaq Ahmed spoke on ‘India-Pakistan: Peace in our Lifetime?’ and the BJP leader Ram Madhav on ‘Framing India in Emerging World Order. A public interview of the eminent ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil by Prof Ramachandra Guha was among the memorable events at the GIPE. A recent talk by economist Prabhakar Parakala, an ardent critic of the Modi Government, was among those which became controversial.
The fact, however, is that all these events and initiatives were helping GIPE scale new heights.
Founded in 1930 by the Servants of India Society, GIPE is named after freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale, an educationist, social reformer and a liberal who was a Guru not just to a young Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but also to fellow Congressman Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
No matter what happens to the court case, Gokhale would certainly have been proud of GIPE’s direction under the leadership of Dr Ajit Ranade.
The author is an independent journalist. The views expressed here are personal
