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Politicians' Vendetta against a Vice-Chancellor
Politicians from different parties have been carrying on a vendetta against the vice-chancellor of the Shivaji University in Kolhapur and seeking his removal by any means fair or foul. What is at stake, however, is not the fate of a particular individual but the autonomy of the university system and the future of higher education in Maharashtra.
The government of Maharashtra proposes to amend the Maharashtra Universities Act 1994 to make new provisions for the removal of vice-chancellor, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, from his post. As the newspapers have reported, the minister of higher education, Dilip Valase Patil, gave this promise to members of the legislative assembly on March 30. The government’s action is a deliberate attempt to undermine the autonomy of the university and cuts at the root of the system of higher education in the state.
D N Dhanagare is vice-chancellor of Shivaji University. With the help of the Shivaji University Teachers’ Association he has sought to curb illegal dealings on the part of private managements and purge the university of corrupt practices. In the last four and a half years he has shown what an independent minded and motivated vice-chancellor can do for the improvement of the university. But because of this an entire political class has risen against him. The reasons for this are obvious. What follows is a detailed analysis of these reasons.
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