After 7-yr-stint, MICA’s outgoing director eyes future pursuits: Research on ancient universities

In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Dr Mehta talks about the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology on placements at MICA. He also gives details about his new role, which he will be assuming in August, as the ‘’Distinguished University Professor” at the OP Jindal Global University in Haryana.

His body of work spanning 12 years of his career, which is planned to be a book expected to be out in two years, covers Taxila in Islamabad, Pakistan, Nalanda, Vikramshila and Odantapuri in Bihar, Jagaddala and Somapura in Bangladesh and Vallabhi in Gujarat. Most of these universities were established by Buddhist kings, as he observes.

The research project also looks at similarities in the charter and layouts of these universities, comparing them with the modern international varsities of the likes of Oxford and Stanford. “Oxford (University in the United Kingdom) was rising almost at the same time when Nalanda was being destroyed but the seeds of Nalanda had started to be planted 800 years prior to the founding of Oxford,” he says.

“It is one of those curious events in history where Nalanda’s sun was setting or rather the varsity was being destroyed and Oxford was rising. The torch of civilisation and revival shone over Asia, then the Middle East then Europe, North America and then the rise of Japan, China and India followed. The current Stanford design (in the United States) is exactly the Sompura Nalanda design and I am documenting one of those,” he says.

Dr Mehta, who began his teaching career in 1990, further underlines that he is “able to show the connection directly from Nalanda to Oxford” in his work. “I am comparing the Indian charters with those in Europe. Charters in Sanskrit and Latin are almost identical,” he asserts, adding that his work would have maps to explain. Of these seven, physical remains of only Nalanda, Taxila, Vikramshila and Somapura can be found in the present times.

To give a push to research at MICA, Dr Mehta says the 2,000 work hours in a year were “budgeted” to compulsorily allot 10 per cent each to research and administration and 15 per cent to teaching while the remaining 60 per cent the faculty could pick whatever they wanted to do. “We gave complete freedom to our faculty to choose their passion. We spent one full year identifying the matrix on good research, good teaching and good administration. We budget for 2,000 hours, completely through faculty consensus for which we will hold you accountable at MICA,” says Dr Mehta.

To promote research, the institute also got mentors like Philip Kotler, hailed as a marketing guru, and ensured “fast promotions”. The 33-year-old MICA is claimed to be the only residential institute in the Asia-Pacific region dedicated to creating leadership in Strategic Marketing and Communication. Founded in Ahmedabad, Prof Dr Mehta says the institute did not expand, “because it is difficult to replicate excellence”.

About his own research on ancient universities, he says, “The whole template of university went from India, over 800 years to Central Asia, the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, to Iran to Baghdad from where it takes two routes- southern Spain and then Italy and then other route is Jerusalem and Oxford and Paris.”

Researching and documenting the material in nine primary languages, including Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Persian and secondary languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Bangla, French, German, Spanish and Russian, Dr Mehta says that he found a connection with these universities and those of Europe only two years back.

Meanwhile, an advocate of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Dr Mehta says that the much-anticipated takeover of technology is bringing the oral form of teaching. “Universities have survived much greater tech disruptions. Artificial Intelligence has its role… but it is not going to supplant basic college education. It can supplement in very interesting ways but the job of the instructor since the time of Chanakya is to look in the eye of the pupil Chandragupta and Maurya and ensure if they are getting it,” he says. However, technology has already started affecting middle and higher level positions in the job sector, he says, elaborating, “Many of the tech companies that were big recruiters like Amazon, Google, Uber are not recruiting anymore because they are laying off the surplus hires during Covid and now AI has made most of them redundant. Senior level jobs have gone. Automation — which was killing jobs at lower levels — is now going to reach middle and higher levels as well.”

Dr Mehta is also set to serve for two months each at Malaysia Asia School of Business in Kuala Lumpur and in North America.