Joshi’s varsity caught in caste war

Perhaps the only way the university can be pulled out of the mess and returned to better days is by letting the University Grants Commission (UGC) accord it Central university status. But that’s easier said than done. Because powerful caste lobbies, which control two of Allahabad University’s affiliated colleges, are coming in the way.

Little wonder that the file for granting Central status to the university is ‘‘stuck’’ with none other than its former physics professor and Union HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi. The problem is he represents the Allahabad constituency in the Lok Sabha and, therefore, cannot ignore the caste equations.

Simply put, the dead-weight of 11 affiliated ‘‘degree shop’’ colleges have not only been eating into the university’s meagre resources but have also contributed in good measure to plunging standards. But anyone who wants to win elections in Allahabad can scarcely afford to irk the caste lobbies that control the colleges, especially the Choudhury Mahadev Prasad College and the Allahabad Degree College. And Joshi, the current MP, is no exception.

‘‘For him, it’s a Hobson’s choice. It’s the university’s future versus his own political future in Allahabad. If he grants Central status to the university without the caste colleges (as they are popularly known), idhar to hangama ho jayega…all hell will break loose,’’ explains a senior BJP leader.

‘‘It is not just caste,’’ says Professor Vinay Pandey who teaches history in the university. ‘‘It will also get linked to the issue of minorities because of two colleges, Ewing Christian College and Hamida Girls.’’

The 11 colleges also pose a hurdle at the UGC-end because it has to make the final recommendation. It does not want to take on Allahabad University into the Central fold lock, stock and barrel. Explains a senior UGC member: ‘‘Our experience with Delhi University (which too has a large number of affiliate colleges) has taught us that such universities are neither manageable nor financially viable.’’

It’s now a decade-old demand, ‘‘pending from the time Chandra Shekhar, an alumnus, was the PM,’’ says N.K. Gaur, local BJP MLA and former UP education minister, who made his career in state teachers’ politics out of this one singular issue.

A crucial pre-requisite was fulfilled when Rajnath Singh as UP CM gave the state government’s nod.

‘‘All it needs now is political will. We’re going to make an issue of it,’’ says Allahabad politician Satya Prakash Malaviya, a former Union minister now with the Congress.

‘‘After all, it’s Joshi’s constituency. He has to do something.’’ But Allahabad University Vice-Chancellor G K Mehta would prefer the issue not to get lost in political one-upmanship.

With the annual grant from the UP government frozen at Rs 16 crore since 1997 — it’s half of the minimum Rs 30 crore required — Central status seems the only hope.

Recalling a time when figures like Meghnad Shah, Firaq Gorakhpuri, the great Sanskritists Aditya Ram Bhattacharya and Khetresh Chandra Chattopadhyay, Dharamvir Bharati, Ramkumar Verma and Harivansh Rai Bachchan strode the university campus, old-timers like chemistry professor M C Chattopadhyay point to the qualitative decline in teaching and research.

In New Delhi, although HRD Ministry officials indicated that the proposal to grant Central status to Allahabad University would be put up soon before the Cabinet, Joshi himself declined comment on the issue.