The Idea of a University: Jamia Millia Islamia

by Rakhshanda Jalil (Editor)

Written shortly after the 'encounter' between the Special Branch of Delhi Police and a group of suspected terrorists in Batla house, in the neighbourhood of Jamia Millia Islamia, this collection reflects on the 'idea' of Jamia. Of the 12 vignettes, some are written by members of the Jamia biradari; others by those who are from the big world outside. Some make deeply personal observations about living and working in Jamia, others speak with fondness and regard for the institution and all it stands for. Most were written in the critical days immediately after the 'encounter'; they are the ones that speak from the heart. Almost all, irrespective of their tone and tenor, are emphatic assertions of the 'idea' of Jamia – an idea that is in consonance with plural nationhood and composite culture.

80 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, critic and literary historian. Her published work comprises edited anthologies, among them a selection of Pakistani women writers entitled, Neither Night Nor Day; and a collection of esssays on Delhi, Invisible City: she is co-author of Partners in Freedom: Jamia Millia Islamia and Journey to a Holy Land: A Pilgrim s Diary. She is also a well-known translator, with eight published translations of Premchand, Asghar Wajahat, Saadat Hasan Manto, Shahryar, Intezar Hussain and Phanishwarnath Renu.

Reviews

[Razi Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Liberal politics is based on respect for the person, but if it does not have something else as well, something more akin to love, it will not capture the hearts of people who long for meaning."

– The Land of My Dreams: Islamic Liberalism under fire in India, Martha C. Nussbaum in The Idea of a University: Jamia Millia Islamia.