The Pioneer | Delhi University Recollecting the past

Oct 02,2022

Many of India’s most consequential nation-builders and opinion-makers have emerged from the hallowed grounds of the University of Delhi – India’s most sought-after educational institution. Its alumni include political leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, and litterateurs of the highest caliber. The university celebrated its 100 th anniversary on  May 1 2022. I am proud and honoured that I brought together some of its most illustrious alumni to collective reflect on its rich history, vibrant student life, and influence in India’s public discourse today.

As Editor, coordinating the development of this anthology was made easy because the who’s who of Indian public life agreed to help me in this endeavour without a moment’s hesitation. This anthology was conceived to celebrate the 100 years of our alma mater and the role it has played in furthering world-class education. It has successfully captured a spectrum of viewpoints that covers five decades of studying or teaching at the university.

While no such work can be exhaustive, I do believe that we have been able to capture the ineffable spirit of the university in the eclectic recollections of our authors.

Prospective students who have seen the university from afar will get an inside view of one of the most prestigious public universities in the country, while those intimately familiar with the institution will reconnect with their fondest memories through the words of some of its most famous alumni.

Speaking at the launch of the book at Hindu College, the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Petroleum and Natural Gas,  Hardeep Singh Puri—an alumnus of Hindu College—noted that the university is a leading centre of excellence in the country and among the most successful universities in the country. The launch was also attended by other contributors to the book – Former DU Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh; former assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and deputy executive director of UN WOMEN, Lakshmi Puri; lawyer Raian Karanjawala; Indian writer Namita Gokhale; and Director Imtiaz Ali.

List of authors who have contributed to the anthology

l               Amitabh Bachchan (wrote the Foreword)

l               Prof. (Dr.) Dinesh Singh

l               Sanjeev Sanyal

l               Dr. Shashi Tharoor

l               Hon. (Dr.) Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud

l               Mrs. Lakshmi Puri

l               Imtiaz Ali

l               Arnab Goswami

l               Raian Karanjawala

l               Dr. Bibek Debroy

l               Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath

l               Kiren Rijiju

l               Namita Gokhale

l               Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Hardeep Puri , who has edited this anthology, has had a distinguished four-decade career in diplomacy spanning the bilateral and multilateral arena, having held Ambassadorial posts in London, Brasilia and as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in both Geneva (2002-2005) and New York (2009-2013). He is one of the few Indians to preside over the United Nations Security Council and the only one to have chaired its Counter-terrorism Committee. He served as Chairman, RIS; as Vice President at the International Peace Institute; and as Secretary-General of the Independent  Commission on Multilateralism in New York.

He is the author of three books:  Separating the Wheat from the Chaff, Decoding Dominant Narratives’ (Konark Publications, 2019); ‘Delusional Politics: Back to the Future (Penguin Viking, 2019); and ‘Perilous Interventions: The Security Council & The Politics of Chaos’ (Harper Collins, 2016).