Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday (January 12, 2026) said critical thinking has been the soul of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and “intellectual centre”, where “argumentation, discussion, cultural expression, and intellectual exchange” were seen as part of the varsity’s “living culture”, which had inspired students to think and ask questions “beyond classrooms and libraries”.
“Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that debate, discussion, and dissent are essential to democracy,” Mr. Pradhan said.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan releases 55 literary works developed by classical language centres
Speaking at the ninth Convocation ceremony at the University, the Education Minister said that JNU’s “academic environment and leadership” have always been a “strong centre for development, even if their opinions and methods were different from each other”.
Mr. Pradhan then cited former students such as Dr. DP Tripathy, CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat, and John Brittas, and his colleagues in the Cabinet, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and asked students to note how they had made a mark of their own in social life.
