The convocation brought together graduating students, their families, faculty members, alumni and distinguished national and international dignitaries to celebrate academic excellence, leadership, innovation, and public service.

The ceremonies commenced with a Welcome Address and Presentation of the University Report by Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU, who reflected on the University’s continued growth as a globally recognised institution committed to excellence in teaching, research, public service, and international collaborations. This was followed by the Chancellor’s Address by Mr. Naveen Jindal, Chancellor of JGU, who congratulated the graduating class and encouraged them to uphold the values of integrity, compassion, leadership, and nation-building throughout their professional and personal lives.

The occasion was graced with the presence of august luminaries, including Hon’ble Mr. Justice P.S. Narasimha, Judge, Supreme Court of India; Professor (Dr.) Dawn Freshwater, Executive Director, Worldwide Universities Network and Former Vice Chancellor, University of Auckland, New Zealand; Dr. Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, USA; and Dr. Abhishek M. Singhvi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).

Mr. Naveen Jindal, Founding Chancellor, JGU, congratulated the graduating students and said, “You graduate at a remarkable time in history. This world is looking towards India with hope and confidence. We have one of the youngest nations in the world. We are becoming a global leader in technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, healthcare and research. But India’s strength will never be its economy alone. It will always be its 1.5 billion people and that is why your responsibility is much greater than that of previous generations. A degree may help you earn a livelihood but purpose gives meaning to your life. We dreamt of establishing this university as a fitting tribute to my father, Shri O.P. Jindal. He believed that the best gift you can give to anyone is a good-quality education. And he really believed in educating the girl child. This university is about creating a place where students would get a really conducive environment for learning.”

In his Convocation Address, the Chief Guest, Hon’ble Mr. Justice P.S. Narasimha, Judge, Supreme Court of India, congratulated the successful students and their parents and said, “Today, we celebrate years of perseverance, discipline, and aspiration. We celebrate families who stood by their children through moments of uncertainty. Teachers who encouraged their students to think beyond the obvious and an institution that has nurtured talent with care and conviction. JGU stands as a tribute to the vision and generosity of Shri O.P. Jindal, whose belief in nation-building through education continues to inspire generations, and JGU is definitely one such university. It has emerged as one of India’s leading multidisciplinary universities. Modern-day challenges compel the generation to transcend disciplinary boundaries of formal education. Society will expect not just competence from you but also judgment. Whatever profession you choose, you will become custodians of institutions, and the obligation remains the same: to strengthen the rule of law and create a fair and just society.”

Professor (Dr.) Dawn Freshwater, Executive Director, Worldwide Universities Network, and Former Vice Chancellor, University of Auckland, New Zealand, was the Special Guest of Honour. She said, “Graduation is a culmination of vision, belief, experimentation, and failure. But today is also a moment when graduating students can look forward to the next stage in their lives. It is my intention to cause you to pause, to look up and to speak, to consciously reflect on the responsibility that enjoying a higher education brings. How it shapes your role and future in society and why this societal shaping cannot be left to accident! You are required to be fully present and fully intentional. For centuries, knowledge was scarce. Information travelled slowly. Expertise took years to acquire. Today, all that knowledge is in your hands right now. Over the next decade, yes, we can expect artificial intelligence to become more capable, more autonomous and more integrated but we can also work towards sharing a universal ethic, an ethic of social responsibility. Your future lies not in trying to imitate AI but in cultivating the qualities that machines cannot and do not possess.”

Chief Guest, Professor (Dr.) Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, USA, said in his Convocation Address, “Good knowledge knows no boundaries. The principles remain the same: an enduring curiosity is what leads you forward. You must learn to understand and embrace failure. Follow your curiosity wherever it takes you, accept that failure will come nine times out of ten, even 99 times out of a 100, and each time, pick yourself up, learn from the experience, and keep moving forward. You are about to embark on the next stage of your lives and careers, thinking about how you will grow and succeed. Let me tell you this: life is unlikely to unfold according to your plan. Instead, it follows a greater design whose wisdom is often beyond our understanding. The best advice I can offer is to embrace that journey, travel through it with an open mind and learn from every experience along the way.”

On the second day, Dr. Abhishek M. Singhvi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India & Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), was the Chief Guest. He said, “Every convocation marks the completion of an academic journey, but the finest convocations remind us that they are, in truth, new beginnings. Each one of you has travelled a unique path defined by aspiration, sacrifice, perseverance, and achievement. Today, your accomplishments become part of the story of this institution, your profession, our nation and, indeed, humanity’s enduring pursuit of justice. Behind every graduate stands a story of encouragement, sacrifice and unwavering faith. Long before success was certain, you invested your time, energy and hope. You celebrated achievements, overcame disappointments, and quietly carried burdens that often went unseen. Knowledge alone will never be enough. Knowledge tells us what is possible; wisdom reminds us what is desirable. Skills enable us to earn a livelihood but values determine whether that livelihood serves society. Universities can impart knowledge but character is shaped collectively by the environment, experiences and people who influence us. Curiosity is the engine of progress and humility is its compass. That is why universities occupy such an important place in every civilisation. The true measure of a university lies in the questions it encourages, the ideas it nurtures, and the confidence with which it prepares its students to engage with a rapidly changing world. For this, I congratulate Shri Naveen Jindal on his vision in establishing JGU as a tribute to the memory of his father, Shri O.P. Jindal, whose unwavering commitment to education continues to inspire generations.”

Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU, said in his address at the Convocation, “This year, JGU marks 17 years of its establishment. Our journey began with the vision to bring world-class education to India. What started in 2009 as an idea with a single school has evolved into a 12-school multidisciplinary institution; an institution that brings faculty from 51 countries of the world, students from 160+ countries, and has collaborated with 600+ leading institutions from 80+ countries to bring international experiences to the Indian higher education system. As we have grown stronger with over 16,000 students, we have also ensured a consistent expansion of our academic community to bring quality education to our students. Our institution-building activities contribute to addressing broader national challenges. In doing this, the principles of academic freedom and the pursuit of institutional excellence have underpinned our efforts.”

Speaking on the occasion, the minister remarked, “After 75 years of independence it is important to introspect more about foreign policy, because often we tend to think that the decisions which were taken were the only decisions that could have been taken, which may not be entirely true. So I think this exercise of the roads not taken, then they need not be hypothetical. I think it’s important to look back, keep refreshing, correcting ourselves… To get foreign policy right it’s important to look back, keep looking back, keep refreshing and keep correcting ourselves.”

He said, “In the context of foreign policy we’re all negotiators. Certainly when it comes to diplomacy. Today as we are looking at technology issues or security issues, or debating strategic autonomy there are the six factors that Dr. Mohan Kumar has referred to as the integrated framework in his book and the six factors, the first of which he calls the Gandhi litmus test, the poverty veto. The second is a policy space and the others include domestic politics, geopolitical imperatives, multilateralism and finally material gain because at the end of the day it is for common good. As India approaches a US$3 trillion economy, given the range of our interests, the extent of our development, perhaps we could consider two other factors as well in making decisions. One is really comprehensive national power because it’s not always what you are defending. It is also what you are acquiring. The second is that as we grow, particularly in the economic domain, I think it is becoming more and more important to insist as part of any understanding how much of it will lead to it being made in India and employed in India. If I were to look ahead at the Amrit Kal and the journey towards Viksit Bharat, I would certainly argue today that if I were to make a judgement, I would certainly look at decisions that would add or subtract from comprehensive national power and in ways it really contributes to creating deep strengths within India.”

Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU, elucidated on the growth of JGU as India’s leading university which began in 2009 and has emerged as an Institute of Eminence within 15 years of its existence. “Today, JGU has more than 10,000 students with nearly 1000 faculty member across 12 schools. JGU too has been part of India’s growth as we have achieved new heights in higher education. We focus on more than 400 international collaborations which allow for globalisation for our students and research collaborations for our faculty. Interdisciplinarity is a cornerstone of JGU policy which has also being outlined very strongly in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. We recognise that the boundaries of knowledge and barriers between disciplines need to be broke. Going forward we aim to become a comprehensive university working in the space of STEM and medical studies offering a range of qualifications for the growing demand of quality education in India.”

Reflecting on the book, the author Prof. Mohan Kumar said, “I have designed an integrated framework for understanding and assessment of India’s actions in the international arena. This framework comprises first and foremost the Gandhi litmus test, or what I have termed as the poverty veto. There are a huge number of people living in poverty in India and this has an impact on how India conducts international negotiations. Similarly, realpolitik and domestic politics also play a part. India is well on its way to become a leading power but in order to achieve that, the most important prerequisite is to reduce the number of people living in poverty and make growth inclusive. The important conclusion is that India must become a USD 10 trillion economy with inclusive growth. It will then be India’s moment — to transition from a balancing power to a leading power in the world.”

High Commissioner of India to UK Vikram Doraiswami launches book in London

High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom Vikram K. Doraiswami launched the book by Professor (Dr.) Mohan Kumar in November in London. The Guest of Honour on the occasion was the Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom, Chairman, India Business Group; and Professor (Dr.) Mark E. Smith, President & Vice Chancellor University of Southampton. The institutional partner was The India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development, University of Southampton, represented by its Director, Professor Sabu Padmadas.

The idea of how India negotiates with the world is at the heart of the book. Career diplomat Mohan Kumar represented India at multiple international fora over a career spanning three and a half decades. During this time, he would invariably be told that Indian negotiators were among the best in the business. And yet, several of his interlocutors would ask, in the same breath, why India was such a tough customer when it came to international negotiations. This book is an attempt to set the record straight. At one level, India is not very different from other countries insomuch as it seeks to protect where necessary, and advance where possible, its national interest. There are several unique aspects about India and the way it approaches international negotiations. The book dwells on some of those fundamental factors and traces how India’s positions in international negotiations have evolved over time.

Mr Doraiswami said, “The context of India’s story is that at the time of India’s independence, 90% of our population lived below the poverty line and only 16% had access to education. No democracy in the world, including the West, has survived in less propitious conditions, starting with such an unequal society. From there, to now no system would have been able to reach this level of development. Our challenge has been to leverage international partnerships for growth but at the same time to preserve the complexities of dealing with the country. As Prof. Mohan Kumar suggested we need to take decisions on a non-ideological and pluralistic basis which support the national interest of India.”

Speaking on the occasion, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar said, “The next century will define India’s role in the world. Dr. Mohan Kumar is a distinguished diplomat and scholar who has bridged the gap between theory and practice and I congratulate him on his new book. He has incisively evaluated India’s leadership in key areas of international relations. A central contention of this book is that India has moved, slowly but surely, from being an alleged naysayer to becoming a putative partner for the world in key multilateral negotiations. More broadly, this reflects India’s growing political, economic and strategic clout in the world today. It is only when this transformation is fuller and more substantial that India will be able to fulfil its manifest destiny of becoming a leading power, capable of shaping global rules.”

Professor (Dr.) Mohan Kumar said, “It is a great honour that the book is being launched in the presence of such luminaries. It was my experience in Geneva at the WTO, which is the arena of some of the toughest negotiations in the world, that led me to write this book. It is about explaining India’s position and for this purpose I have crafted an integrated framework for assessment of India’s actions in the international arena. This framework, which is borne out of my experience, comprises first and foremost the Gandhi litmus test, or what I have termed as the poverty veto. There are a huge number of people living in poverty in India and this has an impact on how India conducts international negotiations. Similarly, realpolitik and domestic politics also play a part. It is the poverty veto which made India object to IPRs in the WTO, to the complete phase-out of coal in climate change negotiations and which made India buy Russian oil. India is well on its way to become a leading power but in order to achieve that, the most important prerequisite is to reduce the number of people living in poverty and make growth inclusive. In terms of geopolitical imperatives, today the power differential with China is big so that we are now required to be closer to the West, especially the United States. This is what IR scholars call external balancing which India achieves through these strategic partnerships. The important conclusion is that India must become a $10 trillion economy with inclusive growth. It will then be India’s moment: to transition from a balancing power to a leading power in the world.”

The Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, in his address as the Guest of Honour, said, “The role higher education plays in the relationship between India and the UK is crucial. It is now widely accepted that India’s position on the world stage is becoming increasingly impactful in influencing nations across the globe. India offers enormous opportunities. With its space programme, India is making significant contributions to the world’s scientific knowledge, technological innovation and space discoveries. During the pandemic, India became the pharmacy to the world. India puts the Global South at the centre of the global development agenda. For growth we need higher education, international collaborations like the one between JGU and Southampton University and skill-based education. Southampton University has an India research centre and we need to consolidate the India-UK relationship in education.”

Professor (Dr.) Mark E. Smith, in his concluding remarks, said, “JGU has world -class infrastructure and is rapidly developing its reputation as being one of the institutes of excellence. But more importantly, we value our link with India. India clearly has been a major power, but that power is clearly on a rapidly ascending trajectory. We as a leading education institute believe that India is the place to be both in partnership and more importantly, we look forward to developing our strategy and partnerships with a whole range of institutions within such an important country.”

Until now, only international educational institutions such as King’s College London, University of Birmingham, Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania have been known to have set up reputed India Institutes or Centres that cover diverse aspects of the India story through their in-house scholars and transnational networks and their own ideological lenses.

Despite the existence of more than 1,000 universities and 50,000 higher education institutions in India, not one of them had so far ventured into anything akin to a JII that would comprehensively and convincingly tell the remarkable India story to the world. A multidisciplinary, all-encompassing India Institute that can bolster India’s rise through an independent narrative about the millions of transformations the country is undergoing has been missing in Indian academia.

JII is a pioneer that intends to fill this big vacuum and ideationally propel India’s rise. The tagline of JII is ‘Propelling the Indian Century’ by which the Institute means working toward fulfilling national objectives for the centenary of India’s independence in 2047, such as Viksit Bharat or developed India and leading power, and also to develop an imagination and roadmap for long-term strategising on how India can be a world leader in the 21st century.

Although India is today fiercely independent and protective of its strategic autonomy, there is still an unfortunate tendency to look up to Western educational institutions and news media houses for learning, knowledge production and judgement on what India is and where it should be heading. JII aims to break the intellectual hegemony of India being other-defined and usher in a culture and practice of high-quality research, analysis, policy advocacy and trainings that enable a self-defined and self-confident India to emerge as a world leader.

JII is led by the JGU Vice Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, who is JII’s President, and the Dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs, Professor (Dr.) Sreeram Chaulia, who is JII’s Director General.

On the occasion of JII’s establishment, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar said, “The task of offering the true picture of India to the world cannot be left to governments or public relations agencies. Only a top non-partisan private university like JGU with over 1,200 research-oriented faculty members from multiple disciplines can do justice to this cause. Higher educational institutions in India have a special responsibility to uphold the image and raise the stature of our country in the world. India’s aspirations for building a Viksit Bharat in 2047 is only possible when its own universities generate knowledge about India in a systematic and strategic way that impresses and influences international audiences. JII is an ambitious effort to increase global support and appreciation for India’s accomplishments and potential in a range of issue areas and fields. We intend to transform perceptions about India through eye-opening and pioneering research, teaching, policy advocacy and training initiatives.”

The detailed set of activities that JII plans to undertake can be viewed from JII’s website at 

Speaking at the launch of JII, its Director General, Professor (Dr.) Sreeram Chaulia commented, “For a long time, India has been painted internationally in terms of its failures, inadequacies and disappointments. India has been problematised endlessly and critiqued by ideologically biased Indian and foreign intellectuals and journalists for not following the pathway that India is supposed to follow as per their elitist expectations and prescriptions. Especially in certain corners in the West, India-bashing is a badge of honour and a synonym for ‘progressive’ outlooks. Downplaying India’s achievements and exaggerating its lacunae is a dogma in these academic and journalistic circles. JII is an independent venture to correct the imbalances caused by misguided presentations of India. It will provide the much-needed credible India narrative and India voice to sensitise the world about the extraordinary transformations underway in the country in different domains. Instead of just critiquing the critics and calling out the errors of the India-bashers, JII will bring to light alternative evidence to show how India is making steady progress in a range of fields and setting an example as a world leader in many domains.”

The issue-areas which will be covered under JII include India’s democracy, economy, society, culture, spirituality, science and technology, entrepreneurship, inclusiveness, rule-of-law, human rights, education, healthcare provision, environmental conservation, foreign policy, etc. The bulk of the JII’s intellectual output will come from JGU’s existing faculty members who have outstanding publication and research credentials. They will be simultaneously accredited to JII as Fellows and Senior Fellows and will co-author and co-ideate alongside the foreign scholars-in-residence who will be selected to come to JGU under the aegis of a Global India Visiting Fellowship.

JII is independent from any Indian political party or faction. It is non-partisan in terms of its affiliations with corporate houses and foreign partners. Grants and funds that JII receives from partners in India and abroad will be transparent in nature and meant for specific deliverable projects or publicly visible activities. JII will never come under undue pressure or influence of any vested interest groups and compromise its independent vision and commitment to advance the Indian century.

Since JII is committed to spreading consciousness and generating support for the Indian century globally, it has assembled a stellar group of ‘Friends of India abroad’ as part of its International Board of Advisers. These outstanding scholars and thought leaders believe that India’s rise is beneficial to the world.

Here is the full list of JII’s International Advisers:

• Eduardo M. Penalver, President, Seattle University, USA
• Ian Johnstone, Professor of International Law, The Fletcher School, Tufts University, USA
• Jeffrey S. Lehman, Vice Chancellor, NYU Shanghai, China
• Hang Nga Thi Le, Editor, Institute for Indian & Southweast Asian Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam
• Satoru Nagao, Fellow (Non-resident), Hudson Institute, Japan
• Nathaniel Persily, James B. McClatchy Professor of Law, Stanford Law School, Stanford University, USA
• Peter H. Schuck, Simeon E. Baldwin Professor Emeritus of Law, Yale Law School, Yale University, USA
• Holli A. Semetko, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Media & International Affairs, Emory University, USA
• Lawrence W. Sherman, Wolfson Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge, UK
• Richard Caplan, Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford, UK
• Salvatore Babones, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia
• Anja Jetschke, Professor, International Relations, Institute of Political Science Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen, Germany

The event saw the participation of 7,368 students and staff of JGU, which was endorsed by the Guinness World Records organisation. It was a momentous occasion as all participants gathered in the colours of the Indian flag to mark this unique occasion which included students from all schools and institutes of JGU, staff, faculty and other officials.

The Adjudicator for the Guinness World Records, Mr Rishi Nath, who was present on the campus to certify the event said, “I am delighted to announce that JGU, in collaboration with the FFI, has successfully created the largest human waving flag record with 7368 enthusiastic participants. JGU and FFI is now the record holder for this activity and I am pleased to endorse their effort that this new record will be a part of the Official Guinness Book of World Records.”

The landmark event was organised by JGU in collaboration with the Flag Foundation of India, a non-profit organisation dedicated to rekindling the Indian spirit of nationalism.

The Founding Chancellor of JGU, Mr. Naveen Jindal who is also the driving force behind the FFI, said, “I congratulate the FFI and JGU which have successfully created a new Guinness World Record for the largest human image of a waving national flag. On January 23, 2004, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India ruled that flying of the national flag is the fundamental right of an Indian citizen within the Constitution of India that grants freedom of speech and expression. It is important to display our national flag not only at significant public buildings but also at our homes to showcase our national pride and unity. When we display the flag, we rise above narrow considerations of religion, caste, language, region, etc. and it reminds us of being, first and foremost, an Indian. At the same time, it represents every Indian religion, language, culture and region and is thus the greatest symbol of our ‘unity in diversity’.”

In 2004, after a protracted legal battle fought by Mr. Jindal, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the display of the national flag by every citizen on all days of the year, a fundamental right. Thereafter, he founded the FFI.

Speaking on the occasion, the Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU, Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, said, “This year we mark the 15th anniversary of JGU, India’s leading private university. With more than 11,000 students and 1,100+ faculty members across all schools and institutes, JGU has been a benchmark in transformational higher education which brings international standards of learning and knowledge creation for our students. Establishing the Guinness World Record for the largest human waving of national flag is a notable event. It is indeed an occasion that befits our 15th anniversary and marks our commitment to excellence and innovation. The recognition by the Guinness World Records reinforces our commitment to building a robust India through education. The FFI was set up as a registered society, a non-profit body after Mr. Naveen Jindal won a decade-long court battle that enabled all Indians to display our national flag with honour and pride at their homes, offices and factories on all days of the year.”

Prof. Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, JGU, said, “Today marks an event which brought together the JGU community as a unified and integrated organisation to achieve this landmark record. The recognition awarded by the Guinness World Record organisation stands as a testament to strengthen pride in our identity as Indians and our commitment to uphold the values enshrined in the tricolour which represent the values of democracy, inclusivity, respect and tolerance across all races, region or religion.”

Maj. General (Retd) Ashim Kohli, Secretary General, FFI, said, “By choosing the path of striving to uphold the dignity of the tricolour, this project aims at regenerating that sense of pride and removing those layers of hesitation which keep us from living a life of a true nationalist. The FFI is an attempt to rekindle that spirit of nationalism. We have also installed more than 80 monumental flags across the length and breadth of the nation.”