Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and research emphasis on social sciences and applied sciences.
History
Jawaharlal Nehru University was established in 1969 by an act of parliament. It was named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. G. Parthasarathy was the first vice-chancellorand Prof. Moonis Raza was the Founder Chairman and Rector. The bill for the establishment of the University was placed in the Rajya Sabha on 1 September 1965 by the then-Minister of Education, M. C. Chagla. During the discussion that followed, Bhushan Gupta, a member of parliament, voiced the opinion that this should not be yet another university. New faculties should be created, including scientific socialism, and one thing that this university should ensure was to keep noble ideas in mind and provide accessibility to students from weaker sections of society. The JNU Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on 16 November 1966 and the JNU Act came into force on 22 April 1969.
The Indian School of International Studies was merged with the Jawaharlal Nehru University in June 1970. Following the merger, the prefix "Indian" was dropped from the name of the School and it became the School of International Studies of the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Organisation and administration Governance The President of India is the visitor of the university. The chancellor is the nominal head of the university and the vice-chancellor is the executive head of the university. They are both appointed by the visitor on the recommendations of the Executive Council. The Court, the Executive Council, the Academic Council and the Finance Committee are the administrative authorities of the university.
The University Court is the supreme authority of the university and has the power to review the acts of the Executive Council and the Academic Council. The Executive Council is the highest executive body of the university. The Academic Council is the highest academic body of the university and is responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination within the university. It has the right to advise the Executive Council on all academic matters. The Finance Committee is responsible for recommending financial policies, goals, and budgets.
Schools and Centres The Jawaharlal Nehru University's academic departments are divided into 20 Schools and Centres.
Schools and Centres School of Arts & Aesthetics School of Biotechnology School of Computational and Integrative Sciences School of Computer and Systems Sciences School of Engineering School of Environmental Sciences School of International Studies School of Language Literature and Culture Studies School of Life Sciences Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship School of Physical Sciences School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies School of Social Sciences Centre for the Study of Law and Governance Special Centre for Disaster Research Special Centre for E-Learning Special Centre for Molecular Medicine Special Centre for Nanoscience Special Centre for National Security Studies Special Centre for the Study of North East India
Recognised institutes JNU has granted recognition and accreditation to the following institutions across the country.
List of Defence Institutions Granted Recognition under JNU Army Cadet College, Dehradun College of Military Engineering, Pune Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Secunderabad Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow National Defence Academy, Pune Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala
Research and Development Institutions Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, Haryana Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru National Institute of Immunology, India, New Delhi National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), South West Delhi International Centre for Free and Open Source Software, Trivandrum International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), South West Delhi Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie National Academy of Audit and Accounts, Shimla National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Noida Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad V. V. Giri National Labour Institute, South West Delhi. Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi Mahatma Gandhi College of Mass Communication, Kozhikode National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad
In addition, the university has exchange programmes and academic collaboration through the signing of MoUs with 71 universities around the world. The university has also sent a proposal to set up a Center in Bihar. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officers will be awarded an MA degree in Public Management from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi.
Academic rankings Awards
Jawaharlal Nehru University was awarded the Visitor's Award for Best University in 2017 by the President of India.
Rankings Jawaharlal Nehru University is ranked 555th in the world and 130th in Asia by the latest QS World University Rankings.
Moreover, JNU was ranked 26th in the world for developmental studies, 86th for sociology and 95th for politics by QS.
JNU was ranked second, after the Indian Institute of Science, among all universities in India and the ninth best institute overall by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2025.https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2025/OverallRanking.html
Student life Students' Union
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union or JNUSU is the university-wide representative body for students at the university. It is an elected body.
2008–2012 ban on student elections
On 24 October 2008 the Supreme Court of India stayed the JNU elections and banned the JNUSU for not complying with the recommendations of the Lyngdoh committee. After a prolonged struggle and multi-party negotiations, the ban was lifted on 8 December 2011. After a gap of more than four years, interim elections were scheduled again on 1 March 2012. Following the election results declared on 3 March 2012, All India Students Association (AISA) candidates won all four central panel seats and Sucheta De, the president of AISA became the president of JNUSU.
International Student's Association The International Student's Association (ISA) is an official Jawaharlal Nehru University body. It was instituted in 1985 with a view to promoting friendly relations and cultural exchange. The ISA has a constitution and elected executive, cultural, advisory and financial committees. All foreign students of JNU are also members of the FSA. The university had 133 international students in 2012.
Activism and controversy The JNU is infused with an intense political life on campus. Students that leave campus are said to acquire a "permanently changed outlook on life" as a result of student politics. The politicisation of campus life has led to a refusal to brush under the carpet social issues such as feminism, minority rights, and social and economic justice. All such issues are debated fiercely in formal and informal gatherings.
The JNU student politics is highly left-leaning, though, in recent years, right-wing student groups have also entered the field. Political involvement is "celebratory in spirit." The student union elections are preceded by days of debates and meetings, keeping all students involved. JNU has the reputation of an "unruly bastion of Marxist revolution." However, the student activists deny the charge, stating that the politics at JNU is issue-based and intellectual.
The university is known for its alumni who now occupy important political and bureaucratic positions (see Notable alumni below). In part, this is because of the prevalence of Centre-left student politics and the existence of a written constitution for the university to which noted Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat contributed exhaustively during his education at JNU.
2010 Operation Green Hunt controversy
In 2010 a "JNU Forum Against War on People" was organised "to oppose Operation Green Hunt launched by the government." According to the NSUI national general secretary, Shaikh Shahnawaz, the meeting was organised by the Democratic Students' Union (DSU) and All India Students Association (AISA) to "celebrate the killing of 76 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh." Shaikh Shahnawaz also stated that "they were even shouting slogans like 'India murdābāda, Māvavāda ziṃdābāda'." NSUI and ABVP activists undertook a march against this meeting, "which was seen as an attempt to support the Naxalites and celebrate the massacre," after which the various parties clashed. The organisers of the forum said that "the event had nothing to do with the killings in Dantewada".
2014 Mahishasura Day Controversy
On 9 October, clashes erupted in JNU over the Mahishasura Martyrdom Day. The spark was the distribution of the October issue of Forward Press, a Christian evangelical Magazine, which depicted Goddess Durga in a derogatory manner. JNU administration gave notice to All India Backward Students' Forum (AIBSF) for defaming Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The Then-HRD Minister Smriti Irani in the light of sedition controversy read out the pamphlet in the parliament in 2016 which was denied by the student organiser.
2015 opposition to saffronisation
In 2015, the JNU Students' Union and the All India Students Association objected to efforts to create instruction on Indian culture. Opposition to such courses was on the basis that such instruction was an attempt to saffronise education. Saffronisation refers to right-wing efforts to glorify ancient Hindu culture. The proposed courses were successfully opposed and were, thus, "rolled back." A former student of JNU and a former student union member, Albeena Shakil, claimed that BJP officials in government were responsible for proposing the controversial courses.
2015 Rainbow Walk On 28 December 2014, the symbolic "Rainbow Tree" which stood for LGBTQ pride was vandalised. To counter the "growing homophobia" on the campus, JNU Students' Union along with other queer groups like Anjuman and Dhanak, led a march on 9 January, called Rainbow Walk. The march started from JNU's Ganga Dhaba and ended at the Rainbow Tree spot. The protestors criticised the 2013 verdict of the Supreme Court nullifying the Delhi High Court order reading down Section 377 of the IPC. The campaign aimed at celebrating individual right to sexual freedom and identity. The march was filled with songs and slogans; the students also painted a zebra crossing in rainbow colours and wrapped trees with rainbow coloured threads.
2016 sedition controversy