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Sep 19, 2025
The Indian University
A Critical History
Summary
Is there such a thing as an ‘Indian university’? Is there an ‘idea’ of an Indian university? Were universities in India living and breathing products of the soil, or were they conceptual imports from a colonial heritage? What is the relationship between universities in India and the ‘publics’ that have inhabited or are alienated by them? More pointedly, how ‘public’ is the Indian public university?
This volume explores the historical makings of the Indian university as it stands today, by sifting through archives, colonial/postcolonial policies, textual-literary records and political-economic developments. What results is a ‘critical history’ – navigating the force of myth and promise, revolutions and reforms, communities and markets. From the glorification of ancient ‘greatness’ to the riskiness of ‘platform futures’, this book offers a time travel through one of the most exalted and yet most abused institutions of our age – the university.
Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan, researches indigenous religion and Christianity among the Nagas, Buddhism in Bhutan, and Generative AI in education.
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Tiatemsu Longkumer
Dr. Tiatemsu Longkumer is a faculty member in the Anthropology Department at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan. His doctoral research explored the complex interplay between indigenous religion and Christianity among the Ao Naga of Nagaland. Dr. Longkumer’s current research focuses on Buddhism in Bhutan. He teaches courses in anthropology, communication skills, and Generative AI.
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