Inspired from the importance of cow in Indian life, the journalist of tomorrow coming out of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication will have the experience of sharing space with the cow. One of the premier media institute in India, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication which is based out of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh will very soon move to new campus with cowshed. The new campus has been built over 50 acre of land on the outskirt of Bhopal at Bishankhedi.
According to reports, of the 50 acres meant for the university, 2 acres are low-lying where no construction is possible. The university administration wants to use this area for the cowshed. “We don’t have the expertise to run a gaushala. Whoever runs it will decide on the number of cows and where to source them,” vice-chancellor B K Kuthiala told English daily The Indian Express.
He clarify that the university had no plan of running a course on cows or management of cowsheds. He pointed to the merits of having a cowshed on a university campus. “Milk and curd will go to students living in hostels and the staff living on the campus. Also, fuel from a biogas plant will come in handy,” the vice-chancellor was quoted by IE.
According to reports, the work on cowshed will begin only after the university shifts to the new campus, which is being developed at a cost of Rs 149 crore and will have studios for television, multi-media, animation, radio and print. There is no separate budget for a cowshed. The Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication was set up by an Act passed in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly in 1990 and inaugurated a year later.
The university runs 21 courses in journalism, communications, management, printing, graphics and multimedia, film production and computer applications, among other subjects. The current strength of 1600-odd is likely to go up to 3,000 after operations move to the new campus from MP Nagar in Bhopal, where the smaller original campus is. In 2015, the Congress had accused the BJP government of making illegal appointments to the university, saying several people with a background in the RSS were chosen over deserving candidates who were not affiliated to any ideology.
A few years ago, the university had conducted a written examination that had questions like “who was the founder of the Jan Sangh”, “who conceptualised integral humanism” and “which political leader was born on December 25”. Rival political parties accused the university of promoting RSS ideology. The secretary of the state CPI(M), Badal Saroj, accused the vice-chancellor of ingratiating himself to the powers that be. He said the move was irrational and university alumni who have made it big in the media industry and other journalists should condemn it.
