The Cloister???s Pale : A biography of the University of Mumbai

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On July 18, 2006 University of Mumbai reached yet another memorable milestone in it???s quest for academic excellence. Founded in the historic year of 1857, and christened University of Bombay, it premier universities in the country; Calcutta and Madras being the other two. Any University is basically known by the achievements of its faculty and the students. The present work contains heart-warming accounts of the contributions of many luminary who adorned our University, to the academic progress of exceptionally high order, and, by the same token, to the national development. A University must move with the times. So did the University of Mumbai. To be an effective instrument of educational advance and social change, it had to change with the times to meet new challenges and emerging complex situations on account of liberalization, the growing web of communication and information technology. In sum, globalization brought in its wake profound changes in the organization of academic life. A Novel and indeed striking feature of this work is that, he author has skillfully portrayed he subtle creative interaction between the metropolis of Mumbai and it???s University through diverse phases of development. This approach is based on the sound principle that ideals of civilization at a given time. And indeed this approach has made in the narrative as charming as it is revealing. The work also assures us that given the unique global nature of a metropolis like Mumbai, there is no fear of the University of Mumbai, has made it a point to extol the virtues of value-based liberal education which the University sought to impart right from its inception, with a view to building character in its pupils. In this context he significantly quotes the relevant portion of the very first Convocation Address delivered by the Chancellor sir Bartle frere to the very first batch of University graduates ??? M.G. Ranade, R.G. Bhandarkar, B.M. Wagle and V.A. Modak in 1862. The Chancellor said, ???Remember??? that not only the character of your University but the character of your whole people, is to large extent in your Hands???. - From the Foreword of vice ??? Chancellor Dr. Vijay Khole About the Author Dr. Aroon Tikekar Belongs to a distinguished family of litterateurs and journalists. After a stint as a college teacher for some years, he held a number of unusual positions, which include Language and Literature Expert and Acquisitions Specialist at the U.S. Library of Congress Office, New Delhi; the Reference Chief, the Times of India; and Senior Assistant Editor, Maharashtra Times. He was the Editor of Loksatta, an influential Marathi newspaper of the Indian Express Group Newspaper for over a decade (199-2002). He was also a Group Editor of Lokmat and Editor Director of Sakal. He has authored over 20 books in Marathi as well as in English, including his Ph.D. thesis: The kincaids ??? Two Generation of a British Family in the Indian Civil Service, and the trend-setting Marathi books, Jan-Man and Sal-Kaal. He has delivered many memorial lectures. His two lectures on the contribution of Justice M.G. Ranade, in the Convocation Hall of the University of Mumbai, are published in a book titled Ranade- The Renaissance Man He is the recipient of several literary and journalism awards. Presently he is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Journalism and Communications, University of Pune.