The Crisis of University Autonomy in India: A Critical Reflection on the Policy Framework

The idea and practice of university autonomy has remained a sphere of contestation worldwide and in the Indian context as well. In India, various policy documents have attempted to delineate guidelines and regulations concerning university’s functioning but remained unsuccessful in transforming universities into self-governing and autonomous institutions. Against this background, the present paper analyses the policy documents of post-independent India. The analyses seek to interpret their conception of university autonomy and attempts to understand if policies lack a significant aspect of this conceptual construction of university autonomy. Furthermore, the universities in India remain over-regulated and under-governed. As a result, the tussle for autonomy between the State and the universities continues to exist and has intensified in the Neoliberal era. Hence, the present paper delves into these significant aspects and attempts to give a nuanced picture of changing dynamics of university autonomy in Indian context.