Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is all set to bid goodbye to one of the most influential thinkers on campus, as Professor Nivedita Menon has retired after decades of academic service. A scholar of political theory with wide recognition and a powerful feminist voice, Menon has played an integral role in shaping debates on gender, secularism, and social justice in contemporary India.
A Distinguished Career in Academia and Activism
Before coming to JNU in 2008, Menon taught at Lady Shri Ram College and Delhi University, acquiring a reputation for her razor-sharp intellect and teaching acumen. At JNU, she has become the leading figure in the Centre for Comparative Politics & Political Theory. Her scholarship deeply influenced Indian feminist thought and political discourse.
Her work, seeing like a Feminist, along with other works such as Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law, stands out for bravely critiquing patriarchal institutions, caste, and state power, urging a reimagining of social relations and justice.
A Legacy of Courage, Controversy, and Influence
Menon's outspoken positions on everything from secularism to nuclear disarmament have frequently stirred controversy. Public lectures have sometimes been met with protests and institutional push-back; yet she persisted in defending academic freedom and civil rights.
Many students and colleagues say that, with her retirement, JNU is losing much more than a professor, it is losing a fearless advocate of dissent, debate, and progressive ideas. Her absence will leave a palpable void in many corners of the Indian academic world.
