KG Suresh appointed vice chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi University in Bhopal

NEW DELHI: In a move that suggests the Sangh parivar is wresting back control of educational institutions in Madhya Pradesh, the former DG of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi and senior fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation - an RSS affiliate think-tank - KG Suresh has been appointed the vice chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The university that was firmly under the control of the BJP-RSS for over 15 years till 2018 underwent several changes during the fifteen-month rule of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government. The state government had started probing allegations of irregular appointments, wasteful expenditure, violation of UGC rules and "saffronisation" in the university's curriculum.

However, the probe was stalled with former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia defecting to the BJP with his supporters, and paving the way for Shivraj Singh Chouhan to become the CM again.

After it came to power in the state, the BJP had appointed senior professor in the university, Sanjay Dwivedi as its acting VC. The position had fallen vacant after Dwivedi was appointed the DG of IIMC.

The university, set up by an Act of the Madhya Pradesh assembly in 1990, is named after Makhanlal Chaturvedi, a renowned freedom fighter, poet and journalist. The Vice-President of India is its Visitor. Unlike normal universities, the CM, and not the governor, has powers over the institution.

Suresh has been appointed to the post for a period of four years by the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his capacity as Chairman of the general council of the University, a state Government order said.

Currently the dean of School of Modern Media in the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Dehradun, Suresh has worked in Doordarshan, PTI and Asianet news earlier. As IIMC DG he was instrumental in introducing journalism courses in many Indian languages, and was also among those who conceptualised Vaartavali- Doordarshan's news bulletin in Sanskrit.

Considered close to many leaders in the RSS, Suresh has been working closely with education-related outfits such as Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal of the Sangh Parivar. He is also a member of the academic council of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Society of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and Delhi School of Journalism, University of Delhi.

Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University has always been at the centre of political battles. The Congress in 2018 appointed former journalist Deepak Tiwari as the VC after coming to power. It was then that names of senior Sangh leaders were taken off from the list of guest speakers, and new speakers on secularism, fighting communal politics and hindutva were brought in.

"The whole syllabus was being re-examined. Philosophy such as Jawaharlal Nehru's teachings were being re-introduced..," a professor said, on condition of anonymity, adding that a probe was also being conducted into how the university was printing booklets to promote hindutva-related issues.

Apart from the Bhopal campus, the university has centres in Khandwa, Amarkantak, Rewa, Datiya, Gwalior and Noida with a strength of over 2,000 students.