Transitioning to a Research-also University: Tribhuvan University during its First Three Decades

Details

11 January 2026/२७ पुस २०८२ (आइतबार, दिउँसो ३ बजे)
Research Seminar Series
Transitioning to a Research-also University: Tribhuvan University during its First Three Decades
Pratyoush Onta, Martin Chautari

Abstract
This paper is a preliminary attempt to think about the state of academic freedom at Tribhuvan University (hereafter TU) during the Panchayat Era (1960–1990). The concept of academic freedom is an expansive one that encompasses related but also distinct domains of teaching, research, publications and extra- or co-curricular activities at any educational institution (in this case, a university). I have not done the necessary research to tackle all of these domains at TU during its first three decades. Hence, I concentrate on some aspects of the research scene at TU to offer some preliminary ideas about how academic freedom operated at that university during that era. In particular, this paper will demonstrate how academic research and publications took place amid the then existing political, human resource, and financial constraints.

About the Speaker
Pratyoush Onta is the Director of Research at Martin Chautari. In 2025, he published several memoir essays including "The Early Years of SINHAS: A Founding Editor's Recollections" in Studies in Nepali History and Society 30(1); “Getting Admitted to St. Xavier’s School” in The Commons; and “My Early Years in St Xavier’s School” in The Kathmandu Post, 26 December.

The initial presentation will be in English.