Garhwal Post Bureau
Pantnagar, 16 Oct: The Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, has established three ‘Dr Ambedkar Chairs’ in 2025. This year, three highly respected institutions, the University of Mumbai, Jaipur National University, and Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, were selected for this prestigious chair. An agricultural university has been selected for the first time for the Dr Ambedkar Chair. Pantnagar University, among 71 agricultural universities in the country, has received this honour under the leadership of the University’s Vice Chancellor, Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan. The MoU signing ceremony, organised by the Dr Ambedkar Foundation, was attended by the University’s Vice Chancellor, Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan, Registrar Dr Deepa Vinay, Dean, College of Agriculture, Dr Subhash Chandra, and Dean, the College of Community Sciences, Dr Alka Goyal. This chair has been obtained due to the tireless efforts of Dr Alka Goyal and her team.
The initiative of the “Dr. Ambedkar Chair” proposed by the Pant University of Agriculture and Technology aims to promote the study and dissemination of Dr Ambedkar’s ideas on social justice and empowerment. This initiative will aim to study contemporary problems faced by Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and economically weaker sections of the state of Uttarakhand in the fields of agriculture and community sciences and to formulate policy recommendations. The idea of the “Dr. Ambedkar Chair” at the University is based on Babasaheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s suggestion of nationalisation of agricultural land and collective farming, which he emphasised as solutions to problems such as social exploitation and farmer poverty. Under the “Dr Ambedkar Chair,” the University will receive funding for one Professor position, two Assistant Professor positions, and two Research Associate positions, along with funding for research programmes. Under this chair, various programmes will be conducted in the Community Science College, Agriculture College, Technology College and University Library.
Vice Chancellor Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan has congratulated all the faculty members and students of the University on receiving the ‘Dr Ambedkar Chair’.
