By Prof. Bharat H. Desai
This short preface seeks to provide an update on the SIS Faculty Wall of Honor that was unveiled on January 27, 2024 by Santishree D. Pandit (SIS alumna and V-C of JNU). We have two parts of the Faculty Wall of Honor: Part – I: The Origin: From ISIS to SIS (1955 to 1970); and Part – II: The SIS Era (from 1970 onwards). For Part – I, replicas of two key legal-historical documents still need to be installed. It will be done as soon as they are procured from respective official archives. As regards Part – II, in the first row, there is still a vacant slot for S. Jayashekara. I am trying best to find his photo. No one has so far come forward to provide/find his photograph. It speaks volumes about the lack of institutionalized memory for former SIS faculty members. In turn, it vindicates the role of the Faculty Wall of Honor in filling-up this crucial gap. On both sides of the Faculty Wall of Honor, large size plaques have been installed in English (Dean Office side wall) and in Hindi (School Office side wall) as well as a combo plaque at the Centre-point. These plaques are self-explanatory (see below).
The primary rai·son d'être for the SIS Faculty Wall of Honour is to: “collectively help the School to have a Wall of Honour to memorialize all the past faculty members whose contributions have made the SIS. In fact, all of us stand on the shoulders of those who sow the seeds and did the groundwork to the best of their abilities. By honouring these past SIS faculty members, the School would honour itself. As a pioneer of International Studies in India, we need to continue the SIS legacy of resolute scholarship, consistent traditions and empathy” (Desai note to CASR; April 19, 2023).
On the right-side panel (SIS Era), 107 portraits show an unbroken chain of superannuated faculty members (year-wise) over a period of 50 years (1973-2023). That would, in effect, make a total of 120 plus portraits depicting the history of ISIS-SIS as a pioneer institution for International Studies in India. Hopefully, the pictures would speak themselves (res ipsa loquitur) both to the successor (current and future) SIS faculty members, the doctoral students and the alumni. By invoking their positive vibrations, legacy, energy and spirit, I hope and pray that the Wall of Honor would serve as a guide and inspiration for the bright future of SIS as a ‘think tank as well as a knowledge hub for International Studies in India. It is a modest effort, within all human limits, to bring to life the formidable legacy of all the scholars who built the ISIS-SIS. Hence, it is humbly dedicated at the altar - भूमि; भू: - of SIS.
This article, an original contribution to the SIS Blog, is a part of the author’s new SIS Blog series on ‘Know the Pioneers’.
Prof. (Dr.) Bharat H. Desai is Professor of International Law and Chairperson of the Centre for International Legal Studies (SIS, JNU), who served as a member of the Official Indian Delegations to various multilateral negotiations (2002-2008), coordinated the knowledge initiatives for Making SIS Visible (2008-2013) and the Inter-University Consortium: JNU; Jammu; Kashmir; Sikkim (2012-2020) as well as contributes as the Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Policy and Law (IOS Press: Amsterdam)