New Delhi, July 2: Najeeb Jung, who has been named the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, is an Indian Administrative Service officer who was planning for his retirement when he was named the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi in 2009, an appointment he did not expect.
Under his leadership the 92-year-old university has progressed from being seen as a "dressed up madrassa" to an acknowledged centre of modern and secular education, research and extra-curricular activities.
He has presided over the opening of numerous new centres and departments in Jamia, from the cutting-edge Centre for Nano Sciences and Nanotechnology to the expansion of the International Studies Programmes under the Academy of International Studies, noticeably the Pakistan, China and Afghanistan studies programmes.
He actively engaged scholars from Pakistan, and delivered a lecture at the Jinnah Institute, Islamabad, under the Distinguished Speakers' Series.
During his tenure, Jamia became a training centre for athletes for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.
