JNU creates Animal Welfare Society to promote campus sustainability

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) became the first university in India to formally create a statutory organization solely focused on animal welfare with the founding of the Animal Welfare Society of JNU (AWS-JNU). The initiative was implemented under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit in compliance with the Ministry of Education's (UGC) and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Piyush Pratap Singh, JNU Animal Birth Control Committee Chairperson and Associate Dean of Students (III), will chair the new committee. Faculty members, staff, students, and outside experts such as well-known activist Gauri Maulekhi and Vipul Jain of PAWS Foundation will advise the society.

AWS-JNU will be targeting a number of programmes—awareness campaigns, creation of animal feeding grounds, research in animal law and ecology, student internships with SPCAs and clinics, and community outreach programmes for fighting human-animal conflicts.

The venture, according to Vice Chancellor Pandit, is not only designed to inspire sustainability but also to inculcate animal welfare into the university's academic and social life. "This project serves as a model for other universities by bringing together education, conservation of biodiversity, and eco-friendly living," she further stated.

The establishment of AWS-JNU, she also said, is in alignment with the letter and spirit of NEP 2020 and confirms India's constitutional commitment under Article 51A(g) to exercise compassion for all creatures.