D. V. Kumar (Ed.), The Idea of a University: Possibilities and Contestations. Routledge: Indian Subcontinent Edition, 2022, pp. 200, Price: ₹995, ISBN: 9781 0323 327 65 (Hardback).

University education plays a vital role in the multidimensional development of any country, be it in economic, social, or political terms. The book The Idea of a University: Possibilities and Contestations interrogates the very idea of a university and envisions it as a place of democratic possibilities and contestations—not merely as a centre of information dissemination. Universities are spaces where dissenting views should be advanced and allowed to contest. Universities are expected to critique and question prevalent practices, views, and institutions of society. However, in the era of excessive privatisation and politicisation, university spaces are being aggressively diluted in their function and capabilities. The present book is the intellectual attempt by eminent scholars in the country to revisit and revive the idea of a university in the sociopolitical context of India.