About the Book : Each institution has its own history, geography, social contexts, opportunities, and constraints. Higher Education institutions like universities are no exception to it. There is a common thread that runs through them all; they train the youth, the citizens of tomorrow to shape their own future and reshape the future of their motherland and thus the future of the world. The purpose of this book is to create a new and brighter future for Allahabad University, the Alma mater of the author. The book shows the way to reshape the University into one of the top 20 universities of India in a decade or so. The ups and downs which Allahabad University has gone through since India won its Independence in 1947; the efforts made by the author for 36 months (18 January, 1984-17 January, 1987) to take it back on a fast track of development; and what happened to the University after it was taken over by the Central Government and renamed as Allahabad Central University in 2005, constitute the main thrusts of the book. The suggestions made to bring it back to the path of recovery and development, are relevant not only to this but other universities and institutions of higher education too.

About the Author : Born on 18 January, 1929, Prof. Rameshwar Prasad Misra (R.P. Misra) is an internationally known Geographer, Regional Planner and Gandhian Scholar. He did his M.A. (Geography) at Allahabad University in 1954; M.A. (Economics) at DBS Post-graduate College affiliated to Agra University in 1960; and Ph.D. at University of Maryland, College Park, Md. USA in 1964. He made a name in development circles as founder Director, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Mysore (1965-1979) and worked as Consultant Advisor at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva (1971-72); and UNDP, Teheran, Iran (1974-75). He was Vice-director, UN Center for Regional Development (UNCRD), Nagoya, Japan (1979-84). Among the countries, he went on UN advisory missions are: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, China, S. Korea, Iran, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil and Mexico. He returned to India as Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University (1984-87) and then moved to Delhi University (1987-95) as Professor of Regional Planning, and Director/Chairman, Center for Gandhian Studies and Peace Research. Prof. Misra has been honoured with Golden Jubilee Award by Mysore University for Best Research Publication (1968); Dr. Zakir Hussain Chair Professorship by University of Mysore; Scholarly Achievement Award by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, Tokyo (1992); Life Time Achievement Award in Ecology and Environment by Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (1998); Bhoogol Ratna Award for Life Time Achievement by the Bhoovigyan Vikas Foundation, New Delhi (2002); and the first Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (2001-03) by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. He has more than 80 books and 200 research papers to his credit. Among these publications are: 10 volumes-series on Regional Development, 5 volumes-series on Rual Development, and 10 volumes-series on Mahatma Gandhi. E‑mail: [email protected]