The conferment of the 2026 Dirac Medal, one of Physics’ highest honours, upon Padma Bhushan professor Deepak Dhar is the fruit of nearly four decades of dedicated research in Indian institutions. It illustrates the conditions under which sustained scholarly excellence becomes possible. Stable, disruption-free academic environments enable the continuity and collaborative depth required for work of this calibre. Such environments are not merely administrative preferences. They constitute the necessary foundation for the development of genuine knowledge and intellectual confidence among successive generations of university students.AdvertisementThis intellectual confidence has long found expression in the distinctive place students have occupied in the nation’s public life. From active participation in the freedom struggle to mobilisation during the Emergency and engagement with a range of contemporary social and political questions, students have consistently contributed to broader national conversations.Also Read | Students’ Jantar Mantar protest is over. But lessons not learnedYet the quality of that engagement depends heavily on how student representation is organised. When it is conducted with academic seriousness, transparency and a clear separation from external political interference, it becomes a genuine school of democratic responsibility. Age-appropriate eligibility, insistence on regular attendance, academic integrity and modest campaign practices help ensure that leadership emerges from all sections of society.The decision to hold student elections across universities and colleges in Madhya Pradesh offers an opportunity to demonstrate that electoral processes on campus can be conducted with seriousness, modest means, transparent rules and a clear focus on the welfare of the students. When elections train young people in organisation, public speaking, coalition-building, graceful acceptance of outcomes and the responsible exercise of authority, they strengthen both democratic habits and the institutional culture on which genuine rights depend. It is only when students embrace their duties towards the institution and their peers that their rights to representation and voice acquire lasting legitimacy and effectiveness.AdvertisementStudent politics, at its best, is a training ground for discussion, debate and the establishment of responsible narratives. A university campus exists to nurture holistic development, compassionate thinking and a mindset that places the national interest and the pursuit of knowledge above factional advantage. When student leadership embraces this purpose, politics ceases to be a source of disruption and becomes a force for institutional strengthening.The question that follows is how this ideal of responsible, institution-strengthening student leadership can be translated into concrete practice. A constructive, duty-oriented approach to student politics in universities and colleges would prioritise initiatives that strengthen the academic and social fabric of campuses. Campaigns focused on peer-study groups, research mentoring and support for learners can expand opportunity while raising overall standards.Cultural and educational efforts, through students’ organisations, against ragging, emphasising respect, inclusion and institutional belonging offer more durable solutions than purely punitive measures alone. Student unions can be a meaningful tool in cleanliness and sustainability drives, cultivating habits of shared responsibility for the physical environment.Structured peer mentoring programmes help newer students navigate academic and personal challenges. Regular, well-prepared debates and seminars on national and global issues provide forums for reasoned argument. Such activities train students in evidence-based discussion, listening, skills essential both to scholarship and to democratic citizenship.Engagement with university administrations through data-backed proposals and sustained dialogue tends to produce more durable outcomes. Success, in this framework, can be measured by concrete improvements such as an enhanced academic atmosphere, stronger institutional standing and greater student participation in knowledge production. These metrics align student leadership with the long-term interests of students and with the wider goals of higher education.you may likeIn a diverse country like India, such processes also offer space for inclusive participation that reflects the social composition of the student body and contributes to national integration. More broadly, the cultivation of constructive student politics holds implications for the higher-education ecosystem and for national development. Institutions that combine intellectual freedom with disciplined environments are better positioned to produce researchers capable of original contributions, professionals equipped for complex problem-solving and citizens prepared for democratic participation.Constructive student politics does not diminish the capacity to question, criticise or seek reform. It refines and elevates that capacity by embedding it within practices of responsibility and mutual respect. Campuses oriented toward academic excellence, civic discipline and reasoned engagement, where student leadership balances legitimate demands with a strong sense of duty, become fertile ground for the broader social, scientific and democratic progress that India seeks.The achievements of scholars such as professor Dhar demonstrate that our campuses can generate work of global significance when conditions favour sustained inquiry. Expanding this possibility requires deliberate attention to the quality of campus culture, one in which student leadership itself becomes a partner in sustaining the conditions for excellence.The writer is vice-chancellor, Delhi University