Delhi University is India’s top ranked university in the London-based Times Higher Education-QS (Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd) World Universities Rankings 2008 (after the three IITs of Delhi, Mumbai and Kanpur, which strictly speaking are not universities).
Given 21st century India’s super-power aspirations and proud boast that the country hosts the world’s second largest pool of technically-qualified youth, it’s ironic that India’s best university is ranked 274 (20 places below its 2007 rank) in the global top 500. It’s an indicator of the extent to which India’s pioneer Bombay, Calcutta and Madras universities have been dumbed down, that not only have they been overtaken by DU, but are ranked among the remainder 200 at the bottom of the list.
Moreover, subdued elation within DU is unwarranted given that four Chinese universities are ranked among the top 200 and even two Malaysian varsities (Universiti of Malaya (230) and Universiti Kebangsoan (250)), as also Chulalongkorn University, Thailand (166) and the Pohang University of Science & Technology, South Korea (188) are ranked higher. Indian institutes/universities ranked in the THE-QS Rankings 2008 are:
Rank
154 Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi
174 Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
242 Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur
274 University of Delhi
303 Indian Institute of Technology-Madras
401-500* University of Calcutta
401-500 Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee
401-500 University of Pune
500+ Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati
500+ Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur
* Precise positions beyond rank 400 not published as data “highly sensitive to error”.
Source: Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2008 (www.topuniversities.com)