C. Raj Kumar, the founding vice chancellor of the O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) was on Friday conferred the Capital Foundation Justice P.N. Bhagwati Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to human rights, legal education and institution building at the Capital Foundation Annual Lecture and Award Ceremony held today at the India Islamic Cultural Centre.Congratulating Raj Kumar, Vinod Sethi, secretary general of the Capital Foundation Society, described him as “a professional par excellence who has given new impetus, direction and vision to higher education in India. Prof. Raj Kumar is a brilliant scholar, a crusader of Human Rights, a devoted researcher and one of the finest speakers and a true leader...He has singularly achieved in five years what many would take decades to do. His contribution to institution-building and nation-building are invaluable and will contribute in defining the destiny of an entire generation of Indian youth.”
The award was conferred by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.Raj Kumar, a Rhodes scholar who has studied at Oxford and Harvard, was appointed to his post at the age of 34 in 2009. In the six years since then, JGU has "grown into a multidisciplinary and research-oriented university with five different schools of law, business, international affairs, public policy and liberal arts & humanities", a university statement said. The university "has built international collaborations with over 100 institutions in 35 different countries of the world making this university as one of the leading globally oriented universities in India".
Raj Kumar's recent book on "Corruption and Human Rights" published by Oxford University Press got excellent reviews including in the Yale Journal of International Law. Speaking on the occasion, Raj Kumar said: “Justice Bhagwati has been a great source of inspiration for me to pursue research, writing and advocacy in the field of law, justice and human rights. All awards are recognition of collective contributions to society and no award can be given to any individual in isolation."