Joy in Dilli-6 after Jung becomes Lt Governor
Residents hope he will do more for his childhood neighbourhood, Chandni Chowk
As Jamia Millia Islamia vice chancellor prepares to take on the new role of Lieutenant Governor, there is an air of euphoria in the by-lanes of old Delhi. Najeeb Jung was appointed as the 20th Lt Governor of Delhi on Monday.
He replaces Tejinder Khanna who had held the post since April 2007. Jung will swear in as the LG of Delhi on Wednesday A former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Jung was born and brought up in the walled city of Chandni Chowk before joining the elite services.
He studied history at St Stephen’s College in Delhi University, then went to the London School of Economics. He was a senior adviser at the Asian Development Bank and become vice-chancellor of Jamia in 2009. It was during his term that Jamia became the first central university to attain minority status and granted 50% reservation to Muslim students.
Neighbours and friends of Jung are excited and pinning a lot of hope on Jung. They are confident of Jung’s success.
“Since the announcement in Rashtrapati Bhavan, we all are very happy. This can prove to be very good for people in Delhi and those residing in the walled city are most excited.. They all are hoping to see more of Jung in future,” said Firoze Bakht Ahmed, a family friend.
“His house, where his mother lives, has turned into a guest house. Whenever he came to visit them, he used to greet me and smile,” said Ghulam Dastgir, who runs a small belt shop near Jung’s parents’ house. Residents of old Delhi are hoping that Jung will bring improvements and especially work for the upliftment of education in the area.
“I got to know about it from a friend and we all are so excited. He will be working for the entire city but we hope he does something extra for us (residents of Old Delhi). He is a nice man and used to greet me whenever he passed from here,” said 70-year-old Mohammed Ilyas, who owes a fruit shop. Jung’s elevation to the coveted post has brought prestige to old Delhi, say locals.
“We are so proud of him. We all want to celebrate,” said Mohammed Rafiq, a resident of Chandni Chowk. Jung has also been a member of the special task force constituted by the home ministry to examine development needs of Jammu and Kashmir and is a member of various panels in the country that deal with issues of minorities and education.
