Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth Institute of Philosophy and Religion, Pune:A Historical Retrospect on the Occasion of its Platinum Jubilee

:  Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, or JDV as it is conveniently and fondly called, has a history spanning three centuries and two countries. Its origin goes back to the 19,h century when the Papal Seminary was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in 1893. The raising of the Papal Seminary to a Pontifical College in 1926 with the right to confer degrees in philosophy and theology up to the doctorate was in reality the birth of JDV, but it was still part of the Papal Seminary. The faculties were raised to the status of an Athenaeum (a university) in 1940 after  new Statutes were drawn up and approved according to the norms laid down by the Apostolic Constitution  Deus Scientiarum Dominus of 1931. The Statutes spoke of a distinct academic set-up for the Athenaeum but it  still continued to exist as part of the Papal Seminary. This was the case even after it was transferred from Kandy to  Pune, in 1955, until 1994, when the two related institutions were declared de  f a c t o  and de jure distinct. However, the process of separation could be said to have begun soon after its transfer to Pune, which called for new structures because of the changed situation in India. Thus in 1968 a separate Rector was appointed for the Athenaeum. In 1973 it adopted the Indian name Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth and registered itself as a Trust. JDV acknowledges its historical evolution from the Papal Seminary of Kandy and Pune which takes its history back to the 19,h century. But the present Platinum Jubilee celebrations of JDV are based on the fact that its real history begins in 1926, when the Papal Seminary was raised to the status of a degree  conferring Pontifical College. This short history will try to identify a few phases in the birth and growth of the Athenaeum and acknowledge its role as a premier academic institution in the Indian Church in the fields of philosophy and theology, and in the intellectual and pastoral formation of priests and Christian leaders for the past 75 years