Recent international rankings of world universities and institutions of higher learning reveal deplorable state of Indian universities. It is argued in this article that since effective functioning of a university is judged by the extent to which it has been successful in achieving its academic goals and in conforming to the accompanying value system and normative complex, underperformance of Indian academic institutions demonstrate insufficient cultivation of the culture supportive to academic excellence. Further, it is asserted that the overwhelming influence of social milieu on Indian academic institutions is not conducive to academic culture compatible to the quest for academic excellence in India, and that proactive role of the academic community can mitigate, to some extent, the impact of this milieu.
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