Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari is Associate Professor, Former Head of the Law Department, Burdwan University. He is also an Author of bestseller book “stop not till the goal is reached” and Motivational speaker at The University of Burdwan.
Our editorial team got a chance to catch up with Prof. Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari . Here we are glad to present the interview on our website.
LAW MANTRA: Hello sir, tell us something about yourself, and specifically what brought you to want to be a teacher
Dr SANJEEV KUMAR TIWARI : Well I am a simple teacher, author and motivational speaker who tries his best to inspire and encourage his students to reach their goals in life. Presently I am working as Associate Professor in the Law department, The University of Burdwan. I started my teaching career in the year 2000 as a lecturer in Hooghly Mohsin Government College. Thereafter I worked as Assistant Professor in Tripura Govt. Law College for a year. In 2002, I joined South Calcutta Law College under the Calcutta University as Lecturer and worked there for 4 years. Finally in 2006 I joined the Burdwan University Law department. I was appointed as Head of the Department in the year 2011 and served in that capacity for two years. I have written around 10 books.
LAW MANTRA: Describe your childhood in brief. Whom do you admire as your role model and why?
DR SANJEEV KUMAR TIWARI: I have very fond memories of my childhood. I was very fond of toys especially cars and I remember that I had a huge collection of toy cars in our house. I would also love listening to the stories of Ramayana from my grandmother and grandfather. I was a bit spiritually inclined even at that age. My role model is Swami Vivekananda and I have been greatly influenced by his teachings and personality. I try to follow his teachings as much as I can.
LAW MANTRA: Why did you choose law as the career line?
DR SANJEEV KUMAR TIWARI: As I have said that I was greatly influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and I try to follow him and his teachings. Actually what happened is that after my graduation I had become a bit disillusioned with my life and the basic questions of life, like what is the meaning of life?, what is death? Is there life after death?, etc, had started tormenting me. I was trying to find out the answers to these basic questions. Then fortunately I chanced upon a book on Swami Vivekananda and in that book I got all the answers. I made up my mind that I would follow Swami Vivekananda and his teachings. I learnt that Swami Vivekananda had joined law after his graduation ( although he did not complete since he renounced the world) so I also thought of joining After joining law I finally made up my mind that I would become a motivational speaker and teacher like him.
LAW MANTRA: Are you satisfied with your profession? Did you ever regret your choice of career?
DR TIWARI: Yes I am more than satisfied with my teaching profession because I am a teacher by choice and not by default.
LAW MANTRA: How was your college life? What strategies did you use to be successful in college?
DR TIWARI: As I have mentioned earlier that I had joined law being inspired by Swami Vivekananda and wanted to be a teacher like him, so at the time of taking admission in law, I never thought of practicing law or becoming a judge or a law officer. I just wanted to be a teacher. So I started preparing myself for teaching profession from day one. I used to study for 7-8 hours everyday and would be consistent throughout the year. I knew that I had to be an expert in the law subjects and had to score good marks for making a career in academics. It was sheer hard work and determination which finally brought rewards for me. I topped with first class marks in LL.B and was awarded Gold medal in LL.M. After that I also completed my Ph.D in law from Burdwan University.
LAW MANTRA: Please tell us about the struggle you faced in your life ( if any) as a student and as a professor.
DR TIWARI: Well as a student I faced a different kind of struggleâstruggle to find out the truths of life. Struggle to solve the mysteries of life, struggle to solve the mystery of life and death. It was a struggle to evolve myself spiritually and find out a solution for the all the pains and miseries of life. As a professor there is a struggle to make myself better with every passing day, struggle not to stagnate in life and keep on evolving and developing academically, spiritually and morally.
LAW MANTRA: What according to you should be the focus of the law students at law school? How should they shape up their potential career graph?
DR TIWARI: Well, the focus should always be on having a clear conception of the subjects of law. Well, the law schools have designed their course curriculum in such a way that it automatically prepares the students to face the future challenges. They get lot of exposure by participating in the seminars and moot court competitions and these things help in the long run. However I wish to see more law school students to join the teaching profession so that they could implement their ideas and experiences in the traditional Universities. What we need today is the balanced assimilation of experiences of the law schools and the traditional law Universities to face the challenges of globalization of legal education.
LAW MANTRA: What subject you like to teach more and what is the best thing about it and what is the worst?
DR TIWARI: My favourite subject is Jurisprudence and I love to teach this subject because of its philosophical nature. This subject has rightly been called the grammar of law. I have written three books on Jurisprudence and my purpose of writing these books was to remove the phobia from the minds of the students which they normally have for Jurisprudence.
LAW MANTRA: What do you like best about teaching at Faculty of law, Burdwan University?
DR TIWARI: Well, Budwan University is my Alma mater and it is always an honour and privilege to serve oneâs alma mater. The students are very disciplined and have great love and respect for their teachers. The faculty members are also very cooperative and we all share a very cordial relationship with each other. Moreover the ambience and the scenic beauty of the campus is really mesmerizing.
LAW MANTRA: What is the best thing about being a professor ? And whatâs the worst?
DR TIWARI: The best thing about being a Professor or a teacher is that you get the opportunity to impart your knowledge to someone else. It gives lot of satisfaction and happiness. Moreover you get the opportunity to inspire and motivate the younger generation to become better citizens and contribute to the society and the country. Moreover teachers are king makers. I get the opportunity of creating judges, lawyers, law officers, jurists etc. Well, I cannot think of any â worst thingâ about being a professor.
LAW MANTRA: Describe your teaching style
DR TIWARI: My teaching style is simple. I believe in the interactive method and try to make all the students to participate in the interaction. Sometimes I narrate anecdotes in the class to inspire them and also to make them relaxed after a serious discussion or interaction. As a teacher I try to make them thirsty for knowledge and arouse their curiosity in academic matters .
LAW MANTRA: Any difference between traditional University students and National law University students.
DR TIWARI: In my view, generally the law school students possess better communication skills than the traditional University students and they get better exposure than the traditional University students. They are well versed in the corporate laws and prefer career in big multinational companies offering handsome salaries. They are more aware about the upcoming subjects like the cyber law, media laws, IPR, sports law etc. The traditional University students have better and clearer conception of the basic laws like the law of evidence, IPC, CPC, Cr.PC , etc. and they prefer career as judicial officers, law officers, law teachers, public prosecutors and practicing lawyers. The orientation of the law school students and the traditional University students is different and this reflects in their career options.
LAW MANTRA: Do you think students should behave with the professors like friends, or is it necessary to maintain a disciplined environment to create a good class room environment?
DR TIWARI: Well, if the Professosr behave like friends with the students it does not mean that there will be no discipline. A teacher should command respect from the students not out of fear but out of love. It depends on the personality and character of the teacher. A teacher can be friendly and at the same time command respect and love from the students.
LAW MANTRA: Please tell us something about you book â STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHEDâ
DR TIWARI: This book is a self-improvement and motivational book based on the big lessons of life which I have learnt from small incidents of life. This book is doing really well in the market and is quite popular among the younger generation. This book has been listed in the â Most popular books categoryâ by Pustak Mahal and it has a good ranking in the Amazon best seller rankings. It has helped many people to achieve their goals in life and made their lives more meaningful and happy. Anyone who is going through a struggling and depressed phase of life can go through the book and I am sure that he or she will find some solutions to his or her problem in the book.
LAW MANTRA: Any message to the younger generation
DR TIWARI: Remember that progress in life is like climbing up a steep hill. As you ascend higher, the hill starts getting narrower, till when you reach the top, there is room only for one person. If you want to be that one person , you will have to be the best. Work hard to reach your goal and the pinnacle of glory and then work hard to retain it. You may fall million times,. Never mind. Get up and walk again. Just start marching towards your goals and stop not till the goal is reached.