As a teacher deeply engaged with the ethos and practice of higher education, I feel somewhat disturbed and annoyed by our almost neurotic obsession with the phenomenon of “ranking” and “branding” universities. And, there is no dearth of agencies — from the international agencies like Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education World University Rankings to even our own National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) — that are continually declaring the list of “top” universities. No wonder, while these “top” universities celebrate their victories, market their “brand” value, attract young students as consumers, and enhance the “egos” of their celebrity professors,...