Jawaharlal Nehru University was established in 1969 by an act of parliament.[7] It was named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. G. Parthsarthi was the first vice-chancellor.[8] Prof. Moonis Raza was the Founder Chairman and Rector.[9][10] The bill for the establishment of Jawaharlal Nehru University was placed in the Rajya Sabha on 1 September 1965 by the then minister of education, M. C. Chagla. During the discussion that followed, Bhushan Gupta, member of parliament, voiced the opinion that this should not be yet another university. New faculties should be created, including scientific socialism, and one thing that this university should ensure was to keep noble ideas in mind and provide accessibility to students from weaker sections of society. The JNU Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on 16 November 1966 and the JNU Act came into force on 22 April 1969.

The Indian School of International Studies was merged with the Jawaharlal Nehru University in June 1970. Following the merger, the prefix "Indian" was dropped from the name of the School and it became the School of International Studies of the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The JNU is infused with an intense political life on campus. Students that leave campus are said to acquire a "permanently changed outlook on life" as a result of the student politics. The politicisation of campus life has led to a refusal to brush under the carpet social issues such as feminism, minority rights, social and economic justice. All such issues are debated fiercely in formal and informal gatherings.

A university stands for transformation. JNU exemplifies the positive aspects of human habitation and intervention. Built on the rugged barren terrain of the Aravali hill range, where the 1000 acre campus is housed, the university has turned into a lush green estate of envy, a landscape bursting into the colours of bougainvilleas and amaltas, mangoes and jamun (Indian blackberry), and is the home of peacocks and nilgais. JNU is a birdwatcher’s paradise, parts of it now hosting almost dense forests.

The Human Resources Development Centre (formerly Academic Staff College), funded by the UGC and located in JNU, serves other universities in the country by organizing in-service refresher training for college teachers from different parts of India. Among the other facilities available in JNU are two sophisticated instrumentation centres – The Advanced Instrumentation Research Facility (AIRF) and the University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC) – which are engaged in various in-house R & D activities. The Language Lab Complex, one of the best of its kind in Asia is equipped with video and audio facilities including a studio, and is justly proud of its rich software library