Why Precautions?

I have often wondered why - those who willingly accept suggestions for taking any number of precautions in order to avoid theft of car; those who are open to any discussion to find ways to prevent stealing of valuables from house; those who never ignore any suggestion for how to keep all information of cash transactions secret from others; those who also take pains in ensuring safety of their child while commuting to and fro from school; relentlessly keeps on reminding their spouse how can they avoid accident while driving, suddenly turn non-receptive to any suggestion for observing precautions in order to avoid becoming a victim of a rape incident. All the cases mentioned above are crimes and undoubtedly neither the offender should be left unpunished nor the police can be spared for any laxity on their part, but does this mean that we should not be told how to take prohibitive measures. Can we become complacent merely by putting all blames on the government and the police? We know that no amount of precaution can be considered as adequate enough to make anyone feel relaxed in this regard. Yes, we alone will never be sufficient but then, don’t we know that even efficient policing will have its own limitations. Since losing a car can never be compared to that of losing one’s dignity and peace of mind, is it not fair to expect a matching level of effort from those who are vulnerable to these crimes?
To me, it appears that any suggestion for observing precautions in these cases generally offends the potential victims not only because it, in a way, helps in justifying the crime but more because it is considered as an advice directly emanating from an offender’s mind-set. These advices are also considered as originating from another outright offending assumption that the victims were not serious about their own safety. And it hurts them more when these suggestions come from those who have the responsibility to ensure their safety. With this view, it is often argued that instead of subjecting the potential victims to pass through these sessions of preaching there is an urgent need to change the mind-set of those who preach. However I feel that sometimes even genuine suggestions go waste in this regard due to the light in which these suggestions are generally scanned.
Any suggestion to the potential victims for observing precautions and that too just after a Dhaula-Kuan-rape kind of crime is indeed blatantly insensitive but I find even the reactions to this absurdity equally insensitive when it is made to appear as if they do not want to share any responsibility of their own safety.

Objects that can’t Object

‘Let the rule of law prevail’ – is this true only for teachers who reacted with only a seven-day strike in installments during a period beginning from 16th July to 30th October, in response to a barrage of letters hurled from the registrar’s office aimed at humiliating teachers who had engaged themselves in saving their dignity and also what they perceive as soul of the higher (non-professional) education. Are we required to shed our right to participate in a process that decides what and how to teach, under the threat of salary cuts? Are we being told that university rules are not that are written in the rule-book but it is the orders of those whom they consider to be the ‘authorities’?
The only mistake the teachers made was that they felt they are part of the education system itself and not mere external instruments for helping just another system, controlled by others, to function. Mr. Justice, teachers were the ones who wanted only the rule of law to prevail and not the University ‘officials’ (not defined as ‘authorities’ in our rule-book), who kept on issuing illegal orders. We are covinced that our University officials can think of destroying this temple of learning by using this as a ladder for achieving personal gains in their life outside the university but we would always like to preserve this and feel pride in considering this to be our sole duty.
We can never imagine of a teacher ‘Dronacharya’ advising Draupadi to have first abided by the orders of ‘Duryodhan’; to have cooperated with 'Duhshasan' in helping him execute the orders by allowing him to make her sit on Duryodhan’s lap after shedding her clothes, before filing a suit and waited for ‘Dhritrashtra’ to have termed the order eventually as illegal. Lots of lives lost in 'Mahabhrata Yuddha' could have been saved had she let the then rule of law to prevail. History has not forgiven Dronacharya for even being a mute witness to a blatant immoral and highly unpardonable act of his 'authorities'. Can our court suggest that a member of ‘Haryana Lawn Tennis Association’, Ruchitra Gehrotra, should have followed the orders of her authority, the founding president of the association, Mr. SPS Rathore? She should have cooperated in her molestation as she had no right to deprive India of many winning medals in the sport? She could have gone to the court afterwards to know whether SPS Rathore’s advances were legal or not as no one else has a right to know or interpret the law.
I am just hoping that these queries will be answered in the final verdict to be delivered on December 13. Only the final verdict will hint whether the teachers made a mistake of not approaching the courts or not. In this era of privatisation, are we supposed to behave as mere objects that cannot object?

Delhi University has lost its case

(An Unfortunate Order by one of the richest Judge of Delhi High Court
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/justice-manmohan-one-of-the-richest-in-delhi-high-court_100315506.html )
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On December 6, with the beginning of the first semester examinations, the demolition of Delhi University would commence after the court order today cleared the hurdles that the teachers tried to put to save the higher education from private "kar-sewaks" of education. The government has earlier succeeded in ruining DCE by detaching it from Delhi University, it has already destroyed the culture of studies in class X by scrapping the board exam, it has also finished the urge among the students for achieving excellence in class XII by introducing grade system, it also scripted dilution of excellence of IITs by doubling its number and trying to introduce medical courses in them and has been making all out efforts to push AIIMS into a state of oblivion by finding ways to hand it over to a private player. Ironically, instead of finding ways to improve other innumerable government educational institutes and to help them in catching up with these centres of academic excellence the government, it appears, has decided to make these at par with those countless failed institutions.
It is strange that in the name of releasing pressure of studies for students the HRD ministry argues in favour of getting rid of exams in Class X and XII but advocates on the other hand, doubling the number of exams for undergraduate courses.
The apathy of Amity’s, Ansal’s, IIPM’s, Lovely’s and Sharda's will soon be over when they will have no one to compete with. All degrees will lose their values as no brand will have any shine left in it. Instances of son of a rickshaw-puller cracking IIT to break into the world of glory will be a news of past as now these institutes will have to obey Ambanis, Mittals, Manmohans, Sonias and Sibals. The queues for getting admission to the Delhi University colleges will slowly and surely be getting shortened with each passing year as very soon our established centres of all round development of students while keeping social service as its prime objective will not be able to stick to this aspect of its glory.
MR. SIBAL, YOU MAY HAVE WON BUT DELHI UNIVERSITY HAS LOST ITS CASE.

Pause, Think and Proceed

Now it is no secret. The designs are out and exposed.
(please visit http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=Ne201110Proscons.asp# )
What is being imposed is not the semester system, not even the method itself of its implementation but is only part of a larger design to make the Indian education system a market-friendly entity. The era of demand-driven market is over and now the market-controlled economy is out in place. Now they want to decide what should be sowed; what treatment to allow for a disease; which vaccine to make compulsory for us; what one should wear; how one should party; what one should eat and drink; what are we required to be taught and how are we going to be educated. Market controlled knowledge is what they have on their agenda. This was the reason why they never intended to entertain any discussion on the feasibility and desirability of semester system. We have wasted much of our precious time in demonizing Pental and Dinesh but the main culprits are invisible right behind them. Even the government is playing puppet to them. DUTA is left with no option but to prove and show that our system will crumble since it would be unable to bear the load of semesterisation. However it is clear that not only they know this much better than us but are in fact eagerly waiting to witness the collapse of Delhi University as they would like to start their act right after we are finished with ours. Are we creating a favourable background for them to implement their agenda?
AT TIMES I JUST FEAR THAT, IS DUTA FOLLOWING THE LINE THAT THEY WANTED US TO TOW WITHOUT KNOWING THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY FALLING INTO THEIR TRAP.
With the complete picture exposed, will it be wise on our part to let the system fail much to the pleasure of these players. We have already been forced to do enough to repel many of our future admission-seekers who would have otherwise preferred our science honours courses over several infrastructural-rich money-generating private engineering institutions. These institutions are facing very stiff competition from IITs, NITs and some well established state-run engineering colleges and much to their discomfort have recently started losing out to even DU science honours courses. The only way to reverse this recent trend is to somehow script a collapse of these institutions. Detaching DCE from DU and doubling the number of IITs are just a few of such efforts to dilute these brands. With all other ‘Kalidasas’ (out to cut the branch of a tree on which they themselves are resting) like Pental, Dinesh and their team members as well as the HRD ministry trying to ensure the failure of this University, shall we also contribute to this? Are we helping them in building up a situation favourable for initiating creation of autonomous colleges in this University?
With the collapse imminent, what I fear is that they might become successful in projecting us as the culprits of this collapse. Can we devise new methods in this extremely difficult new age? If we can surprise our opponent and put their plan upside down it will ultimately help us in making the right moves.

University with a vision

Is this the vision of our newly appointed vice-chancellor that a university is a place where teachers are engaged in forced-teaching under the threat of withholding their salary? Is this his prescription of achieving excellence in education that teachers must be penalised for not agreeing to sign a bond to relinquish their right of having a say in an academic matter that was hitherto decided by them? Did the Knowledge Commission want the teachers to stop thinking, shed any urge of having an opinion and avoid expressing their views on any academic matter? Does this country need mere teachers who help their students in scoring marks or somehow make them manage to pass out examinations? After all do we need plain tutors or we need inspiring educators. Would we like to produce thinking leaders or we require to create just copy-cats trying to earn bread and butter (also TVs, Cars and other assets)? Do we need nation builders or we just want self-servers. Should an institution be producing innovators or just course-content muggers? Does this nation require average humans with some skill sets or it requires visionaries?
Delhi University alumni have made their impression in all walks of life (i.e. film, theatre, music, art, politics, sports, thinker, writer, science, manufacturing, production and business) because it gave them the environment and opportunity to pursue their passions and also provided them the time to hold on to their interests along with their studies. Unless you acknowledge your strengths before identifying your weaknesses it is impossible to outline a roadmap for improvement.
Let us first ponder over to the question that do we need to have temples of learning or we just require money generating teaching institutions.
I have come to know that our vice chancellor is holding discussions with DUTA to find a way to come out of the impasse present in the university on the semester system. It is indeed encouraging, but unless priorities of our vice chancellor match with that of the teachers, it will be difficult for them to arrive on any agreement. For an agreement will lead to improvement but a compromise will force the undesirable ruination of this premier University.

Are we very near to the end?

Decision to discontinue with our action programme of boycotting the classroom-teaching in response to a hope generated by the court wherein a process was initiated to open a channel of dialogue with the University authority by way of affidavits and rejoinders goes on to further highlight the consistency in our argument wherein we have repeatedly been stating that we had to resort to strike only because all channels of communications between the teachers and the University has arrogantly and conspiratorially been strangulated by the university officials. Teachers are fighting just for their say in an important academic matter and with a glimpse of a possibility of even a document-led-dialogue in the courts we have shown our willingness of negotiation and in the process have asserted our commitment for resolution of the impasse created entirely by the University authorities at the cost of career of students. Now Mr. Pental, who was behaving like 'khap panchayat'? Who thoght that he can promulgate rules single-handedly even if they are in violation to the existing well established rules and procedures? Unlike the projection made by our out-gone vice chancellor it was he who had got stuck with an idea and not the debate demanding teachers. Teachers are on record having never said no to reforms. This university is not the same that it used to be a few decades ago in terms of the way that the courses are now being run, in terms of the number of courses that exists now and also in terms of course content that the records will show up by itself. Many current books listed on the reading lists for almost all the courses will testify of our willingness to change for better. Remarkably nobody had to witness our resentment to any of these countless changes and this is precisely because all these reforms were done by the teachers themselves. Despite the innumerable changes in the course structure and its contents the implementation was never an issue as these changes were led by the majority of teachers in a department through proper discussion initiated in the committee of courses. Our main grudge is that this time we were not consulted on the issue and the absence of our opinion is being misused in provokingly projecting it as our reluctance for any change. Our apprehension about the desirability and feasibility of the semester system (that has undoubtedly been proved to be better in a limited environment of smaller applicability area but is arguably impractical in a University of the size as large as Delhi University) has never been addressed to our satisfaction.
Now we are in the courts just to fight the last leg of our battle and the irrefutable argument with which we convince others, plain logic to which we stick to and the sheer honesty present in our motives will again become the reason of a favourable court verdict, scheduled on November 15, that will mark the culmination of this principled fight as we have witnessed in all our earlier struggles.

Educated men or just college pass-outs

Strike announced by the Delhi University Teachers Association was immediately followed by yet another threatening letter shot from the office of the registrar at the behest of Prof. Pental. This exhibits their callous approach towards the whole issue of semesterisation and reveals their sheer indifference while ignoring the plight of the teachers of Delhi University who have been fighting what may ultimately turn out to be their last battle for their right of being involved in any decision-making process at a place hitherto considered as ‘their’ university. This university is unique in the sense that teachers have constitutionally been provided enough democratic space that allows their involvement in all decision-making processes so much so that all decisions are owned up by them. Teachers feel pride in owning up their decisions and that makes them responsible enough to share an unblemished record of having never violated the academic calendar of Delhi University. Delhi University has never seen any academic session getting delayed due to any teachers’ strike. In this university college teachers have hitherto been involved in framing rules, observing rules, framing syllabi, students’ elections, admissions, paper setting, evaluation and reevaluations, tabulation of results and moderations wherever required. This has helped teachers in making this place one of the most sought after as viewed by the school pass-outs. Owing to this democratic format the University has witnessed countless revision of courses and contrary to the belief of Mr. Pental the teachers themselves were instrumental in almost all of them. Prof. Pental and the Registrar who seems to have little knowledge of the past traditions and practices of this great university has cheeks to remind teachers of the best traditions of this institution!
The letter mentions that due to frequent strikes the examinations are now being rescheduled. It is just absurdly curious to note that the teachers have never given a call for strike demanding rescheduling of examinations? Who asked for rescheduling of examinations? Certainly not teachers as their demand of initiation of a proper discussion on the feasibility and desirability of the proposed course structure is well publicized and has been unambiguously communicated to the authorities. Prof. Pental and his team members have been claiming throughout that teachers are participating voluntarily in teaching the semester based courses barring a miniscule counted number of self proclaimed representatives and DUTA activists. Then why was rescheduling of the examinations done? If it was demanded by the students then prior to succumbing to their demands the teachers must have been taken into confidence in order to ensure that they use this rescheduling for covering up the syllabus. The process of rescheduling of examinations could have been meaningful only if the authorities would have attended to what they have ignorantly admitted in the process that teachers are striking work in support of the cause taken up by DUTA and are not willing to give up their right of being a part of any academic decision making process.
But it is now amply clear that the intention of the university and HRD ministry combine seems to be to humiliate teachers and force them to teach (even if they do that unwillingly) a course that teachers consider as undesirable. A half-cooked and ill-conceived structure where it is not clear as to how exactly the practical examinations are to be conducted or students are to be evaluated and how internal assessment marks are to be assigned, only Prof. Pental and Mr. Registrar have the vision of getting this implemented with the active support of the HRD ministry apparently acting under some greater plan. Let me correct Mr. Registrar that this is exactly what has never been our best tradition. I will remind him that in keeping with the best traditions of this great university Prof. Pental should have had by now left this university and others should have had initiated the process of involving teachers in the course revision. How an educated lot of well meaning teachers can own up a half-baked course that has forcibly been thrown upon them? How a set of humiliated teachers after losing their dignity by signing a bond under the threat of withholding their salary is expected to perform their duty of inculcating education with values to the students? What are they suppose to teach? How the teachers after having felt insulted can inspire students?
It seems they do not want teachers to produce confident and educated men capable of taking stands and instead they just want to have mere college pass-outs at their disposal who will be willing to go to any extent to earn their bread and butter.

Mandir Sabhi Banayenge

Yes Mr. Yechury (‘Not About Blind Faith’, October 12, 2010 issue of HT on page 12), justice is a pre-requisite for reconciliation but then why don’t you agree that justice has been done in ‘Ayodhya’ and it is time for reconciliation. You are right in asserting that justice can never be blind, in fact justice is divine and can only be done by keeping your eyes open. However, against your liking Mr. Yechury, when your eyes are open then it will not only view 10 years back (when a structure was demolished that was built 500 years ago) but much beyond that. We all understand why is ‘Ayodhya’ known for and we all know that it has never been identified with the structure that Babar had built up. ‘Ayodhya’ belongs to the pilgrims who identify ‘Ayodhya’ as birth place of Ram and not only to the locals who largely depend on the pilgrims’ activities. But the court order has correctly reminded the chanters of ‘mandir vahin banayenge’ that either ‘mandir sabhi banayenge’ or ‘mandir nahin banega’. The very fact that now a mandir can be made only if it is allowed by all the three owners only reaffirms our sense of secularism that India stands for. Unfortunately the court did not satisfy those pseudo-seculars who wanted Babri structure to be built at the same place. A mandir built by hindu-muslim combine will in fact lay the foundation of secularism that India understands. One must admit that the court decision is equally uncomfortable for all the parties involved in the suit but it shows a way ahead also to them. However the decision has come as a setback only for those who had wished to humiliate the majority and are now in no mood to leave any stone unturned in order to ensure that minority feels humiliated. This set of people will do everything to make sure that a brilliant court verdict of recent times is wasted despite all efforts of positive reconciliation.

Mr. Pental – prove yourself a Teacher

A careful glance at the Prime Minister’s message on the teacher’s day will appear as if he is reminding our Vice-Chancellor of some etiquette and culture that was completely missing during his tenure that has already expired. I quote verbatim from our Prime Minister’s speech on the teacher’s day September 5, 2010 – “Sadly, teachers are often excluded from policy making, governance and management of our educational system as also from day-to-day instructional strategies and decision making. In our endeavour for educational reforms we must, therefore, emphasize the empowerment of teachers and that includes real opportunity for them to share policy perspectives and decision-making in pursuit of educational development and reforms. It is my belief that all teachers are creative, talented people; teachers respond remarkably when they are respected and included in the decision-making integral to their work in the classroom. They gain a sense of ownership over their work and their classrooms, when they are involved in the development of the curriculum, designing of the syllabus, making and selecting of teaching materials and in training programmes leading to their own intellectual and professional development.” ( please visit http://www.newkerala.com/news2/fullnews-35103.html for the complete message). This statement clearly reasons out the failure of B.Sc. Program courses and recently implemented B.Sc. (H) Mathematics course.

Our unwanted vice-chancellor has recently been looking for some non-academic and un-teacher-like (read shameless) excuse by finding a hitherto unused provision given in the University Acts that exists only for those stubborn and unethical users who has no prestige at stake and is willing to continue as an unwanted vice-chancellor in the absence of any extension (read - when nobody is willing to give him extension). It is high time that our Vice-chancellor wakes up from the state of selective amnesia and starts recalling even those ordinances where rights of teachers in affecting syllabus-making and decision-taking is clearly and unambiguously written. Now the only way left for him to prove that some teacher-like-quality is still left within him – is to quit from his post without any delay.

response to - 'Teachers, isn't it time to teach'

I read the threat by Dr. Sunil Sondhi (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article487680.ece) wherin he has tried to remind us of our duties. The author seems to be suffering from an extreme myopic understanding on education. Recently when even school teaching has started giving attention towards all-round development of students, he thinks that learning is only done in the classrooms. His handicapped vision needs immediate correction wherein he argues that students’ elections, festivals and other co-curricular activities are wastage of time. He must be enlightened that for an all-round development of a student one needs to have some leadership qualities (developed during students elections), some organizational skills (developed during organizing festivals) as well as some team-spirit that are developed during other extra-curricular activities. I understand that there is no substitute to student-teacher interaction but it should include their guidance in all these activities along with the classroom interaction and discussions on the course-content. In fact we also have an added responsibility to educate them by showing live-examples exhibiting our own reactions towards an autocratic functioning a vice-chancellor as he decides to flout all rules, regulations and established practices and procedures of governance. Lastly I would ask him to be careful in future while extrapolating his data for schools onto the colleges and would remind him that unlike schools where parents prefer private institutions compared to the government schools actually many government colleges/institutions are rated better than the private money-generating institutions. Amity and Ansal institute of technology are starved of good students whereas IITs, DCE, DIT and NITs get flooded by brilliant students. And no one needs to be educated about the enviable record of attracting admission seekers that Delhi University exhibits during admission-time year after year. I agree that there is an immense scope for improvement but that can be achieved only by including teachers in this process and not by neglecting those who have made this University the most sought after of all Indian universities.

Effect of the 'Fake Encounter'

The wishful thinking “The BJP goes for its own jugular” (Counterpoint, HT July 25 issue) of Vir Sanghvi needs further analysis.

We have witnessed how BJP often tries to project the issue of foreign origin hoping that this will pin down the Congress but they never get the desired result as they fail to understand that the Congress has risen from ashes only with the rise of Sonia despite the common knowledge of her origin. For the voters this is already a well known fact and hence already taken into account of. In another similar case, the fodder scam was never an eye-opener for the voters of Laloo and hence the scam never had the effect as was desired by those who raised the issue. It is also not difficult to understand that a sting operation “unveiling” that Raj Thackerey is spitting venom against ‘north Indians’ and ‘biharis’ would be actually helping him to hold on to his vote bank. Another sting operation showing that CPI(M) is supporting naxal movement is in fact going to benefit them.

We often forget to analyze the circumstances and reasons that led to the rise of BJP in India. We must first acknowledge that the party rose to occupy the central place in Indian politics only after the demolition of Babri Masjid and also that Gujrat is under BJP rule for so long only due to the prevailing public perception of their way of handling of the Godhra issue. All attempts therefore to prove that they are not ‘secular’ acually help their cause. In fact these efforts help BJP in creating an image that they themselves will probably feel helpless in building up due to the constitutional constraints. BJP has never been considered as a secular party in the way this phrase is widely understood. BJP tried to change the understanding of this term in order to qualify for becoming the ‘true secular’ party and also by branding others as ‘pseudo-seculars’. All instances that the media try to blow sometimes out of proportion to prove that they are not secular actually help BJP to keep their vote bank intact. Analysis would conclude strongly in favour of the fact that the decline of BJP started as they tried to occupy the place reserved for Congress in Indian politics. Whether one likes it or not but the fact remains that Modi has risen against all odds just because the public at large believes all allegations imposed on him to be true. His ‘charishma’ starts fading whenever confusion begins to prevail about these allegations. Just when people start doubting his role in Godhra issue, some sting operation or the other helps them in reestablishing their faith.

To be precise, Pragya Thakur’s case shocked the BJP voters, Kausarbi’s murder too has the potential to shock them, but you can never surprise them with the disclosure that Shohrabuddin died in a fake encounter. And therefore it is just a wishful thinking of some that Amit Shah’s or for that matter Modi’s arrest is going to make BJP suffer. More often than not these “disclosures” have gone in favour of BJP in the past.

Hope to Live in a Plural Country

The author has proven his point that “For Hindus the enemy is within” with his article itself (“For Hindus the Enemy is within”, Mail Today, page 10 on July 20, 2010 http://epaper.mailtoday.in/Details.aspx?boxid=104296&id=39540&issuedate=2072010). Ironically, the article thereby implies that the other religion faces threat only from outside. It is indeed a fact that Hinduism is the only religion that exists with its enemy within itself. But that is its strength. The author must realize that it is the plurality of the ‘Hindu way of life’ that allows his mainstream opinion to exist along with the minority (in his opinion?) opinions of Modis, Mohans, Togadias and Advanis. It is the Hindu way of life that welcomes the author with a space for reinterpreting the message conveyed by the 'Deva' and 'Asura' conflict existing in Hindu mythology. A similar article will find no space in the “other way of life” if one dares to replace the word ‘Asura’ by ‘Kafira’. The Hindu way of life is clearly absent when Omars, Mehboobas, Yasirs, Afzals and Geelanis give the impression of representing the same face of a coin. It is also not visible when Musharrafs, Zardaris, ISI, Quasabs and Qureshis speak the same language of religion. I agree with the author when he argues that all forms of terror are same however he must realize that it is Hinduism that gives him the strength to condemn the greater threat which is saffron in his opinion. The author derives strength from this Hindu way of life when according to him legitimizing ‘violence to unify humanity’ poses an ignorable threat to our society but legitimization of ‘retaliatory saffron violence’ qualifies for being a much greater threat. I can only pray and hope to continue to live in a society where majority advocates for a way of life that allows authors like Jyotirmay Sharma to freely express his views against the majority.

Death of Science Courses in Delhi University

(edited version of this article has been published in Mail Today 6/6/2010 edition on page 4 http://epaper.mailtoday.in/Details.aspx?boxid=5445921&id=37546&issuedate=662010 ).

We have seen it happening before our eyes when a popular course such as B.Sc. (General) was being ruined before us by the earlier Vice-Chancellor Dr. Deepak Nayyar who changed it to B.Sc. (Programme). Now we are on the verge of witnessing the same fate destined for the other Science courses. I remember, only few years ago I was present in a meeting of science teachers that was called by Prof. S.K.Tandon for imposing a structural change in all the science courses. It was vehemently opposed by the teachers led by Late Dr. Swaminathan of St. Stephens. Forcing a bio-student to study mathematics and a non-medical science student to study bio-papers compulsorily was pointed out as one of the major reason of concern and it was warned that this factor itself had a potential to compel students to stay away from joining this course. Teachers were able to resist its implementation but unfortunately the whole resistance was cunningly interpreted as an opposition with regard to Honours courses and the same structure was clandestinely imposed on the B.Sc.(General) course. All nightmares that the teachers had visualized in the meeting have come true for the course. The result is everybody to see as the cut-off percentages have dropped alarmingly only for this course and majority of colleges are now unable to fill up the seats allotted to them. However we all know that Prof. Tandon was rewarded with the post of Pro-Vice-Chancellor after that.
In the current case, our present Vice-Chancellor seems to have written his own ‘bible’ and wants everybody to follow the same without questioning its utility, importance, relevance, desirability and feasibility. He seems to have got such a fixation with interdisciplinary courses that he thinks that all those who have otherwise a very good grasp on Zoology and Botany are absolutely worthless if they have not studied undergraduate mathematics. His ‘bible’ predicts that the Semester System is so important that even if it is taught by unwilling teachers and handled by incompetent authority present in the university and the examinations, it will solve all problems gripping the Delhi University education system. He believes that just because the UK and USA have it and just because the government ‘thinks?’ it should be there, the semester system should be adopted. The fact, that his ‘bible’ conveniently ignores, is the common knowledge that there are many foreign university ready to pay huge sum of seed money as registration charges and are forcing the HRD ministry and the Government to succumb to their diktats. They are willing to open corridors in the name of establishing educational institutions and will engage themselves in luring the Indian students studying undergraduate courses in Indian universities to encourage lateral shifts to similar courses at their campus. Only they are going to be benefited immensely if our university system collapses and in the process exposes our inability to handle the inherent difficulty and unmanageable contradictions associated with the semester system in our university environment. Our university education will be dumped to a corner that will be similar to the space occupied by the government schools in primary and secondary educations. We would just become irrelevant and they just want that. Their target seems to be to hurt the enviable crowd-pulling-ability of the maddening admission-seekers’-rush of our university.
I would like simple answers to the following open queries from those who have never bothered to answer any of these questions and even shied away from a much desirable debate in the Academic Council.
· In our university system, admissions are allowed till September. And this should not be stopped since colleges must be given chance to fill their vacant seats that are left by a majority of students availing the opportunity to move into either a better college or a better course. Admissions particularly in science courses get stabilized only in September as they get a chance to move to an engineering/medical college outside our university. Can anybody let me know that in the semester system how the hell they are supposed to get prepared for the semester examinations just after getting admitted in September? In our system at least first year of science courses should be annual even if somebody is hell-bent on imposing the semester system. For this reason the semester system can be successfully and somewhat meaningfully forced only in the second and third year.
· Can they provide a list of those benefits that can be achieved only in semester system but neither in an annual system and also nor in a system of continuous evaluation of students based on weekly tests? The fact remains that a system is never good or bad in absolute sense but one will have to assess that how frequently can examinations be held in a university having same course running in fifty plus colleges with number of students counting over several tens of thousands.
· In our university system where preparations, conduct and evaluation occupy whole year of the examination department for annual exam what steps they have taken to wrap the whole process in three to four months?We all know that due to some unavoidable local problems (such as a teacher going on a long leave or appointment of a fresh teacher taking inordinately long time while trying to follow the complex process being adopted by the university) appointment of a fresh teacher invariably gets delayed by a few months. In an annual system a fresh teacher always gets a chance to complete the syllabus by engaging some extra classes but how will this be possible in a semester system?

Reservation Policy with Reverse-Effort

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The policy of caste-based reservations as it exists in our country has not been implemented with any vision for the eradication of the caste system and instead helps at maintaining it. Although the effect of this reservation is indeed visible as these days several castes are now being represented in some ‘high-profile’ jobs where their presence was never noticed. Many of the most sought after professions are these days not in the hands of very few castes alone as that used to happen in the past.
But did we achieve what was meant through the reservation policy?
Castes are generally connected with a particular profession. In my view the primary problem gripping the Indian society is not that castes are classified as lower and higher but that occupations attached with castes are graded as better and worse. This is why everybody wants to take up only a few of the ‘elite’ professions and the adversely affected majority press for proportionate representation of different castes in ‘those’ professions.
Can a society run where everybody is encouraged to take up only a few ‘preferred’ professions? Can a society survive without even one of the most ‘hated’ professions? Why a tailor’s occupation is looked down upon? Milking a cow and cleaning clothes are considered as low-grade professions? Why to broom is considered as an inferior work? Reservations should have aimed at changing our mind-set but unfortunately changing this perception is not the target of the existing policy of reservations. What happens in reality is that this only gives some of them a chance to become eligible for looking at those jobs as inferior ones to which their castes were earlier connected to.
In fact, basis of our reservation policy lies in the premise that the jobs of shoemakers, carpenters, barbers, mesons, plumbers and washer men are inferior to the jobs where reservation is in existence. Reservation actually works against the essence of dignity of work and instead denigrates these professions further.
The solution to this social problem in India exists in helping create an atmosphere wherein all kinds of professions are accepted as equally important. It is not easy to do this. Unfortunately even in a family differential treatment is given to different professionals in accordance with the hierarchy set out by our age-old society.

This change in our mind-set however can be initiated if we can make these occupations financially lucrative and economically attractive and start using latest technology to handle these jobs. Tailoring job done by a fashion designer or clothes-cleaning done by dry-cleaners and barber’s job done by a make-up man or by a hair-doer and job of a waste-disposal and management company never invite disrespect because these are financially better and hence socially acceptable professions. In addition to the existing reservation policy it would be of great help if the so called ‘elite castes’ start taking up these professions and show the society that how these professions can be improved with the use of latest technology and how it can be made financially attractive as well as socially acceptable.

the idiotic movie

Congratulations to HT and Sagarika ('idiot is as idiot does', Saturday January 16, 2010), at last I saw space given to some sensible discussions on the '3 idiots'. The discussion finds true relevance in the current situation when we are noticing some clear design to dilute our school studies (Kapil Sibal's?? vision) and also to wipe out the standard of our higher education (courtesy UGC-cum-Knowledge Commission efforts). While American President Obama urges his fellows to spend more time in the classrooms if they want to compete with Asian students, we are hell bent on aping them and lose our edge in this regard in the name of stress factor. I myself have been witness to the fact that even an average Indian student has always done very well in the West once he/she gets an opportunity. And this is precisely because an average student here spends much more time in studies than they do. Stress due to studies has always remained an urban phenomena in India. In my view, students do not feel the pressure of studies here, in fact they feel pressure for not able to justify their urge in spending time for unlimited fun that is at their easy-disposal in a metro-life. They find it difficult to get time for late-night partying, they do not get time for unnecessary biking and TV viewing, they get little justification for their urge for wasting time and money with their girlfriend/boyfriend in multiplexes, malls, useless video games and restaurants. Still these factors are much less compared to the avenues of fun that the students have at their disposal in the West. It is probably West's vision that if their students are not able to increase their time in studies then at least get the Asian students somehow out of the classes.
'bachpan toh gaya, jawani bhi gayi...ek pal toh hame jine doh' -- this great lyrics tells you that parents of the three idiots were still enjoying their youth while those idiots could not!!!! It was absurdly-funny to have those idiots seen as crying (instead of their parents!!!) that 'sari umra to mar-mar ke ji liye, thoda sa ab hame jine doh jine doh'. I have seen genius students in my more than 20 years of teaching career, but I am yet to encounter one who never prepares for any examination but still manages to top the class. As I understand, a genius of 'Amir'- kind, who is shown to be only interested in learning the subject, goes on to become a very good researcher, he can build a medical equipment using a vacuum cleaner but unfortunately it is only idiotic to show that he tops the batch by writing the answers better than the 4th idiot 'Chatur' and that too when the answer sheets are being marked by professors like Virus!

Women Empowerment!

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I was shocked to see the advertisement (Mail Today, published on December 31, 2009, page 29) showing smiling and pleased-parents while seeing their drunk daughter, dressed in micros, being helped by a driver of a radio taxi to make her reach her home. Ms Kanika Gahlaut (Mail Today, January 7, 2010, ‘fashion addict’ LIFEstyle page 26) has tried to analyse the scene from entirely an extra-intellectual perspective (in a way that avoids attention of the 'pink chaddies' campaigners), but let me admit that I am not afraid of their ‘pink chaddies’ in case they decide to fling this way as I know that they do not need them any way! Kanika, you are missing your own point. Fact is that however liberal you try to become (by asking questions on the relevance of any kind of moral policing) there is always something that can always shock you and make you a moral police as you did in your article by stating what one actually wears (thereby meaning that what one should wear) while going for a drink-party (of course in order to lose their senses). According to my sensibilities, if women think there is nothing wrong in falling-drunk in someone’s lap as long as ‘licking the pavement’ after getting drunk is avoided; if they think that there is nothing wrong in ‘bending over a pot with their fingers down the throat’ as far as they take precautions for not ‘displaying their knickers’ while doing so and if they think that there is nothing wrong in ‘losing their dignity’ if they are doing so without ‘compromising their modesty’, then it just means that they can never agree with somebody who has a problem with all these in their first instances itself. On the other hand how can you be so sure that no women would like to go for the extremes that have been projected by you as avoidable?
Truth is that if (as Kanika means) women think that they will not live to men’s fantasy if they get drunk with all their clothes on, then they just do not know men. Men know that one step will lead to the other. Men fantasise about drunk-woman who can be dressed (undressed?) according to their wishes. If women think that it is they who enjoy while drinking in a party then I must enlighten them that in fact men enjoy more in seeing them drinking. All men, of course those who do not enjoy their family life, encourage women to take up drinking so that they can enjoy their company. These men know that in the name of women liberation and women empowerment they can always make women to live their fantasies while making them realise that they are actually being empowered. These men know that in the name of making artistic calendars, bold movies and happening parties they can satisfy their porno-hungry intents. I can only hope that instead of flinging ‘chaddies’ towards others and dancing-drunk to the tunes of the fantasies of these disgruntled men they just start wearing them.