Two-Test package approach to address the NEET Examination crisis

It is said that when an excessively large number of candidates compete directly for a limited number of seats in a single examination, the process creates enormous psychological pressure to succeed in a life-changing event and encourages an unhealthy culture of repetitive coaching and examination preparation. The situation potentially invites all kinds of corrupt practices. Let us study three all-India examinations that are being conducted centrally - the Admission Test for Engineering Colleges, Selection in UPSC Civil Services, and the NEET Admission Test for Medical Colleges. The following table clearly displays that the NEET examination is well placed with a much better promise for success since the probability is ‘one out of 15.8’ as against ‘one out of 22.4’ in the Engineering Test and the mind-boggling ‘one out of 602' in the Civil Services exams.

 

It is interesting to note that while the pressure of manipulation should have been the largest for civil services exams, making it potentially exploitable for coaching and related mafia, it performs the best with unquestioned sanctity. Let us study the issue in further detail.

Engineering Test

In engineering admissions, approximately 15 lakh candidates compete for around 67,000 highly sought-after seats, producing a competition ratio of roughly 22.4 candidates per seat. This pressure is eased out in two stages. First, a broader pool of approximately 1.8 lakh aspirants are shortlisted, wherein the success ratio is approximately ‘one out of 8.3.' The next stage of the advanced selection process then selects 67000 candidates out of the 1.8 lakh shortlisted pool of students, and this makes a fairly balanced success rate as ‘one out of 2.67.'

Civil Services Test

The Civil Services examination provides an instructive model to study. Approximately 9,37,876 candidates applied last year, and 5,76,793 appeared for the Preliminary Examination. The preliminary test shortlisted only 14,161 candidates for the Main Examination, creating a success rate of approximately ‘one out of every 40.7 candidates’ reaching the Mains. Subsequently, only 2,736 candidates qualified for the personality test, meaning that approximately ‘one out of a group of 5.2 candidates’ succeeded in reaching the interview stage. Finally, against approximately 958 vacancies, the final selection ratio was brought down to roughly ‘one out of 2.9 candidates.' In other words, the Civil Services Examination does not require nearly six lakh candidates to compete directly at the final stage. Instead, it uses successive stages to progressively reduce the number of candidates until the final competition becomes manageable. 

Study of NEET Examination

The above analysis clearly indicates that despite being placed well with the success rate in its favor with a large number of seats available, the NEET test provides a potentially fertile ground for manipulation for the coaching mafia only because it conducts the admission for all candidates in one go. NEET examinations demonstrate a severe imbalance in this sense. Around 22.7 lakh candidates registered for NEET, while approximately 22.1 lakh actually appeared last year. Against roughly 1.39 lakh medical seats, this represents a competition ratio of approximately 15.9 candidates per seat. 

The Civil Services examination reveals that a lighter kind of preliminary test to shortlist candidates to ease out the success rate pressure is the key for its success. Even though the preliminary test of civil services has a success rate of ‘one out of 40,' it might have encouraged the coaching industry to grow but fails to draw the attention of the education mafia to manipulate the same because the stakes are not high and candidates are better placed to accept their exclusion at this stage. The first stage of examination, therefore, should be light, preferably a single test with multiple-choice questions. The shortlisting should leave the success rate for the final selection process preferable around ‘one out of 3’ candidates. This creates a favorable environment for the agency to conduct the final examination in a rigorous manner only at time-tested venues and involving only known individuals with proven credentials. 

The Recommendation

If India has approximately 1.39 lakh MBBS and other relevant medical seats, and the objective is to ensure that the final examination does not have a competition ratio worse than 3:1, then the number of candidates permitted to take the final-stage NEET examination should ideally be approximately 1.39 lakh × 3 = 4.17 lakh candidates. Thus, instead of allowing more than 22 lakh candidates to compete directly for approximately 1.39 lakh seats, a preliminary examination could be conducted to shortlist approximately 4–4.5 lakh candidates for the final examination. The following table suggests the same.

One must note that rejection at the preliminary exams is not taken that seriously. The proposed NEET Preliminary Examination should not be treated as an additional burden or a second full-scale NEET examination. It should instead function primarily as a screening mechanism. The examination could test fundamental eligibility, basic scientific aptitude, and essential knowledge of physics, chemistry, and biology. Its purpose would be to identify candidates who have achieved a minimum level of preparedness for medical education. A single paper, light intensity MCQ-type online examination can serve the purpose of this shortlisting. The solution lies in keeping the success rate in the main final examination as less than one out of three candidates. Other factors - such as involvement of non-permanent staff in conducting the exams - can always be observed rigorously in the final test since the scale will become manageable.

Such a system would have several advantages. First, it would substantially reduce the extreme pressure associated with a single examination involving more than twenty lakh competitors. Second, it would help the conducting agency to take good control with all loopholes plugged in the final examination because of its reduced scale—cutting it to one fifth of the present enormity. A ‘3 to 1’ competition ratio at the final stage would represent a more humane, rational, and academically defensible model of medical selection.

Admission process of DU turns into a Blind Game in the CUET era

 CUET (Common University Entrance Test), conducted by the NTA (National Testing Agency), follows a transparent mechanism for testing and evaluating candidates seeking admission to undergraduate and postgraduate programs at Central Universities. However, the process that follows after the results are announced is completely non-transparent.

Before 2022, Delhi University followed a cut-off-based admission process that was entirely transparent. Anyone familiar with the publicly declared cut-off percentages could easily advise an aspirant on their chances of admission. In the new system, however, it is no longer possible to provide such guidance with any degree of confidence. The only suggestion that can be offered is to wait for the computer to generate a "favorable" outcome. In fact, there seems to be a widespread sense of uncertainty about how the process works. The most common response from a responsible authority is that everything is handled by a computer algorithm, which takes into account the candidate’s initial preferences entered at the time of form submission. This leaves little room for discussion or appeals, as the algorithm’s functioning is not disclosed publicly. As a result, successful candidates credit their "luck," while others are left confused and disheartened, unsure of what went wrong.

Compare this with the earlier scenario when the cut-off-based admission process was in place. At that time, reasonable advice could be offered based on previous years’ cut-off percentages and the last announced cut-off for the current year. In contrast, the introduction of CUET, essentially a Class XII-level re-exam, has added unnecessary complexity to the admission process.

The CBSE conducts examinations for nearly 800 subjects (source), while Delhi University offers around 550 undergraduate programs. Over the years, a well-accepted mapping between school subjects and university courses had naturally evolved. Unfortunately, CUET attempted to dismantle this framework in a single stroke. As expected, the system is still struggling to adapt to the resulting disruption.

CUET has since continued to revise its format each year, acknowledging the challenges that have kept on popping up by such an abrupt shift. There was no compelling reason to completely discard a well-functioning and widely accepted system that had taken decades to develop. It is true that the complete transparency of the earlier cut-off-based system was occasionally exploited by certain vested interests, who used to help their students by somehow giving high marks to them through generous marking. In 2022, such attempts crossed all reasonable limits when a particular board awarded 100 percent marks to an unreasonably large number of students. This single act subverted the DU admission process, as students from that board unrestrictedly dominated the admissions that year.

The response from university officials, however, was far from appropriate. The only necessary step was to rationalize the marks awarded by different boards. This could have been achieved using AI-based methods to analyze the marks secured by the students' across various boards. Alternatively, a single-paper common test assessing 'intelligence' or aptitude could have been conducted and used as a benchmark to normalize board marks.

With rationalization in place, the cut-off-based system could have continued as before. Such a straightforward solution would have ensured fair and proportionate representation of successful candidates from different boards, maintaining the same balance that existed at the applicant stage. On the other hand, the current admission process is, quite inexplicably, allowing over-admission in some colleges while leaving many others struggling to fill seats. Repeated delays in the announcement of CUET results, year after year, have only added to the overall confusion and lack of transparency. I have been writing to the DU authorities on this issue in the hope of a suitable action. Failing to see an appropriate response I have asked DU to provide the data of last year admission (through an RTI dated June 24, 2025) to ascertain and get convinced that my apprehensions are invalid. 

NEP 2020: The devil lies in the details of implementation strategy

 

The National Education Policy 2020 could dare to recommend some fundamental changes in the very idea and approach of Indian education as many of those who prepared the NEP document thankfully, had no faith in the earlier system of education. However, many of those who have now the responsibility to implement the policy, are products of the same earlier education system. Those who believe in the earlier system, have never been trained or encouraged to think out of box and to explore innovative ideas. NEP 2020 has very efficiently pointed out the deficiencies in our earlier education system and consequently prescribed the remedies. But to achieve the same, the most important issue is to design and develop the implementation strategies. Such strategic issues were not a part of the document since these are bound to be different at different places. It was therefore most judiciously left to the ability of the implementers to decide these concerns.

The fact that our earlier education system was incapable of producing visionaries, thinkers and innovators have got exposed in this process by those who had the responsibility to affect the changes and implement NEP. The earlier education system was such that most of the innovators were necessarily rejects of the system. The human resource product of our earlier education system always looked for decisions and instructions in all the documents that were to be followed but was not explicitly written in the policy. NEP has no such set of instructions but it only mentions the targets. But most unfortunately, academic administrators kept on trying to find instructions in the same even in this case. They were used to finding out instructions in all such documents and therefore searched for the same even in this case. They tried to decipher some kind of instructions from their discussion with the higher authorities who could never be logically expected to have adequate understanding of the exact local status and institutional environment throughout the length and breadth of this huge country.

Many clever academic administrators used this opportunity in getting their vested interest satisfied. As a classic case, I have no hesitation in stating that our the then Head of the Department of Physics of Delhi University misused this opportunity in cutting down the practical lab component in the undergraduate physics course. His famous claim that teachers don’t take practical labs seriously and that is why this aspect must be done away with as far as possible. Imagine how did he arrive at this conclusion from the document of NEP that talks of increasing the hands-on practical approach throughout the document.

Another statement of a similar academic administrator that they are least concerned about the workload of the teaching faculty only highlights that they were very poor in understanding and foreseeing the problems and thereby suggesting a tailor made solution in that particular environment. This is clearly an escapist’s approach and these administrators were able product of our earlier education that was designed primarily to produce escapists. 

Due to this the administrators tried to race through its implementation, while it should have been a slow and consolidating process. The administrators that were product of our earlier system just wanted to showcase their efficiency to their seniors by making all changes in one go which could have never been advisable just because the change this time was not a routine one.

Those who would attempt to go through the NEP document and would look for the need of VAC and SEC courses will be convinced that VAC (Value Added Courses) should have been primarily aimed for school going students and SEC (Skill Enhancement Courses) should have basically targeted students of higher education. But in the race and scoring points, VAC courses were introduced in a big way even in the higher education with an intensity similar to SEC. 

To accommodate VAC and SEC courses and that too without compromising on the core courses led to a situation wherein the attention on core courses have got diluted to undesirable levels. Papers that required 4 to 5 lectures per week are given only 2-3 lectures now. Due to this, for example in University of Delhi, the number of papers to be studied by the undergraduate students jumped from 4 to 7 in each semester. Such an increase can never be balanced by reducing the credits and lectures in each paper since the burden of number of papers itself became too much for the students to absorb. To ease themselves, students started opting for courses not to gain skills or values but to somehow manage them. Courses like ‘Fit India’ & ‘NCC’ became so much sought after that the university had to notify a rule that only those students who were engaged in such activities in their schools will be able to take these courses. Increase in the number of papers to such a level increased the number of events of making assessments at the cost of their time that could have gone in studies. The result is that students are passing out having little skills and that is just opposite to what the NEP 2020 had been prescribed for. Students will pass out having neither the skill of following instructions and nor the skill of carrying out innovations.

If the trend is not arrested, I am afraid, those who wanted this excellent well-meaning NEP policy document to fail, will have the last laugh.

Restoring the tradition of religious evolution: Ram Mandir

In the mediaeval period, for the first time in her history, Bharat witnessed a kind of invasion that was completely different from earlier ones. This land was unaware of such a variety of military invasion that was carried out with an aim to religiously convert the inhabitants of the conquered territory. To accomplish this, the invaders were ready to indulge in any level of brutality and inhuman practices then unimaginable for such purposes. Bharat suffered very heavily for not being prepared to counter this phenomenon of religious fanaticism that was using force and military to spread a religious philosophy. In the conquered territory, normal people were subjected to unthinkable harassments and atrocities to ensure ‘conversion’. Muhammad Bin Quasim beheaded Dahir, the King of Sindh after victory, and then paraded with his head on the roads besides said to have enslaved all his family members. Such open displays of terror by Quasim and others were aimed at creating an easy ground to carry out conversion of ‘infidels’. There are several such accounts written by contemporary historians, narrators and killer-kings themselves, who have openly boasted about having left no infidels  ‘unconverted’ or ‘uncircumcised’ unless killed or enslaved. Quasim, Khilji, Taimur, Tipu, Ghazni, Babar, Akbar and Aurangzeb – none of them can be left out from this list. This brutal form of religious fanaticism was unknown to Bharat by then, since we had no tradition of forcibly spreading a religious philosophy. Such a feature of our ancient tradition, clearly differentiate us from invaders’ culture.

Bharat had a tradition of practicing religious democracy. People of this land had absolute freedom to worship and pray to one’s own choice of faith, liking and understanding. To shift from one religious philosophy to other was considered as evolution and we were unaware of the idea of such a possibility in a forced manner. While change in one’s religious beliefs was perfectly acceptable, but asking for a commitment of not indulging in any change of belief in future, was termed as ‘conversion’ – a concept that never existed in this part of the world. While the tradition of convincing anyone to change one’s understanding of the mysteries of the world existed in the name of ‘Shastrarth’, it never asked anyone to stop evolving again in future. More than providing answers to the mysteries of this universe, religion is known for keeping alive the attitude of knowing, questioning and exploring. Such an attitude has helped us in keeping us open for religious evolution.

'Shastrarth' between Adi Shankaracharya with Mandan Mishra is just one such example of our rich and scholarly tradition of logic and openness. The modern religious and semi-religious philosophies viz. ‘Islam’, ‘Christianity’ and ‘Marxism’ are completely intolerant to the idea of religious evolution and for this reason, they came in direct conflict with our Bharatiya tradition. These foreign philosophies demanded an end to the process of our religious evolution. ‘Religion’ for them was considered to be providing ‘unquestionable’ final answers. The struggle of Bharat in the mediaeval period and after has been precisely for continuing with this tradition of openness that suddenly came under threat in that era. Our understanding of ‘religion’ was completely different from these invaders. The invading forces tried to prove that our religious tradition is not different in any sense and made continuous historical attempts to establish this. In fact, a century old campaign by the colonisers and leftist historians to somehow establish that we are also like them, through their prejudiced understanding of ‘Indian’ history has failed to stand the test of logic and scientific investigations. Our history of the last thousand years needs to be analysed in this way. Bharat continued to struggle just to save its freedom of religious evolution. When Kashmiri Pandits asked the ninth Sikh leader, Guru Teg Bahadur to help them, they wanted to save exactly this tradition of religious evolution, freedom and democracy. The Sikh movement itself was a part of our religious evolution process, wherein we evolved to save this feature.

The fanatic military attack in the mediaeval era was so brutal and inhuman that the struggle to save ourselves demanded innovative responses from the leaders of that era. Bhakti movement was yet another example that proved to be pretty effective also in saving this tradition. Evolution of a Vedic era text ,Valmiki’s Ramayana, to a contemporary Ram Charit Manas in the sixteenth century is yet another instance in support of this understanding. The fanatic attack on the mandir of Ram Janamsthan led to its complete destruction. To make this destruction irreversible, a new structure was built at that place and was called Babri structure. Destruction of Ram Mandir and the attempt to convert the character of that place is representative of the mentality that mindlessly destroyed thousands of such places of knowledge and wisdom. Nalanda, Taxila and other universities witnessed similar destructions and was associated with demolition of temples that were also used as institutions of spreading knowledge and wisdom. Our struggle to restore the tradition of religious evolution has continued since then.

The mediaeval attacks also changed the idea of temples from being institutions of knowledge and wisdom to merely places of worships and pilgrimage. Temples were compelled to become merely tools of forgiving/justifying sins committed by their committed believers. Scientists, known as Brahmins, were left with no choice but to start practicing priesthood to save themselves from the mindless atrocities. The invaders were so much driven from religious faiths and beliefs that they were unable to accommodate wisdom beyond their boundaries of faith. Restricting the history of evolution of earth within a few thousand years, imagining earth as flat and other such dogmatic beliefs hampered our scientific understanding of history and the astronomical mysteries of universe in that era itself.

Restoration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya shall prove to be our first significant move towards our march to a resurgent Bharat. Revival of temples as centres of knowledge, wisdom, scientific research, societal reforms and upliftment will establish our arrival on the global canvas as a ‘world saver’ in a near future.

Understanding the CUET fiasco

The Central University Entrance Test (CUET) was announced this year to meet the obligation of complying with the new National Education Policy 2020 promulgated by the government of India. The decision was also taken since the earlier system of admissions based on cut-off based calculation had got completely exposed last year by a particular state education board that had very liberally assigned hundred percent marks to a large number of students. It is true that there was no other way left to deal with the situation but to switch on to a common type of entrance test.

However, what has followed since then is not very encouraging and is far from being acceptable as satisfactory. Those who know the extremely complex admission process of Delhi University would agree that our admission process is arguably one of the most complex one in the world. It deals with hundreds of academic and non-academic subjects, core and elective classifications, hundreds of courses and thousands of combinations therein to seek admission into. I have always found it very difficult to make anyone understand the cut-off based admission method who had never followed the process very closely. Only with a great difficulty and some luck on our side, we were somehow used to limit the admissions within the sanctioned seats. But crossing the sanctioned seats and unable to maintain the exact reservation proportions for SC/ST/OBCs and others were also a usual part and parcel of this process. We needed a prophetic vision, statistical expertise and a shrewd calculative mind in each of the colleges and in the University to deal with such a gigantic exercise. Admission process of DU was never a smooth one and we had collectively succumbed to its complexity till about half a decade ago by allowing local freedom within the process. In the era of the earlier VC, Prof. Tyagi, who always lacked the desired administrative skills to run this complex University, an attempt was made to implement a university-wise uniform procedure to straighten the admission exercise using a centralized software. We did achieve some uniformity but we had to pay a huge cost for that. Admissions under the ECA and Sports has almost lost its earlier relevance. They are all now admitted as individuals and not as a team member leading to difficulties in building teams for better performances. While we were struggling with this centralized software, last year the cut-off based admission also lost its relevance in view of a large number of admission seekers having unbelievable and inexplicable level of hundred percent marks.

The decision of opting for a Common Test was indeed a welcome one and it was the only way to deal with the new challenge. But somewhere, we lost the plot probably because decisions were taken by those who did not have the complete knowledge of the complexity involved in our admission process and those local advisors, who were supposed to advise them honestly, turned blind implementers. Switching over to an entirely new and unexplored method and that too completely, was never advisable. The National Testing Agency is indeed the best available agency to carry out this very demanding task but the expectations were beyond their comprehension. The agency that has proven its capability on several other occasions failed to make realistic assessment of all the aspects of this task.

We should not have let the entire admission process that was evolved in more than half a century be dumped in a single stroke like this. One should have asked all the admission seekers to appear for a single common aptitude test, that was already in practice for those who wanted admission into the law and management undergraduate courses. Marks obtained in this one could have then been used as a multiplier to modify the marks obtained by the students in their twelfth board exams. After this modification the new marks could have been used in the same manner for providing admissions as it was being done earlier. Since both these processes, the CLAT/CAT kind of tests and our earlier admission procedure was in operation, we could have done admissions in a much better and smooth way. The modifying factor earned in their aptitude tests could have been used liberally to nullify the differences in the standard of different boards. One could have given as much weight to the Entrance test marks as desired for making the ground even for all the boards. Instead, the university shifted to an entire new approach that was never tested and verified. Keeping different sets and combination of papers for different courses has not only complicated the process unnecessarily but it has thrown us into a blind state wherein no one is sure of the outcome and the mess, we will have to pass through therein. 

Demanding a National Commission on Partition

To the Hon'ble President of India,

Partition of India was one of the most tragic incidents that the world has witnessed in the recent times. A decision of partitioning India on religious grounds was taken by colonial rulers in association with some representatives of the colonized India. They succumbed to the divisive forces and let the country bleed in a manner that has no parallel in the modern times. As a direct consequence to this, the number of persons killed was more than five times of those killed in the combined two atomic explosions in Japan. According to some realistic estimates, around 20 lac citizens were killed and almost 2 crore persons were adversely affected. In a horrifyingly short period, many citizens got unwillingly and forcibly displaced; many lost their bread earner; others lost near and dear ones; or lost their livelihood and ancestral as well as their self-earned property. Life of around close to five percent of the population was pushed to hell with a single decision of partition. The entire nation suffered and continues to suffer on account of its aftermath. Unfortunately, a nightmarish experience of even such a huge magnitude has failed to get the attention that it deserved from the post-partition India. 

Our country can hardly afford another such trauma. But did we do something to prevent another such horrifying experience? Did we ever make any serious attempt to analyze the reasons that led to this disaster? I am afraid, we have done little in this regard. Quite contrary to this, in fact, India seems to have adopted a policy to keep an ostrich-vision on this. To make the situation even worse, this incident has been often ‘misused’ politically to indulge into a superficial blame game. In the absence of any serious investigation report or findings, it is allowed to get twisted and manipulated to suit anyone. Initially this was misused to create an environment against the potential opposition to the ruling government in the independent and democratic India. Officially and constitutionally, the nation has either avoided to find out the reasons that built up the atmosphere wherein partition seemed inevitable or has simply forced the country to accept it as an unavoidable and legitimate fate. With our policy of accepting the partition in this manner, we have indirectly, almost legitimized partition. 

The nation has avoided to find out a probable connection of the demographic imbalance with this tragedy. We have never bothered to see the connect between the rise of an intolerant monotheist religion with this or the connection of our loss of history; wrong choices of heroes and refusal to acknowledge our unique open ancient tradition - with the tragedy that the nation went through. Instead, we were encouraged to live in a hallucinations artificially created by a skewed and wrong understanding of 'secularism'. This helped in developing an attitude of evading uncomfortable questions. And this might have emboldened the divisive forces and shown them a way to go for another kill.

Last year, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, gave us some hope in this regard when it was announced that the nation will observe August 14 as the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.

As the next logical step, we the citizen of India, urge you to form a National Commission on Partition to investigate and find out the reasons that led to partition and advise the government accordingly, so that timely precautions are taken in this regard and the nation feels assured that this will never recur again.

Signed by citizens of India

Please sign the petition by visiting the following link

https://chng.it/YPqdWGStHp

How to address the issue of ‘Marital Rapes’

Those who consider ‘marriage’ as an instrument to provide legal protection for indulging into acts of exploitation are not fit to own up the responsibility of an institution as sacred as ‘Family’. However, it is also the duty of the society and the law to understand that ‘Family’ is an institution that helps individuals in broadening one’s vision. It helps an individual in acquiring some basic but necessary qualities of becoming a mature and civilized person. While for many, marriage may be a static contract, in Indian context - it is a 'Samsakara' in our tradition.

‘Contract’ is an agreement between parties who are trying to explore something bigger but with an assurance to get a relief when asked to make a compromise beyond what it was initially agreed upon by all. 'Samsakara' however, is process that helps you to prepare yourself for making changes and getting better equipped for facing some aspects of life that were unknown for you till that stage. It is an act of indulging into an affair where an unwritten contract is dynamically and continuously being improved with time. This ever-evolving contract keeps on continuously changing itself when some new circumstances are faced, whose possibility was not even imagined initially. It makes up your mind to keep on discovering and exploring your limits to keep the 'family' - that includes (him)herself - alive, contended and happy. Those who pass through this 'Samsakara' and indulge into ‘Vivah Ashram’, learn the most vital human quality of finding pleasure in making sacrifices in the interest of others. In a ‘Family’, everyone has some rights while all others have the responsibility to provide the same. While ‘rights’ come to them naturally when others behave responsibly, those who execute their responsibilities in providing rights to others, also find immediate satisfaction and pleasure in doing so by getting fast feedbacks. In Indian context therefore, 'Families' and not 'individuals' therefore, become the natural smallest unit to build up a responsible and civilized society. 

Committing sacrifices and making compromises can find acceptability in any enlightened society but on ‘strict’ legal criteria, these can always be projected as ‘evidences’ of being exploited. Let us not utilize one to destroy the other as both are necessary components to establish a civilized and happy society. It must be acknowledged that 'sacrifices' make an individual compassionate and even immune to depressions. One who has learnt the skill of finding pleasure in making sacrifices for others will always find a way to get out of any depression. 

Those, who are not prepared to make sacrifices for others, must hold themselves back from indulging into ‘marriage’ - a sacred affair in our context. Because ‘marriage’, according to our tradition is a one-way process that is impossible to get reverted. It can potentially leave a permanent psychological scar on individual’s mind. Those who are mentally not equipped to make compromises must think again before indulging into this otherwise they would be unrealistically expecting the other one to keep on making sacrifices and compromises, which will become unsustainable. It is time for the society also, to accept one’s inability for owning up the responsibilities of marriage instead of unrealistically ‘hoping’ a positive and pleasant transformation in individuals on the demands of sustaining a relationship and the institution of marriage after adventuring into this affair. 

‘Marriage’ is not an ‘Adventure’ to be explored. If one is not prepared to make changes to adapt new situations, must understand that they are not prepared for owning the responsibilities of marriage. One of the reasons for more and more individuals finding them not prepared to own up this responsibility - is the absence of training that were otherwise provided to them earlier live, in joint family environments. To make the situation worse, our schooling and the syllabi also neither discuss the importance of the family institution nor builds up a case to protect them. It goes without saying however, that those who have already acquired the wisdom of finding pleasure in making sacrifices for others, also don’t need to pass through the ‘marriage samsakara’ only for this, as they are enlightened saints who are already perfect fit for the society. 

A pervert, who can find pleasure in forcing a choice on the other for an act that is supposed to give pleasure to both is not fit to carry out a responsibility as sacred as ‘marriage’. Citizens who have 'fear of law' do not make them better citizens, they become better only when they develop 'respect for law'. Let the society, the law and the government find a way to spread the awareness about the sanctity and importance of marriage. And till that happens, let ‘marital rapes’ be identified as a ‘good enough’ reason to ask for separation. Merely criminalizing ‘marital rapes’ will only lead to adversely compromising on the sanctity of an institution, as sacred as ‘marriage’. Our task is to find a way to protect 'individuals' and the 'families' both and not one of them at the cost of the other.

The Puzzle of NEP implementation in DU - A possible solution

In order to facilitate implementation of NEP, Delhi University has constituted a small committee consisting of teachers and education administrators. Unfortunately, the committee is proceeding without paying attention to all the necessary aspects that must be taken into account during such an implementation. It must not be ignored that an institution as huge as Delhi University, has made several painful adjustments in the last decade till the implementation of the existing LOCF (modified CBCS) course structure. The university has very frequently been subjected to several half-cooked adventures in the names of Semesterization, FYUP followed by its withdrawal, CBCS and then modification of the same termed now as LOCF.

Fortunately for us, this time the changes are being sought based on a complete document with a well discussed and a nation-wide policy that has a plan and vision to affect reforms in this sector right from pre-nursery level to the higher education stage.

Apparently, some of the members in the committee are known to have expressed their reservations on the possible projections of this National Education Policy and therefore has been working with a preconceived confusions and misunderstandings. These misplaced academic activists are inexplicably convinced that this policy has an ‘undisclosed’ aim of reducing the workload and thereby enforcing abolition of teaching posts. With such a view, they are incapable of visualizing a situation wherein the policy can be implemented without affecting reduction in the teaching strength. I am completely taken aback at their twisted estimates as when a switch from 3 year to a 4 year course should have been ‘normally’ expected to result in increase of workload and requirement of teachers, it is being spread as a measure to reduce the teaching strength. In addition to this, a misleading fear is being allowed to make rounds that introduction of online teaching will force working non-permanent teachers to discontinue their jobs.

To just give everyone an overview of what do I mean to convey, let me work out some average estimate that can give us the confidence that such fears are completely unfounded are in all probably - politically driven.

It will hardly come as a surprise that on addition of one year study to a three-year program an increase of one third workload requirement is only logical to get estimated. However, the fact that the government has also asked the higher education sector to allow some component of online studies for the undergraduate students, it can also not be denied that such a step has a potential to reduce the workload. An intelligent implementor of the policy is thus left with the sole task to use this reduction to balance the requirement of increase in the workload due to an additional year of teaching.

To achieve this, I would suggest a 5-year strategy of implementing this policy. In the first phase during the initial three years the workload must be kept the same by not allowing online teaching. After that in the fourth year when the students will reach their fourth year of studies, some component of online teaching may be permitted in the first year to balance the additional workload requirement for fourth year students. In the fifth year, finally the desired 30 percent online component may be allowed so that it can almost compensate for the entire increased demand of workload due to the introduction of fourth year. This 5 year strategy will provide the education institutions the adequate time to develop some additional infrastructural requirements if any, visualized by them in this process. They will have enough time to plan to deal with any eventuality during this transformation. Meanwhile, all institutions can be assured in this strategy that their strength will remain the same during and after the implementation of this policy and thus they may proceed with their long pending demand of making permanent appointments. After all, the National Education Policy has also emphasized the requirement of having permanent teachers in the education institutions to make them keep their focus on their students as per the expectations of the society.

I am illustrating a table displaying only one of the possible strategies, assuming that with the 4-year course in place, the total credit requirement will jump from 148 to 192. It has been shown that how during the entire 5-year period of implementation, the credit requirements through offline course can be maintained as 148 and the additional requirement of 44 credits can be passed on to the online teaching that will pave the way for the new-age demand of blended mode of teaching and studying recommended for new-age learners and teachers.

After all, when the OBC reservation policy required 3-year for implementation, EWS reservation required 2 year of implementation, nothing should stop us from planning a five year implementation plan for a policy as important as the National Education Policy. NEP can potentially undo the damage caused to the education sector by several short-term and poorly planned reforms over the last decade. Let it be planned in a manner that will ensure a stable workload throughout the implementation period and after it, as per the table shown above.

Teachers poised to reclaim DUTA in 2021

The coming Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) elections are going to be very crucial. Historically, DUTA had come into reckoning after it got the second promotion of readership for the college teachers in eighties as a result of a long strike that continued for more than 80 days. This success also helped University teachers in getting promoted to the post of Professors on a large scale. Some 'conservative educationists' used to run these promoted Professors down by branding them as DUTA Professors. But DUTA has been claiming its glory since then as they could successfully facilitate indiscriminating promotions on a large scale, realized by both the University and College teachers. DUTA became known in the entire country on posting this particular achievement. DUTA activists drew recognition when they ensured that promotions were not denied to almost anyone. Even today, DUTA draws its strength from this anecdotal success story. In the last more than two decades however, DUTA movement could not repeat even a fraction of such a success.

Although DUTA has no such success story since then, it did try to repeat its glorious performance during the struggles against semesterization that ended in failure and FYUPization (Four Year Undergraduate Program) that culminated in a delayed success but this success was far from being as impressive. DUTA’s activism continued in the last two decades but the successes more often than not, used to be on a limited scale. Recently, to save itself from becoming irrelevant, DUTA have indulged into some issues that rarely bothered teachers of DU on a large scale and were more political in nature and substance. DUTA has also been playing around with priorities of issues for reasons driven more by politics than welfare of teachers. Hesitance in picking up the issues of continuing apathy of ad-hoc teachers and then against the insensitive attitude of Delhi Government in granting funds for salaries in their colleges has opened the eyes of the entire teaching community. When teachers were passing through the darkest phase of no promotions, no appointments and no salaries, DUTA kept itself increasingly engaged in other issues that demanded lesser attention than these. The size of such mistaken priorities grew in abundance especially since 2014. Intolerance towards the government that came at the center in 2014, never made DUTA believe in the UGC regulations 2018. DUTA kept on looking for only negatives of the document with a sense of disbelief and mistrust, although there were very few for their discomfort.

Come 2021, and the scenario changed for good this year. The success story of promotions witnessed by the teachers in the era of eighties has got repeated in 2021. In its earlier version, teachers got promoted to the post of Readers, and this time they got promoted to the posts of Associate Professors and Professors in a similar way. That DUTA is finding it difficult to claim this achievement, lies in the fact that they never let the teachers believe in the positive aspects of the UGC Regulations. NDTF (National Democratic Teachers Front), a right wing teachers organization, displayed exemplary confidence in the UGC Regulations 2018 and kept on projecting its unbelievable provisions as realizable when others claimed them to be unrealistic and unrealizable. This confidence of NDTF and its current presidential candidate Prof. A. K. Bhagi that led this dream come true has made them emerge as the real hero in this entire dream-like sequence that is running for almost a year till now. There may have been some failures, but the successes are so enormous that failures have been rendered as aberrations rather than rule. And this has changed the scenario. This has generated a lot of hope and positivity in the teaching community. With NDTF claiming to support ‘regularization’ of working adhoc teachers after running the success show on promotion story, their promises have ignited many hopes to realistic levels. Teachers seems to be in a clear mood to take a plunge, to give their hope a chance and thereby to reclaim the old glory of DUTA. Writing is on the wall and after more than two decades of absence, time is destined to give NDTF its well-deserved and well-earned chance to show its mettle and resolve in fulfilling their promises and hopes. 

Data speaks for itself: The Campus environment is set to change

Let some data and facts given below, speak for itself:

Students of Kerala Board will not be eligible any more for admission in the second list as being hundred percenters, almost all of 4824 students were eligible for the first cut off. 

However, there are around 8 to 9000 seats available in the Campus Colleges for admissions this year. And the 2365 hundred percenters from a single board must have got admissions on these 8 to 9000 seats of the Campus Colleges. Ask any security agency to realize that to control the students politics and to paralyze the functioning of DU Campus, 500 dedicated volunteers would be more than enough if they are residing around and within the Campus (hostels) to make themselves available on a few minutes call. My apprehension is that in reality the number will exceed this 500 threshold by a good amount.

Just look at these figures. In one prestigious Campus college of Delhi University on the Sudhir Bose Marg

• In Zoology Hons 60 out of 70 from Kerala Board
• In Political Science 149 out of 150 from Kerala Board

Another premier Campus college near Maurice Nagar

• In Political Science Hons 29 out of 29 hundred percenter are from Kerala Board
• In B.Com, out of 40 candidates having hundred percent marks all belong to Kerala Board

 In yet another premier college in the North Campus situated on Chhatra Marg:

• In History Hons 9 out of 9 from Kerala Board
• In Sociology Hons 10 out of 10 from Kerala Board
• In English Hons 36 out 38 from Kerala Board
• In Political Science 43 out of 44 from Kerala Board

Examples are plenty. Trend is extremely unusual and demands due attention.

An HT article claims that according to the CBSE board only 550 students have been given more than 99 percent marks. Similarly Kerala Board claims about 700 students have been given hundred percent marks. However, DU claimed that 4,824 students of Kerala Board have hundred percent and around 3000 of CBSE have the same. The catch lies in the fact that DU calculates the percentage only based on Four papers and that too only in class 12. While Kerala Board considers all the papers and for 11 and 12 both, CBSE considers Five papers of the class 12. Please have a look at the following table to get to realize the actual scenario. All approximations have been done based on the numbers available on the authentic internet sites. 

Total seats in Campus colleges available for admissions 85000 approximately:

Name of the Board	Total number of pass-outs in class 12	Total applicants for DU	Number of students based on slots of marks	Suggestive percentage in four best papers for cut off based admissions in DU (Total 9200 as claimed by the registrar)	Admission taken in DU with hundred percent marks in their Best Four
CBSE	13,69,000	46,054	Less than 550 as about 550 candidates scored more than 99%	Unconfirmed sources claim this to be around 3000	around 100
KERALA State Board	3,20,000	4,824	Roughly estimated as 700	4800 as claimed through DU sources in news reports	2365
All Other Boards combined	Estimated as 60 to 70,00,000	10,026	No estimates	Around 1400	around 100

 

About 2500 students of Kerala Board did not opt for DU this year and only 2365 candidates out of 4824 students having perfect scores of hundred percent have got admitted in one of the colleges in the North campus that has a strength of 8 to 9000 students. This number in all probability is almost 90 percent of all such candidates having hundred percent. These students having such marks will claim even the hostel seats very comfortably. Only 10 percent of those having hundred percent belong to all Boards other than Kerala Board.

So, the plan has already been successfully executed. The environment of the class and the Campus will get impacted immediately with a sudden and significant demographic transformation. And as a logical conclusion, I am preparing myself for a continuous political disturbance in the Campus at the cost of our teaching-learning environment. 

Response to Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s Article “Weaponising faith: The Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath dispute” Published in The Indian Express on April 13, 2021

Look at the audacity with which Mr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes in his column, “The purpose is not to craft a connection with Shiva or Krishna, the purpose is to permanently indict minorities. It is to use a sacred place of worship as a weaponised tool against another community.” Did he and his other ‘secular’ friends ever say similar words for those who actually did this in the name of Islam? They never asked them to even be apologetic and instead helped them in glorifying their acts. Ironically, they want victims to be demonised. Just notice the way Brahmins of the time, when they were actually being especially targeted for persecution by Islamic invaders including Mughals, have been demonized in the article. He states that Pandit Jagannath was outcasted for marrying a muslim girl! The fact that Pandit Jagannath served in the courts of barbaric Mughal invaders has been wiped out to suit his narrative. Mr Pratap Bhanu refrained from demonizing Aurangzeb, but did not lose the opportunity to demonize those who were actually trying to preserve and protect themselves in the barbaric Mughal/Islamic regime known for carrying out massacre of Brahmins and destruction of temples! It is really strange that for ‘Seculars’, instead of Mughals, Brahmins were the criminal culprits even when they were being killed and persecuted!

 

The ‘secular blindness’ clearly gets reflected in his statement when he states that destroying a place of faith is ‘exactly same’ as correcting the act “In the past, the destruction of religious shrines may have been the function of state power. But modern India cannot repeat the same logic. We cannot say that because political power has changed hands, so must the power to define the religious landscape. The demand that Kashi or Mathura be returned is exactly that.”. He assumes as if a fresh and undisputed place of worship is being taken up at Gyanvapi. As a matter of fact, far from indicting a fresh wound to the other side the intention is only to heal the old wound. The religion that has actually weaponized faith since medieval period has never been asked by these ‘seculars’ to amend their ways but the victims have been continuously asked not to get their wounds healed because it would hurt those who wounded them! Logic and reasoning had already deserted the 'Seculars' of India and now they have clearly lost their mind. After all, you need to possess a high level of irrationality to spend centuries in demonizing the persecuted victims and glorifying the barbaric Islamic invaders.

Celebrations can Wait

Promotions are only serving as balm for our collective pain temporarily, as the University will not be cured unless the University begins transforming into having an adequate number of permanent teachers.

It is indeed very satisfying to witness teachers getting smoothly promoted to stage II and stage III. Promotion to the Associate Professorship has also become a reality. And above all, the mirage of promotion to Professorship in the colleges has actually been realized this time.

The reason however, behind the fact that this era of hope started as late as now despite more than six-year rule of this central government is simply inexplicable. It is even more intriguing that the delay happened despite the fact that the government was committed to all these from its early days. This is something that needs to be analyzed, decoded and reasoned out. Was this inordinate delay due to one single person or the blame needs to be shared equally with the government and other local strategists who failed in making assessment and taking timely remedial actions? The fact that it all started after sidelining one single person, underlines an unpardonable failure of those who had the responsibility to convey and convince the government to do that well in time. For, while teachers are getting promoted retrospectively without the dates of promotions getting adversely impacted, those who were waiting for a chance to become permanent will never be as lucky. The widespread celebration of these much awaited promotions might have boosted an image or two personally but it hardly soothes the pain of more than half of the teachers who have been waiting to get a chance  to become permanent. In comparison with those who got promoted from back date, these mortals will not be that lucky. They will remain at a disadvantage even if they are lucky enough to become permanent somehow now.

The public celebration of promotions leaves a bitter taste behind. I do not know if those who are waiting to become permanent for the last 5-10 years are feeling as being ridiculed at or if it is enhancing and aggravating their pain and misery, but in both the cases such celebration leaves a long lasting avoidable impression on suffering minds. In view of this, it must be honestly analyzed as to what went wrong during the last six years so that precautions can be taken at this crucial juncture when the University is looking forward to welcoming a fresh regime of five years.

Let us end the nightmare surrounding half of the teachers and create an environment of collective celebration. Celebration must wait.

Warning trends observed in DU admissions: Measures needed to foil any design to convert it into another Leftist hub

A recent trend noticed in the admission pattern of undergraduate courses in Delhi University must draw immediate attention of the policymakers. The statistics is pregnant with wide spectrum of possibilities hidden inside it. According to the sources, this year around 940 students have got admitted in Delhi University undergraduate courses with a perfect 100 percent marks in their best four subjects. As a matter of fact, this number had jumped up from 150 odd in 2016 to 450 plus last year in 2019 itself but had gone unnoticed. What must surprise us is that out of the increase of 300 registered in 2019 about 205 were contributed only from Kerala Board. What should catch our attention further is that such applicants belonging to the Kerala Board and having perfect score of 100% in best four subjects, had exploded from mere 3 in 2016 to 208 in 2019. Similar figures for CBSE board were 145 in 2016 and 160 in 2019. These numbers increased this year for CBSE too, but it can be attributed to the generous marking that happened due to Covid-19 online exam-evaluation (in 2020). The numbers increased from 160 in 2019 to 650 in 2020 for CBSE and for Kerala Board it increased from 208 to 290. But the explosion of numbers that happened for Kerala Board from 3 in 2016 to 208 in 2019 itself for reasons yet to be known must be analyzed and investigated without further delay.

These students from Kerala Board have chosen various social science courses in elite colleges of Delhi University. For example, out of 10 students under UR category admitted for the Sociology (Hons) course in one of the best Campus College this year, a whopping 8 seats now belong to the Kerala Board. In English (Hons) course for the same institution, 11 candidates out of total 23 have got admitted under UR from the Kerala Board background. In Political Science (Hons) course, such candidates have occupied a mind-boggling 31 out of 37 who were admitted in the first cut off under UR category. What must not go unnoticed is that out of these 31 students almost all have got 100% in their best four subjects. In fact, the college had announced a 99.5% cut-off for unreserved category, but they had to admit 37 under this category against their sanctioned seats of only 20. The data rightly indicates that students belonging to the Kerala Board are flooding the most sought courses in all the elite colleges disregarding the number of sanctioned seats because no college can deny these students admission into their first choice of course. In another college considered to be the best for Geography (Hons), has four students with perfect 100% but 3 out of these belong to Kerala Board. In yet another college of North Campus specialized in commerce and economics, although these numbers appear to be less but even these are highest scoring applicants from Kerala Board. The situation was heavily imbalanced in favor of Kerala Board last year since the CBSE board were not able to match their figures then.

For those who are not familiar with the admission procedure that is operational in DU colleges for undergraduate courses -> Colleges of Delhi University are expected to announce college specific cut-offs for admissions and once announced, they are obliged to admit all who satisfy the announced cut-off criteria. No student having best four score more than the announced cu-off can be denied admissions. Having a score of 100% in best four subjects is equivalent to having three aces in the game of cards. Students having hundred percent marks in class XII are sure of admission in any Delhi University College and into any subject of their choice. They can’t be denied admission on any ground. Surprisingly these students who come from Kerala and find it difficult to communicate comfortably either in Hindi or English, for some reasons have started choosing Delhi for their education after 2017-18. Ironically, Kerala - a state, that otherwise boasts itself of their excellent education infrastructure is showing such an abnormal exodus of their ‘most meritorious’ students. It must be ascertained by the policymakers, if these are innocent choices and are not part of a hidden strategy or campaign. Are the obvious shortcomings of the outdated admission process of Delhi University, based on cut off is being exploited by some strategists who are working on a plan? The fear is not entirely unfounded as one can notice that overwhelming majority of these Kerala Board students come with 100% in their best four subjects and their number decreases drastically for students having lesser best four.

One must not forget that Delhi has witnessed riots early this year in which ‘radical elements’ operating in Jamia and JNU have been found to be actively involved. A well-known and zealous lot of left-wing girls’ group that is very active in Delhi University has also been found to be involved in the same. A Kerala based rich-radical group, PFI, has also recently become very active in Delhi and have been funding all these activities. These forces must be looking for a space in Delhi University to settle itself. Delhi University and its authorities need to take up this issue seriously before this place also starts providing an environment for the students to grow as 'nation-indifferent' individuals. For obvious reasons, such forces must have realized that 'radicalization' of Jamia was easier because they neither follow any strict merit criteria nor any reservation policy in admissions. On the other hand, JNU used to follow innovative techniques to promote and facilitate admission to their ‘ideologically favoured’ candidates. Despite keeping other things under their control, 'radical' elements have failed to replicate their success in Delhi University because the admission procedure in DU has remained mechanical and transparent till now under the criteria based on cut offs. Left politics is known to use all kinds of manipulations to achieve their aim of occupying the ideological space in the campuses of premier Universities in India. In 2016, students of one single school of a south Indian state occupied majority of seats in SRCC (Sri Ram College of Commerce). And that probably showed the ‘radical’ elements a way to occupy the students’ space in DU.

For the past several years left politics have failed to impress the students of DU and recently they have witnessed worrying signs of decline in their popularity. In some students’ union elections they could get less than even the NOTA votes. These statistics must also alert the policymakers as the rare possibility of scoring perfect hundred in class XII examinations that was unimaginable a couple of years ago is becoming worryingly common now. Let Delhi University learn the lesson fast and adopt the recommendation of the New National Education Policy 2020 to implement entrance examination for undergraduate courses from the next year. This would be enough to spoil any game plan of the forces, trying to occupy the ideological space in DU using their new-found marks-manipulation strategy.

हिन्दू विरोधी दिल्ली दंगों को गुजरात दंगो के तौर पर हिन्दू आतंकवाद की झूठी कहानी बनाने में कसाब की तरह फिर से विफल रहे अर्बन नक्सली और इस्लामी कट्टरपंथी समूह

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उदारवादी-वामपंथी कहे जाने वाले अर्बन नक्सली और इस्लामिक कट्टरपंथियों का गठजोड़ वैसे तो बहुत पुराना है मगर वर्तमान परिस्थितियों ने इन्हें और भी इकठ्ठा कर दिया है। केरल के महामहिम राज्यपाल और विद्वान श्री आरिफ मोहम्मद खान साहेब अक्सर कहते हैं कि उन्होंने आज़ादी से पहले पाकिस्तान की मांग करने वाले कई इस्लामी कट्टरपंथियों को रातो रात आज़ादी के बाद उदारवादी-वामपंथी बनते हुए देखा है। हिन्दुस्तान का बंटवारा करने के बाद पूरे भारत को पाकिस्तान बनाने वाली सोच रखने वाले इस्लामी कट्टरपंथियों ने भी उदारवादी वामपंथियों का झूठा चोला पहन लिया। इन्हीं कट्टरपंथियों की सोच से जन्मा सेक्युलरिज्म का षडयंत्र भारत के देशवासियों को ही अपनी जड़ों से उखाड़ कर इस्लामी कट्टरपंथी सोच के लिए सहुनुभूति जगाने का काम करने लगा। ये लॉबी अकादमिक जगत में इतिहास लेखन के नाम पर झूठ परोसने का काम करता रहा, फिल्मों में इसी पॉलिसी के तहत आतंकियों का मानवीयकरण और हिन्दू धर्मावलंबियों का आतंकी करण होता रहा। और ऐसे कामों के लिए इन्हें विदेशों से कभी तो एनजीओ तो कभी हवाला के माध्यम से फंडिंग भी मिलती रही।

राम मंदिर आंदोलन के साथ सेक्युलरिज्म के नाम पर साम्प्रदायिकता का ज़हर फैलाने के विरोध में एक मुहिम शुरू हुआ। इस मुहिम को अप्रत्याशित सफलता मिलनी शुरू हुई और देखते ही देखते अटल जी के नेतृत्व में केंद्र में एनडीए सरकार बन गई। हिंदू जागरण के इस नए अध्याय से आहत पाकिस्तान परस्त इस्लामी कट्टरपंथी और उन्हीं के उदारवादी वाम समूह ने भगवा आतंकवाद का खयाली हौवा बनाने का प्रपंच चलाया। उस समय हुए गोधरा काण्ड के फलस्वरूप फैले गुजरात दंगों को इन्होंने हाथो हाथ इसी मंशा से लपक लिया। गोधरा काण्ड की पूरी तरह से अनदेखी करके गुजरात दंगों को इन्होंने उल्टा राष्ट्रवादी ताकतों द्वारा ही रचित एक साजिश के रूप में स्थापित करने की कोशिश की। आज भी गुजरात दंगों को 800 मुसलमानों और 250 हिन्दुओं की पीड़ादायक हत्या की जगह एक खयाली आंकड़ा बनाकर 2000 मुसलमानों की हत्या के नाम से जाना जाता है। आज भी हमारे याददाश्त से 40 महिलाएं और बच्चों के साथ साथ 60 तीर्थयात्रियों के ज़िंदा जला डालने के आंकड़ों को नकारकर यही लॉबी इन दंगों को प्रिंट और विज़ुअल मीडिया में पूरी तरह से एक भगवा आतंकवाद का नमूना बनाकर पेश करती रही है। सारे रिपोर्ट्स और यहां तक कि सुप्रीम कोर्ट का फैसला इनके खिलाफ आने के बावजूद इन लोगों ने गुजरात दंगों को बीजेपी के द्वारा एक प्रायोजित भगवा हिंसा के रूप में स्थापित करने में सफलता हासिल कर लिया।

इसी सफलता को दोहराने का षडयंत्र इस बार फिर दिल्ली में इन्हीं शक्तियों के द्वारा किया गया। गुजरात दंगों के तौर पर पहले इन शक्तियों ने हिन्दुओं के खिलाफ हिंसा करके दंगा करने की शुरुआत की। और उसी प्लान के तहत बाद में भड़के हिंसा में सिर्फ एकतरफा रिपोर्ट करके सरकार को घेरने का फिर से षडयंत्र रचा। दिल्ली हिंसा की शुरुआत में ही 24 फरवरी को दिल्ली पुलिस की एक पेट्रोलिंग टुकड़ी पर गोधरा अंदाज़ में ही उन पुलिस वालों के मुकाबले कई गुना ज़्यादा लोगों ने चारों तरफ से घेर कर जानलेवा हमला कर दिया। उनके हिंसक घेरे में फंस चुकी पुलिस की टुकड़ी में डीसीपी अमित शर्मा, एसीपी अनुज कुमार को बुरी तरह से जख्मी किया गया, हेड कांस्टेबल रतनलाल की तो गोली मारकर निर्मम हत्या ही कर दी और उनके कई साथियों को भी बहुत ही बुरी तरह से जख्मी कर दिया गया। इसके बाद की कई हत्याएं, दंगाई हत्या की जगह सोची समझी और निर्ममता से अंजाम दी गई कई हत्याएं हुईं जिसमें अंकित शर्मा की हत्या ने तो अमानवीयता की सारी हदें ही पार कर दीं। मगर अपनी पुरानी गुजराती सफलता के मद में अंधे अर्बन नक्सली और इस्लामी कट्टरपंथी ताकतों ने भड़काने वाली निर्मम हत्याओं की जगह उसके फलस्वरूप भड़के हुए दंगों को अपने फ्रेम में डाल कर सिर्फ और सिर्फ उन्हीं की चर्चाओं से शुरुआती साजिशी हत्याओं को भुलाने की कोशिश में लग गए।

मगर इस बार उन्हें सफलता हासिल नहीं हुई। एक तो सरकार की चुस्ती से दंगा भड़कने के कुछ ही घंटों में दंगों पार काबू पा लिया गया। गुजरात की तरह इन शक्तियों को 800 मुसलमानों का 2000 और 240 हिन्दुओं का शून्य बनाने का मौका नहीं मिला। आज दिल्ली दंगों को लोग हिन्दू विरोधी दंगों के नाम से जानते हैं। शाहीन बाग और उसके उसके जैसे कुछ और बागों में जो हिन्दू विरोधी ज़हर फैलाने का काम चल रहा था उसका पूरा प्रपंच देश के सामने नंगा हो गया। अब खिसियानी बिल्ली की तरह एक प्रकाशन पर अपने प्रभाव का इस्तेमाल करके इन्होंने जिस सच को विश्व के सामने लाने से रोकने की कोशिश की, वो सच अब इनके सर के ऊपर चढ़कर बोलेगा ऐसा इन्होंने खुद ही सुनिश्चित कर दिया है। अर्बन नक्सलियों और इस्लामी कट्टरपंथियों के द्वारा गुजरात में किए गए प्रयोग की सफलता इन्हें गुजरात में भले ही ना मिली मगर उसकी सफलता उन्हें गुजरात से बाहर और दूसरे बाहरी देशों में ज़रूर मिली थी मगर इस बार इनका दिल्ली प्रयोग उस लिहाज से भी पूरी तरह उल्टा पड़ गया। कसाब की तरह हिन्दू आतंकवाद की कहानी बनाने की कोशिश में खुद ही पकड़ लिए गए और देश के सामने नंगे हो गए।

सच को सामने लाने के लिए सुश्री सोनाली चितलकर, सुश्री प्रेरणा मल्होत्रा और एडवोकेट मोनिका अरोरा का हृदय से आभार। आइए हम सभी दिल्ली रायट्स 2020 - द अनटोल्ड स्टोरी पढ़ कर सच को पूरी तरह से जाने और समझें।

Appointment of Teachers in Delhi University: Will that take more than ten years?

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Delhi University is facing a crisis on the issue of appointments of teachers as till a year ago the issue was not even seen to be on the priority that it deserved, for almost a decade. It was neither given due attention by the University nor by the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) that has been led mostly by communist Presidents during this period. And surprisingly, this has happened despite the fact that barring a short period of ban from March 2018 to March 2019 (as a result of a court verdict) there were no government orders against making appointments. In 2016 December, Delhi University had to make a promise to Delhi High Court that it would complete the task of making all 3500+ appointments by July 2017. It failed to do that. And despite proactive steps taken by UGC/HRD in notifying a time-schedule in May-June 2019 asking the university to follow it and make all appointments in six months, Delhi University is yet to take off. However, the issue of appointment of teachers in Delhi University is not as simple as it might appear and it needs to be studied in some detail and that is being attempted here.

Present Status

Let us first estimate the present size of the problem which is the main parameter which indicates that this particular concern of Delhi University must be given the highest priority. On an average 300 teachers retire each year from Delhi University. From 2007 there have hardly been any significant drive for permanent appointments. Therefore, in thirteen years around 3900 vacancies must have got created due to retirement of teachers by now. The University was sanctioned around 2000 posts under the first tranche of OBC expansion in 2009. The total vacancies contributed by these factors would add up to 5900. Out of which around 1400 appointments were made and therefore about 4500 posts must be still lying vacant out of these. 2000 additional posts that were due since 2010 under second tranche of OBC (Other Backward Castes) expansion were sanctioned by the UGC last year in 2019. This makes the total vacancies in 2019 as 6500. This year, apart from the 300 posts that will get created due to retirement, University is also expecting around 2000 posts under EWS (Economically Weaker Section) expansion scheme. These factors would make the number reach 8800 approximately. These figures are displayed below in a self-explained tabular format.

Posts created/filled up in the year	Posts due to retirement of teachers	OBC Expansion posts	Appointments made	Cumulative posts
2007	300			300
2008	300			600
2009	300	2000 (1st tranche)		2900
2010	300		500	2700
2011	300			3000
2012	300			3300
2013	300			3600
2014	300			3900
2015	300		500	3700
2016	300		400	3600
2017	300			3900
2018	300			4200
2019	300	2000 (2nd tranche)		6500
2020	300*	2000* (EWS expansion)		8800*

(This table illustrates rough estimates that reasonably matches with the existing/expected reality)

*These posts were expected to get created this year.

An explosive situation

Right now, around 5000 teachers must have been working as permanent teachers. Rest around the same number are working as Adhoc teachers. These teachers have been working under extreme uncertainty as they are appointed only for four months at a stretch and are continued again after a day's break. After the sanction of posts due to EWS expansions therefore, the strength of permanent teachers will get reduced to around 40 percent. Any education institution would not be able to perform to its potential if 60 percent of their staff are working under uncertainty. In the past several UGC Regulations, it is clearly mentioned that not more than 10 percent strength should be working on such uncertain service conditions. There is an urgent need to address this problem as it has been allowed to get accumulated to such alarming level primarily due to overlooking of the problem by the authorities. Any further lapse may only make the situation more explosive and beyond repair.

Reason for not holding interviews

Following major reasons can be traced for not holding interviews.

1. Due to continuous experimentation with the course structure moving from annual to semester in 2009-10 and then to FYUP in 2011-12, back to semester in 2015 and then CBCS in 2017, there was an uncertainty about the permanent requirement of some of these vacancies.
2. Adhoc teachers were considered to be useful (exploitable) for executing swift changes in the course structures as seen during the initial phase of this period.
3. Authorities have apparently avoided making appointments fearing it difficult to handle because of its huge number, at least since 2016.
4. UGC directing the university against making appointments between March 2018 to March 2019 to avoid frequent changes in the appointment roster from 200 point department wise roster to 13 point institution wise roster and back again to 200-point roster.
5. Convenience in making adhoc appointments that has remained in practice for the last more than forty years.
6. Selection committees in pre-2005 era had an edge for the college authorities in making decisions and this was reversed in 2005 in favour of the University teachers by making a decisive change in the constitution of selection committees. An EC resolution gave similar deciding edge to the college authorities for adhoc appointments. Colleges, since then started avoiding holding interviews for permanent posts and preferred adhoc appointments.

Is it possible to fill posts through the existing process of appointments

In response to the advertisements to fill up these posts last year, colleges have received applications in huge numbers. There are on an average around 1500 to 2000 applicants for each department of a college and typically, a college has 10-12 departments in DU. A college that has 12 departments where interviews need to be conducted, would require to hold twelve selection committees that on an average would conduct interviews for 50-60 days. In all of these, presence of Principal and Chairman would be required. Theoretically, this might appear to be possible but it is difficult for any institution to postpone all other activities for holding selection committees. Then a department in the University that would be required to send experts in all the colleges where selection committees will be held in their subject, will also feel the pressure to perform. This is because there are departments whose courses run in more than 30-40 colleges. To manage such a schedule will never be an easy task. The departments will also have to ensure that no two dates in different colleges clash in this schedule as it would deny the candidates their fair opportunity to appear in both the interviews. 

Without getting into the complex details given above, we can try to arrive at a fair estimate using our earlier experiences and attempts. During 2015-16, in approximately more than a year the university was able to conduct interviews to fill up around 8-900 posts. That was a decent drive carried out for a short time when the university had put the appointment drive on its highest priority and therefore, we should not expect to cross on an average 7-800 selections in an year even now. Since there are 300 posts getting additionally vacated due to retirement, one can only target to reduce the number of vacancies by approximately 500 posts (i.e. by making appointments at a challenging rate of 800 per year) in a year. To fill up the 6500 posts therefore (including OBC second tranche but excluding EWS expansion posts), it would take another 13 long years, assuming no adverse developments spring up to stop this exercise during this long period of time. If EWS posts are also added, it would take around fifteen years.

As a matter of fact, it is enough to know that to fill up just 126 posts in the Faculty of Law, interviews were held for more than three months in 2017 that began on July 24 and ended on September 29. And appointment letters to the selected candidates were issued only after the list was approved on January 27 2018. It was just ridiculous that the University had to accept in Delhi High Court in December 2016 that it would complete the process of making appointments in seven months by July 2017. Such a target was simply impossible to achieve under the prevailing scheme of making these appointments. If only the number is somehow (Absorption is just one of those ways) reduced by at least half, the process cannot be completed in five-six years of time. And for this also, university will have to keep appointments on its highest priority.