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.