Bark when you should and bite when you ought to...

This is in response to the recent "headline" that Shiv Sena chief has hit out at Sachin Tendulkar on comments made to the media last week.

In the democratic country such as India, every citizen has a right to express. The Master has it, the Old Tiger has it, as well as we have it. So, there's nothing unique about that. What is unique and of special significance is the ability to decide when to express yourself. It is quite special since an averaged opinion of the mass bares a certain relative value in every context.

The Master opined, the Old Tiger opined something completely irrelevant and then we are following the same course. Whatever the Shiv Sena maestro opined becomes the party's stand on the (non-existent) issue and not, mind you not Maharashtra's or for that matter even any Maharashtrian's opinion. And let's not even go into the relevancy of his comments, because it will be a futile exercise.

Having said that, one must recognize that its best not to regurgitate this matter further by discussing about it. Do I mean to say that Shiv Sena is right and that you have no right to express? No! I simply want to say that a line becomes a Headline depending on the stress given on it and the extent of attention it gains. Let's not give any importance at all to any such irrational, absurd, ill-conceived and politically inclined statement by chewing on it further. Be it by MNS-XYZ party, and be it against SRT-ABC individual - if its that irrelevant, its got to vanish in the archives as soon as possible!

Ohh well .. you wuss .. why not speak out? That's exactly what they want you to do. They .. who?? The media, the politicians et. al. Why?? Media - of course for their TRPs and high SEO rankings for their shows and websites and politicos - for divide and conquer! The sad part - the policy makers have turned into "issue" makers!!! They just love making mountains out of molehills - it bodes well for them during elections!

And we are just as much responsible for it as the politicians. Over the past few years, just after the media-boom in India, we have "over-expressed" ourselves a few too many times over trivial and insignificant issues; which has played in favour of political parties and the media in some way or the other. We should have stepped off the gas yesterday and its never too late!

Its probably more important not to discuss and give importance to insignificant issues than discussing the urgent matters. Yes, we are a democracy and everyone has a right to express; but don't forget that those rights come with a certain amount of responsibility. If every one of us recognizes the power that resides in controlled and focussed expression of opinion (irrespective of what the others may or may not do), it won't be too long before we'll see a much responsible media and probably 1 or 2 responsible and respectable politicians!

So .. Let them bark, do not bark back at them and give a false sense of fear that there's a wolf nearby. Let it just get bored in the absence of any response, put its tail between the legs and leave quietly. Focus your viciousness and power on the real wolves and hyaenas lurking in the woods nearby. Bark when you should and bite when you ought to!

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The IIT story : Cheaper by the dozens ???

This is not my place to comment on IITians or their brilliance .. I lost that right when I chickened out of the JEE preps because it was too much of a load for my pea-sized, biologically inclined brain .. I have always enjoyed math and physics, but not for a 3 hrs of grueling exam .. definitely not! But, it is my place to talk and discuss about the IIT affairs, government policies about IIT - being an Indian citizen, more so even - being a student and thus a product of today's Indian educational policies (or politics??? Well, there was never a fine line ..).

This is about the Sunday special article in T.O.I. written by TNN correspondent Neelam Raaj, titled "IIT versus IITs" that appeared in April 27, 2008's Sunday edition of T.O.I. And here's the glimpse of that article -

You can catch the full version of the article by clicking on its title mentioned in the above para.

So, according to the recent government policies, the existing seven are going on 16. Should we be exuberant about it? Should we accept it merrily? Would it be right to think that this is the way to go and end the big indian hooplah of "Brain drain"? Is the Italian-run puppet show at the south block right about this one? Or are they just trying to please the Left who send out a hollow roar once in a while with their new found "power" (to be the best cry-baby ever!)??

Clearly, I am not in favor of the frivolous expansion. I do not understand the logic behind decentralization of an institute, and that too of IIT's stature - the institute that has enjoyed its glory and renown in being a centralized body. India as an independent country has had this fascination towards decentralized governance for quite some time now and practices the same vigorously at every possible level and strata. It is fine to decentralize when you have to reach out to masses of people for basic education, basic life needs, health awareness, local administration and such extremely sensitive and crucial aspects of democracy. After all, this is a country that enjoys its second place after China in world demographics! It is actually sad to see Indian government executing the decentralization policy in areas that would do good without it - this gives me a creepy feeling of the continuation of "British Raj" at the feeble hands of today's babus and netas - "todo aur fodo" was the main weapon of goras in the pre-independence era and today, even after 50 years of independence, if the leaders of our country are content in executing the same tactic so as to secure vote banks - what good is it, in calling ourselves "an independent nation" - if we haven't learned from that black past? I feel disgusted.

Back to the basics - Why one decentralizes a governing body? So as to have better distributed and outstretched, smoothly functioning pupil-governances within every small pocket of the target population. So, does the original body retain its uniqueness and the global entity that it used to enjoy? Certainly not ! This causes dilution - dilution of the basic structure and concept .. dilution of the uniqueness and selling point .. and dilution of the code of conduct. For the original IITs have been based on these three major pillars that sets them apart from any other institute. Increasing their number would be like widening the narrow aperture at the bottom of the funnel. What good is that? Is future India ready to be content with an average IITian? Can future India then dream of building its own version of the silicon vally or NASA or pentagon or whichever western standard that Indians are so fond of - with this new below-par-IIT-brood? I think not. Now why am I saying this? For the simple reason that we do and will lack resources. What good a smart student without an equally smart and motivating IIT professor? Is central government of India magically going to produce all these brilliant IIT professors out of nowhere for all the 16 IITs? I think not. As Ms. Raaj correctly points out the current deficit in expected and recruited number of professors at IIT-D. If this is the case today then we better not imagine about the future.

The other point is that why not accept the situation that we as a country are confronted with? Why not use the money and the resources in a better way by planning and executing a justified distribution of the available resources? Why not make the existing 7 more stronger and more elite than creating new ones and making a mess of it all? At the end, the point is what does India want - the same unmatchable class of globally shining IITians or the below-par product of a nationwide batch process that would probably struggle to make a mark even in their own country?? I would certainly want the classic IITian and I am immensely proud of being friends with some of such class acts.

The other reason for this IIT expansion could be the increase in population growth rate. ... When will they learn to leave certain sacred things untarnished from their malignant contact? Why literally everything should be diseased with politics? Why can't a brilliant place like IIT remain just an educational body that is unaffected by the malevolent slime of politicians and let students enter, learn, grow and ascend to new heights? Did they really think that IIT was just another senior college that they can expand into a nationwide money making factory? I believe they did too. It is pathetically and pitifully sad to realize thus. I know it is easier to extend and expand the existing brand than to create a new one and be patient while allowing it to grow; but one has to do a bit of logical calculation of the cost. I agree that this will give many a fair chance to enter an IIT and fulfill their dream, but what fulfillment will it be if it is not the same institution anymore? Have you heard of 5 MITs, 8 Stanfords, 7 Harvards, and 6 CalTechs ??? Why aren't there those many? Coz they don't have enough funds? Ohh please .. they would have more than enough to run two countries at a time ... it is because they signify, cherish and capitalize on their uniqueness of quality, talent, and education. And what is wrong in that? Does our history tell us about several "Nalanda Vidyapiths" across the country? No. There was just one and it was unique and world famous ! But, it's not about that anymore .. is it? It's about favoring the reserve quota .. it's about creating and securing new vote banks .. it's about minting money from the civil contracts ... and only THE Manmohan knows what else !

I end this significant post with an excellent message from the visionary of the modern indian education system - Pt. Jawahlal Nehru. This is an excerpt from Jawarlal Nehru's speech on the occassion of the IIT Kharagpur's first convocation in 1956.





And thus I leave my pain to be carried forward and leave a mark somewhere ... Hope you are listening !