A
NEEDLESS CONTROVERSY IN A WASTELAND
By
Prof. M. Hasan*
(An
abridge version published in the Hindustan Times, Jaipur Edition, on March 12,
2013)
Risking
being labeled as an old fashioned academic, I believe that the recent sprouting
of several universities/technical colleges in Rajasthan hasn’t added to the
quality of our green stock, ensuring saleability of products. Their enrollments
merely show a ‘best fit’ between mediocrity and cash flow! Not outputs and
quality employments. The focus is on exploitative intensive contractual labor, land
and buildings, the golden stocks, insuring droughts of pure profits. This endemic
pure profit has spread in a dubious environment of private public partnership,
initiated and hawked by powerful
caucuses patronized by politicians and powered by resources generated by liquor
barons, land sharks, and builders’ lobbies. Quality and cost of education are
the victims.
On
the other hand, sadly, our old bullion is being converted into brass and
clay. Universities which used to attract and nurture towering international
economists, philosophers, historians and scientists have been turned into
academic dungeons, hotspots of hooliganism, with focus on elections and dance
parties for political and ethnic visibility. Criminals craft our political, social and
economic conscience! I happen to meet recently some vice-chancellors of Rajasthan University. It was disappointing. They
reflected the myopic visions, convictions and characters of individuals under
whose shadows their selections materialized. Do we want more weeds without
shades and substance? Ignoring the need for cleansing academic cesspools, one
set of politicians are busy in inventing unwholesome emotive controversies and
other set caving in lacking clarity of purpose and courage of convictions.
These
concerns emerge from an unnecessary political controversy about the land allotment for the
first, much needed, Journalism and Mass
Communication University
from the unused large chunk of land (more than 300 bigha) of the Sanskrit University, both in Jaipur. In the land
allotment letter to the Sanskrit
University,
it was clearly stipulated that from its unused land any other academic
institution can be allotted a parcel of land for maximization of output. Any
sensible politician, committed to the cause of education and welfare of the
state and aware of scarcity of land in Rajasthan, would appreciate such
qualifier. However, politicians are politicians, hell bent upon creating ruckus
with eye on election.
Denied
of cherished political turf within the party (every time this ‘implosion’ takes
place with new inputs before Rajasthan assembly elections), a priestly BJP
leader vociferously raised a hue and cry in the assembly, protesting against
allotment of land to journalism university from the unused land allotted to the language university. An apparent inference is that
the self-claimed ‘poor brahmin’ is acquiring political clouts raising this ruckus.
All angles are culturally emotive. No one from the treasury bench stood up and
clarify the matter with courage of conviction in larger interest.
Both
universities are important. In public interest if lands are acquired displacing
poor farmers, home and shop owners, why can’t the superfluous land of a
government university campus be taken for another university? It doesn’t
displace the Sanskrit
University. Predictably, the
shaken Sanskrit education minister caved in with the first salvo of the attack,
saying ‘not even an inch of land would
be parted from the Sanskrit university!’ Or, is there only one worldview within
a caste behemoth, across political beliefs, when it comes to Sanskrit? When would we would understand that
languages aren’t identifiable with, or proprietary rights of, religion or
caste. They are regional attributes. This is ominous if a minister functions so
timorously facing an election year. If the education minister failed, then the
Chief Minister should justify this land allotment for maximization of land use for
economy of scale.
In
a secular democracy one may ask how exclusive language universities (Hindi,
Sanskrit, Urdu and Hindi) are adding to wider knowledge stock and employment
opportunities, namely, their tenability, in India. With a modest experience of
having studied and taught in and visited western and African universities, I
haven’t come across a language university per se. Except the Hebrew University,
which is a full fledged university with all faculties in sciences, humanities
and engineering. I have seen centers/schools
of excellence in Oriental, Latin and African languages in leading universities
as hubs of scholarships. Delhi School of Economics and Jamia
Millia University’s
Communication Center, are examples of how universities
care for quality of education and innovations. My Alma mater, University of Jodhpur
(rechristened Jainarain
Vyas University),
during its legendary vice-chancellor VV John, used to have a galaxy of
engineers, scientists, economists, historians and Hindi litterateurs. VV John
had persuaded even legendary Ageya from Berkeley
to join Jodhpur University. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot
was student then.
Visionary
vice-chancellors and politicians know that in an age of meritocracy, without
focusing on quality of education and research (quality teachers), mere numbers add
to an unproductive burden on scarce resources. Two education ministers, both
teachers (!), one each from BJP and Congress, ruined academic peace, liberal
thoughts and quality of university education in Rajasthan. Aren’t we to worry about
the murky goings on in private campuses and the terminal plight of state
universities like the JNV and Rajasthan
University, located in CM’s
hometown and the state capital, respectively? Or, are today’s myopic politicians
just locked in horns in public fights for institutional lands and unproductive
emotive issues making Rajasthan an academic wasteland?
*Prof. Hasan was faculty in HCM Rajasthan State
Institute of Public Administration and universities of Jodhpur
and Nairobi.
Email: mhasan23@rediffmail.com
Add. 54 Kidwai Nagar, Jaipur. Cell: 09784678786
