कहर क्यों बरपा

ये कोरोना का कहर,

बियाबान-उजड़्ते शहर।

वो तड़्पते मरीज,

सिसकती जिंदगियां।

बदहवास परिजन,

भरे अस्पताल,

खाली सिलेंडर,

थकते वेंटिलेटर,

टुटती सांसें,

श्मशान की लंबी कतारें,  

धधकती चिताओ,

के ठंडे होने के इंतज़ार में,

बेजुबान मुर्दे,

घूर रहे पथराई आंखों से,

शायद बहुत सताया होगा।

मानो कह रहे हों,

अब तो पीछा छोड़ो,

जाने दो भाई।

मुफ्त बिजली,

मुफ्त पानी,

मुफ्त बस पास,

सब बेकार,

किस काम की ये मुफ्तखोरी।

बहुत लड़ लिये

इन पत्थर के इंसानों से,

शायद परलोक में कुछ

आराम मिल जाये,

और पीछे छूट जाये,

ये मौत का मंज़र।

जहां इंसानों को

इंसान समझा जाये।

 

Divine Cart

 An old father grieving by the pyre of his son,  

Many a thing he enjoyed when he was a child,

Remembering taking his son to woods and field, 

To ecstasy the melodious singing of cuckoo one. 

Recalling hymns from a temple and priest forlorn, 

A torrent, a howl of a jackal, a honeybee song, mild; 

A lass milking a cow and she will dream and wild, 

For the sweetness and joy of life, now lost and gone. 

 

He will recall how he took him to his school, 

How he waited for hours for the train to a new start,  

And by his hard work took to new height and tool, 

As none but he could take onward in world harsh, 

Against all odds. Dreaming so of life good and marsh 

While the pyre crackles, he will be at the divine cart.   

 

 

 

 

The game of Chess

 

Jackals come to my pyre but don't weep;

Bake your cakes and enjoy sound sleep;

I am not a vote bank that sound and blow;

I am an innocent soul whose pyre glow.

I am a ripened life in gloomy sunlight,

I am a gentle and calm soul bright,

I am a gentle bird in muddled game,

I am a bright star that shines but no fame. 

 

I am a pyre with blown up many a dream, 

Come and warm yourself but don't grieve,

When you read these lines at dawn hush,

I will be in succumb tally made in rush.

Defend your wickets against cruel bowlers,

It is not the fire crackers, but dream howlers. 

 

भटकती सांसें

 कौन यहां जो तुझको पूछे,

साया नहीं जो तुझको खोजे,

घर वही और वही है स्थान,

पर यहां नही कोई तेरी पहचान।

जब चाहे तब तू रोये,

जब चाहे तब तू मुस्काये,

रात वही है और दिन भी वही,

पर नहीं है कोई तेरा हमराही।

तन भी अपना और मन भी अपना,

है जीवन अपना और सपना अपना,

तू यहां रहे या वहां फिरे,

पर सपने सारे रहें अधूरे।

ओ भटकती सांसें, अब तू ही बता,

कहां है मेरा ठिकाना और कहां है पता।

My cow and Me

 

 My cow was very sad,

There is eerie silence,

She has all the ideas,

What is wrong in the nation.

 

She fast came to me,

Shook her tail and shook her neck;

Lick my hand and made a loud voice,

Towards the dark sky.

 

She encircled me with her neck,

Told me to sit with her inside,

Stay in and stay safe,

And listen the call from dear ones.

 

The birds were chirping,

Cow and I are well,

Eyes of my cows smile with me,

My cow is very Happy.

 

 

 

 

 

Stop para-dropping academics

The much-hyped controversy on the resignation of Pratap Bhanu Mehta from Ashoka University has got wide space in the media. People have got a chance to discuss the role of academic freedom in universities in India. This is a very well known fact that all want liberal funding from the government but all want full freedom. Now, the government is inviting private investments in the universities and our academics are obsessed with the foreign model of Oxford, Cambridge and Harward, the interest of teachers and students are not at all a prime concern in the institutions of higher education. 

Now, the prime concern of learners is to collect certificates and degrees. They are not at all interested in studies and knowledge. Teachers are more interested in research, projects, seminars, conferences, foreign visits etc and to make their C.V. loaded with paper achievements and collecting points. All these activities and financial resources cannot create world-ranking and high-impact educational institutions. Failure of Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Canada is the latest example of this kind. 

Singapore invited institutions of higher education in the west to develop their campuses in Singapore and they got very liberal financial assistance from the Singapore government. Yale University established an undergraduate college of liberal arts in Singapore in collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS). 

However, this experiment failed in Singapore and it never developed as a real equivalent to Yale University. Ultimately, Yale-NUS did not allow students to create branches of political parties and other groups. It also banned strikes, dissent, criticism and any political activity to discipline the students and teachers.  

The much-hyped concept of freedom of expression or speech is created by these western institutions. Para-dropped academics who were the production of these western universities but could not get any position there rushed to India with these lifted from the west. However, the too much liberal context in which the Indian universities works, these borrowed concepts disturb the academic environment and keep away serious scholars and teachers. 

So financial support is not the prime concern. Experiences of Singapore, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have proved this beyond any doubt. Economics historian from Harvard, Alexander Gerschenkron very correctly observed that "intellectual climate" in India is strikingly different from those of early rulers from whom they borrow different concept like "freedom of speech."  

As a result, the need and working of educational institutions cannot ape  (such as academic freedom, dissent)  the concept of their ousted colonisers. 

In India, governments want educational institutions and institutions of the nation to take part in social and national development, even government officials serving in universities. Hence, the refusal of director IIM Ahmedabad, Errol D'Souza was not appreciated by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to review a PhD thesis already approved by the IIM. 

In India, academic freedom, the most important and fundamental feature in western universities, has no value and discipline and expertise restrict academics and scholars. This clash of concept and borrowed ideology was seen in Ashoka University. Prof.Mehta followed the borrowed concept blindly in a nation where participation of academics in dissent, politics and criticism of governments is not welcome. 

It is not a guarantee of the freedom of expression, dissent, debate promotes excellence and world-class institutions. Academicians and scholars have to be loyal to local needs and local systems. After all, it is their responsibility to loyal to their world. There should be a balance in university affairs and the freedom of speech, debate and dissent to create and flourish world-class institutions. 

The governments and the leaders can provide a positive consultative role relevant to the excellence of the institutions. Creating and promoting internal academics in a time-bound manners cum seniority, as professors, deans and vice-chancellors. These faculty members would provide a more efficient and healthy university fraternity and leadership. 

A good relationship with students, faculty, authorities and alumni is very critical and important. There must be clarity and division of powers and roles. Academic freedom, duty and discipline go hand-in-hand. The political masters should not dictate governance. The small group of nit-pickers should not be allowed to control all the voices. They should not be allowed to encumber the academic and administrative working of the universities. 

Now there are no limits to freedom and debates. All respect diverse points and duty. It is also the responsibility of everyone that ambience prevails on the campuses. A tiny number of students and teachers, guided by their political masters cannot hold the universities to ransom. Media is always there to give oxygen to such elements. This small group of students and teachers are against the very idea of freedom of expression and dissent. 

Now tolerants are most intoleranats and liberals are most narrow-minded. They are against the very idea they advocate. The objective of this write-up to understand reality through the lane of divergent opinion. Selective media reporting has created a comedy of strife that suits the ideological composition of a handful of self-styled scholars of eminence. They are so much intolerant to others that they create all the obstacles in the appointments and promotions of others. So, to meet all these problems systems should be simple. All the eligible candidates for the promotions should be promoted automatically as professors, deans and vice-chancellor in a time-bound manner to the democratisation of the university space. 

This will give a larger segment of the university community a space to work smoothly.  

Need for discipline in the university

The nation needs discipline and peace in the university campuses. It can only flourish with dedicated academicians and meritorious learners. Universities have been established to impart knowledge. Their role is most important in making the nation and society- wise and well-informed. 

However, in the name of freedom of expression and autonomy, their most important aim of knowledge has weakened. Now, academicians, as well as the learners, want that the government should finance them fully and leave them free of any government guideline and regulation. They must have complete autonomy about all the matters.

So many shoddy forums and institutes have come-up to misguide or instigate the teachers and learners about the so-called academic freedom and autonomy. One such institute the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPI) has established The Academic Freedom Index that described that academic autonomy and freedom has been under attack in universities in many nations. Here, it would be in the fitness of things the famous comment by Albert Einstein, "By academic freedom, I understand the right to search for truth and to publish and teach what one holds to be true. This right also implies a duty: One must not conceal any part of what one has recognised to be true."

All want liberal financial support by the government, certificate and degrees with high grades, good hostel facilities, flexible time frame, quotas, scholarships, government jobs with high perks and no work and whatnot but nobody wants any duty, restrictions, discipline and rule of law.

During the last few years, vested interests have turned the university into a place only for freebies, strikes, dharnas, demonstrations, the boycott of classes and exams and shut down. Their only aim is to de-stabilize the system. These elements want their complete say right from admissions to the appointment of the Vice-chancellor and professors. They only want academic freedom and institutional autonomy but no to regulatory strictness. They involve politicians, media, caste and communal leaders, NGOs, professional activists in the name of academic freedom and public debate.

The nation needs to understand this deep conspiracy, which will disturb the workings and future of Indian universities in India and across the world. At the very outset, it should be clear to all that if academicians and learners want academic freedom as fundamental and the most important issue, then they should also arrange their financial resources. They should not look at the taxpayers' money to fill their coffers for their enjoyment. They should understand their duties as teachers and students. There was a time when the nation took pride in its universities and educational institutions. However, this excellence has been ruined in the name of freedom of speech and autonomy.

It is good to enjoy the freedom of expression but it must be free from ideological manipulations. Stakeholders must understand their duty with discipline in a democracy promoting knowledge and morals. As educators should understand their complex role as a guide to society. They should not be swayed by the ideological pressures: favouring one or disfavouring the other. They should design academic freedom within the academic context. They should not follow the historical, social, political and economical aspects blindly.

For this, recruitment should be done by the faculty. Appraisal and assessment of faculty and staff ought to be done by regular and senior faculty within the university. They must be seniority cum performance-based, following their contribution to teaching and the institution. The authority for decision and policy-making must be vested in the college or university's senior-most faculty, which includes the VC, principals, deans and professors appointed based on seniority.  Outsiders, including politicians, bureaucrats, donors, and faculty on long leave should be excluded from this process.  Internal governance of a college and university have to be led by the regular teaching faculty and not anybody from outside the university. Even faculty on long leave in the name of projects, research, visiting fellows etc should be denied all the promotions and offices.

Internal and senior faculty members should be appointed as Vice-chancellors, principals, deans, professors and head of the departments permanently. They will be better equipped to tackle and solve the problems of the universities and colleges in a much better way.  

Preparation of programmes, courses, curriculum, teaching methods, and administration of colleges/departments ought to be within the university administration as per recognized system, rules and regulations of the university with all powers of decision-making controlled by the faculty and staff of the university. Internal evaluation system and internal assessment system should be discouraged and discontinued. All the decisions are taken following the laws, rules, regulations and guidelines given by the government and regulatory bodies. Nobody from outside the university system is encouraged to exercise control or influence decisions and workings.

The emphasis should be on teaching. Research and project work should not be encouraged at the cost of teaching and classes. In such matters, the head of the department's ought to have full freedom and academic autonomy. Those faculty members who're involved in projects, academic research ought to be treated as junior to those who are involved in teaching and institutional work. There should be separate institutions for research work and publications. It is commonly seen that incompetent teachers hide their incompetency behind research, projects and publication.

With academic freedom, the university system should give meaningful importance to higher regulatory bodies. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has visualized substantive regulatory reforms to empower Indian universities. Multiple stakeholders for governance should be reduced. Multiple stakeholders just create confusion, corruption and delays and achieve nothing.

No university can function in an honestly autonomous manner without the support of the government. NEP 2020 is very clear about this. There will be a regulatory framework to ensure integrity, efficiency, transparency and resource generation. For research, innovation and new ideas separate research institutions are envisaged in NEP 2020.  

However, for decision-making one has to give acceptance and legitimacy to the seniority and commitment to teaching and institution should be the hallmark. Politics, strikes, nepotism, boycott and favouritism  and disagreements lead to acrimonious engagements that can vitiate the academic and intellectual and academic ecosystem, and universities and colleges must be cautious against that.

The vision and imagination of NEP 2020, if implemented honestly, will enable Indian universities to endow with world-class education, while promoting excellence and contributing to nation-building. 'Atmanirbharta', for the society and nation, institutions, especially educational institutions and universities, is tangled with the fundamental principles of freedom, excellence, autonomy and governance and India will be 'Vishvaguru' once again.