THE FOUR YEAR DEGREE PROGRAM OF DELHI UNIVERSITY: WHY THE FUSS

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books Indian academics need some issue to scream their throats off. A few years back it was the Ayodhya question, then it was the Godhra issue and now the four year degree programme. I am amazed at the tenacity with which they enter the public domain and start screaming about issue over which they have just not applied their limited minds. I cannot say that they oppose innovative schemes just for the sake of sounding the bugle of war. Rather it is an identity issue. To be taken seriously as an "academic' one must reinforce his/her credentials by staking out positions which are then amplified as they move form one opinion maker to another. Soon we have a cacophony of noises and the real issue gets submerged. Unfortunately these opinion makers and academics have very close links with the ruling establishment and any voice of dissent is branded "sfforization". Thus India has intellectuals whose only claim on public indulgence is the capacity to stray from one noisy issue to another without waiting to think of the consequences. The same is true of the 4 year degree programme introduced by the University ofDelhi. These public intellectuals who rail against this new innovation are well aware of the fact that all over the world the undergraduate degree is of 4 years duration. India is not able to make the cut to the Shanghai list o9r the Times list only because there is a serious disconnect between undergraduate and graduate programmes. Even in USA the undergraduate degree is of 4 years length. Indians wanting to go to the USA for their post graduate education are now expected to have an MA degree which is recognized as the equivalent of the 4 year degree course. Delhi University is only falling in line with global norms. The cacophony has already started. This morning's Hindu published from Chennai carried a center page article by a tele intellectual from that bastion of intellectual and social snobbery, JNU, in which the author has stated that the 4 year undergraduate programme is an error both in letter and spirit. She finds fault with the courses termed bridge courses which have been introduced in order to make the students competitive on the job front. It is highly elitist to say that the University should be concerned only with knowledge and not the job market. These privileged academics unlike those of us struggling in less well endowed universities do not have to bother about the first generation learners and their concern for the education of "dalits" is just that, notional and theoretical. The courses suggested and introduced by the University will go a long way in helping the stu dents get jobs in an ever shrinking job market especially after the introduction of the Mandal reservations for the OBCs who are both politically and economically well off. The major criticism seems to be that procedures were not followed. If the Academic Council and the due procedures were to be followed no innovation can ever be introduced as vested interests will organize themselves with such vigour that the Vice Chancellor will look foolish. I think the University of Delhi has done the student community a great favor and the UGC must ensure that the rest of the country follows suit. h

The Boston Marathon Terrorist Attack, the American Law Enforcement and the Media: Lessons for India

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books The President of the US, Barack Obama vowed in the memorial service that justice will be done to the victims of the Boston Attack. And just four days later one of the terrorists is dead and his brother Zzhovar Tsarneav has been arrested. Can we in India ever imagine a terrorist attack being brought to such a speedy and resolute end. I say it is very near impossible because at every step of the way Congressmen like Dig Vijaya Singha and others will advocate politics based on the identity of the perpetrators of the terrorist attack and Indian law enforcement has become the joke of the country and even in those rare cases where the terrorists have been convicted and sentenced to death identity politics is ensuring that the sentence is reduced or "commuted" to life imprisonment. India can learn quite a few lessons in becoming a hard state from the example of the USA. Right from the moment the bombs went off the Boston, Massachusetts and Federal; Law enforcement agencies like the Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco Bureau (AFT), the Boston city police and the FBI acted in clear concert with each other without making politics over jurisdiction. In India whenever there is a terrorist attack the first casualty is investigation because "Law and Order" is a state subject. Of course when the silly constitution of India was drafted it lifted whole passages from the Government of India Act of 1935 which instituted Dyarchy and at that timne terrorism either as a national or international issue did not plague India or for that matter most of the Asian world. Now the state are unwilling to concede to the CBI because under successive congress regime the Central Bureau of Investigation has become a political tool to harass and intimidate opponents and the most recent being the Coalgate issue which is supposed to be monitored by the Supreme Court of India directly. Yet the CBI allowed the Outlaw Minister Ashwini Kumar to whet the report so that the involvement of the Prime Minster and others can be obfuscated. I call Ashwini Kumar an Outlaw Minister because he is been found guilty of misconduct in a court for bribing the witness and yet he is the Law Minister of the UPA. Just imagine what credibility this fellow has. In USA on the other hand the case was recognized as a potential federal case and all niggling issues over jurisdiction set aside till the man hunt was over. This is the first lesson: Investigation should be done by an Independent body which is not controlled by the executive as most Indian ministers are rapists and criminals. The participation of the public in the investigation was exemplary. The call from the FBI and the police to post video and cell phone footage of the race was rewarded immediately as the 2 brothers were spotted walking with absolute nonchalance toward the spot where they detonated the bombs. No attempt was made to sensationalize the crime. I remember Brakha Dutt and her "heroics" during the Kargil war and more recently during the November 26, 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai. Her coverage of the 26/11 attack provided advanced information to the terrorists holed up in the Taj Hotel who could see on their television screens the landing of the Black Cat Forces thanks to that f@c@ing B@@ch Barkha Dutt. Many policemen lost their lives due to the senseless acts of this Padma Shri of the UPA government. Then came the statement of the m,ad dog of the Congress Party Dig Vijaya Singha that Henant Khrakhae was not killed by the Pakistani terrorists buit by "Saffron" terrorists. This code word is now used in India to deflect attention from Jehadi terrorism. Even the flak jackets used by the India special forces was sub standard because the dynastic fascists took commissions and sub standard flak jackets were supplied. I was amazed at the professional manner in which the police took charge of the crime scene and imposed the lock down of Boston, Waterfront and Cambridge. The American police Identified, Isolated and Killed the prime suspect. If this happens in India the first thing which the tongues of our so called "experts" and Teleintellectuals from JNU will holler is that it is "fake" encounter" and then all kinds of silly conspiracy theories will do the rounds in the electronic media. Dig Vijaya Singha did not even spare the Bhatala House encounter in which a policeman was killed. I think it is time policing became professional in India and freed from line control of the political class. In UP a young honest and perhaps earnest police officer called Zia - ul - Haq qas killed by the criminals associated with Raja Bhaiya aa thug turned politician of the Samajwadi Party. Till now that fellow has not been even questioned let alone arrested. In USA a young officer was killed on the campus of MIT and within hours the terrorist was killed. This is the right way to enforce justice. The people of Boston behaved in an exemplary manner and I salute the Federal State and County police.

The vulgarity of dynastic fascism: Why dynastic politics harms India

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar has said something so terribly obscene even by the standards of Indian politicians that I am forced to write about it. The drought in Maharashtra is due to wrong water derangement policies and rampant corruption in the Irrigation Department. In fact the department has figured recently in a huge scam andf of course given the fact that a UPA ally is involved nothing came out of the exposure. In fact Indian politicians are not afraid of indulging in high level corruption because they know that they can get away. The Hindu this morning revealed that Rajiv Gandhoi way back in 1975 even before he entered politics was the middle man who negotiated a deal for a feet of aircraft for India. Wikileaks must be complimented once again for this exposure. Then came Bofors and not a single conviction. The same is true of the anti -Sikh Riots of 1984: the Congress hushed up the entire episode under the convenient blanket. Ajit Pawar says that he cannot fill the dam by "urinating " in them. When the people of Maharashtra are facing the most severe crisis caused by the drought his remarks only reveals a dynastic fascist mind set that has only contempt for the people of India. Do you think that the people of India i. e the voters will punish such politicians when they come up for reelection. I do not think so. Indians do not have a powerful public memory and vote on the basis of extremely short term considerations. Had the Indian voter been intelligent and discerning he would not have voted the UPA to power by defeating the BJP led NDA Government. Of course, the first past the winning post electoral system that India is saddled with makes it possible for undesirable elements to gather the plurality of votes. Rahul Gandhi made yet another of his stupid meaningl;ess remarks that has rightly earned him the title Amul Baby. He says that India is a "bee hive". Does this stupid fellow even understand the implications of his remark. In a bee hive you have a parasitical queen bee and an army of drones and workers who gather "honey". The Congress Party is gathering honey for a "queen bee" and the drones i.e the chidambarams, the C P Joshis, the ManMohan Singhs, the Kapil Sibals etc gather honey. How apt this metaphor is. Even a stupid man like Rahul can come up with amazingly accurate analogies. If Indian reward dynastic fascism they are only putting the seal of approval on a culture of violence, corruption, criminality and rape. I hope the Indian voter has more sense in 2014.