The plight of dalit children in iNdia

The news coverage regarding the plight of the Dalits of Bhavkhedi village  and the most undignified treatment of their children by their  schools resulting in their dropping out from schools and migrating attempts  to save their lives and dignity leaves pain in the heart . What is the use of tall claims about emerging economy status, technological advancements in multiple fields, growth story ,space research achievements , highest external security arrangements , when the marginalized sections are still denied basic rights like safe living, education and dignified treatment by fellow citizens? India presents two pictures . Everything is rosy for the rich and powerful and it is every day struggle for the poor even after few decades of Independence . What type of scars  these incidents will leave on the minds and hearts of the children about whom it is reported ?

comment on stimulous measures announced by FM

People are disappointed over the three rounds of stimulus measures announced recently by the finance ministers because tax relief  here and there and more fund allocation to certain sectors are not going to solve the serious problems faced by the export automobile and real estate sectors and nor they enough to revive the economy . Primarily the  government should accept that what India is facing today is “structural crisis” and what the nation needs is permanent solutions and not adhoc measures. How is it possible to revive effective consumers demand which is the root cause for the present recession without addressing and helping the unorganized sector which was crippled by demonetisation and GST atrocities ? Massive efforts to revive this sector would result in the quick  generation of employment of several lakhs of unskilled and semi skilled employees and revive the consumption expenditure quickly  and that would be the starting point to protect the economy from further deterioration  in the recession position .

autonomy and accountability of public univercities

Both Prof. Sathis Pande and former Vice Chancellor  of JNU ,in their interview with the Hindu have articulated and  shared few of the concerns the academic community  is having regarding the autonomy of the public universities  in the existing political scenario. It is a fact  that, In a nation like India where  considerable percentage of people remain  socially ,  economically and politically backward , higher education is the only resource available for distribution . Only if the universities are allowed to function with academic freedom,  they can create a reservoir  of “critical thinking” young minds who are very much  needed for the society and for their “upward mobility. If the function of  an  university is to create only degree holders, what difference is there between an eminent public or private university and open universities which conducts correspondence courses?   Encouraging questionings  minds, supporting free debates on matters of national importance  and  fearless expression of their opinion is the duty of the university academicians . To achieve this goal it is important that  persons of eminence are appointed as Vice chancellors and professors of Emeriti . To create hurdles  in the appointment process of these posts and humiliate persons with outstanding achievements and interfere in the day today affairs  of public universities due the habit of looking at everything from political angle  is not good for the healthy and vibrant functioning of the universities.  .

on “teaching in the time of consumerism” article in the HIndu

What Krishna Kumar has stated about”marginalisation” of Indian teachers in public life in his  article, “teaching in the time of   consumerism” in the Hindu is true.    After WTO reduced education as a commodity for sale,  faster privatisation of education from primary to higher education has come to stay in India.  Since then, teachers have been reduced to a position of mere  service providers   caught between the managements and parents and  the students have become  consumers with all their rights . Hence, the nobility tag attached to the teachers traditionally has totally  disappeared . But still, the dedicated teachers with passion for teaching  are identified and respected by the  students . These teachers work hard to convert themselves from ordinary  teachers into excellent teachers and then to become outstanding teachers  through suitable pedagogic methods ,updating their knowledge constantly and with  good command over communication skill and never opt for greener pastures .   Such high quality teaching has nothing to do with eligibility test’s performance and research performance. .

Recapitalising the banks

The decision to transfer the huge amount of funds obtained from  the RBI may  assist the government to implement it’s plan  of recapitalising the public sector banks which have created serious  financial mess due  to their unwise credit operations.  But , it is   still doubtful whether , the injection of Rs 70000 crores to  be released in  a staggered manner over four  year period would help  these  banks to get back to it’s original credit strength and help the investing class to improve their performance . It could be an effective intervention only if the money invested in banks results in increased liquidity in the markets and helps in employment generation in sectors that need more labour such as , the construction industry . Any faulty steps by the banks in their credit operation as they did earlier would push the injected funds into the drain . That is the fear looming large in the concerned citizens mind.

Treatment of poor children in Utter Predesh

My heart is bleeding  reading about and looking at the visuals of  the poor malnourished children who were eating  rotis with salt as side dish. Instead of taking very severe action on those responsible for  stealing  the money meant for vegetables, fruit and milk or egg for those children, the Utter Predesh government is silent about the action taken on the journalist for exposing the fraud and inhuman treatment of the poor children  . This is India, one of the top emerging economies of the world .