From AMU-Alumni groupmail networks.
(a) What did Rahul Gandhi speak on skyrocketing prices? My friends in bureaucracy share that one of the IAS officer working in the Dept. of Food and Civil Supplies (the minister is Sharad Pawar), confidentially shared with me that if only 25% of the wheat stock is released in the market, the prices of wheat will come down by 50%, and such recommendation has been submitted to the minister, who is deliberately not looking into the file for the last 8 months or so. If not released, greater quantum of wheat will any way be destroyed by rodents, insects and ....
While the teeming millions of the Indian people are helplessly crying against and suffering from the price-rise.
The govt is talking of reducing expenses on luxuries, whereas, certain functionaries of the universities are spending recklessly on luxuries, violating many rules. (Not to say of the huge expenses on the billboards, hoardings etc. to welcome Mr Rahul Gandhi).
(b) What did Rahul Gandhi speak on the gross irregularities and mismanagement (financial and otherwise) in the Universities? The Higher education is running under acute crisis, many examples of rampant corruption (with clinching evidences) are coming up even in various Central universities. Is he blissfully ignorant of all these? If yes, then how can he provide us with dependable leadership? If no, then won't it be pathetic?
(c) Mr Rahul Gandhi was away from the Lok Sabha debate on Liberahan's Ayodhya Report. While organizational consolidation and vote mobilization is a priority, should not he realise that participating in the Lok Sabha debate is no less important responsibility of this man? The Congress can hardly escape its culpability in the whole episode (6 Dec' 1992), even though, at this particular moment, this political party appears to be the lesser evil, in terms of our own political pragmatism.
(d) Another thing that worried me a lot is the fact that too many professors of AMU were dying to shake hands with Mr Gandhi, without raising such questions. Academicians have got greater responsibility of putting uncomfortable questions before the powers-that- be. They have to train their students to ask such questions. Such a desperate attempt at glorifying a lesser mortal with outrageous sycophancy of the teachers was, to me, too disgusting.
(e) If the nationally subsidized personnel (students and employees) of the higher education can't raise the questions of human existence (price rise, education, health care, social justice, protection and empowerment of minorities etc.), then the things are undoubtedly very bad.
Deewaar Baar-e- Minnat-e mazdoor se hai khum
Ai khaN-numa kharab na ehsaaN Uthaaiye (Ghalib)
May I hope, the crisis-ridden (moral, intellectual and ....) AMU teachers are going to do their soul searching? The nation is looking towards them with hope (and anxiety as well).
Regards,
Dr. Mohammad Sajjad
Asstt. Prof. (Lecturer)
Centre of Advanced Study in History
Aligarh Muslim University (India)
