Faculty Reservations at IITs

One hardly knows whether to laugh, cry, or simply turn away from facing the reality of what India is becoming. Underneath the glitter India remains true to the warped polity that shapes its policies.

The problem, you see, is not that the Government has imposed faculty reservations in the IITs. Banish the thought that a meritocracy cannot flourish through diktat, that it requires market forces, in their most primal form, to blossom. India is not a meritocracy. India is a compromisocracy, the original seat of "good enough." Where satyam, eva or otherwise, is no longer jayate.

The real problem is the way the ministry has demonstrated its complete lack of integrity by editing out from the minutes (!!!) all opposition to the reservations. The Government could have documented the opposition and decided to proceed with the reservations on principle. If they had the courage of their convictions. They do not. This weakling impotent Government that first mortgaged its independence to the Commies and subsequently sold what little autonomy they had to the Samajwadi Party, is now paying the tax on that sale. Think about it - they are faking a consensus where they could have taken a stand. Frankly, even writing about it is enervating. There is no longer even a sense of frustration at what India has become. Just a sense of futility at what it is.

I did not go to an IIT, so I have experienced the instructional prowess of the so-called Professors (God knows it is painful to even refer to them that way) recruited under the policy of reservations. My sympathies are with the next generation of IIT students. You starry-eyed, bright, intelligent, hopeful optimists - welcome to the rest of India.