I don’t recall any Union Budget which has not tampered with the duties on tobacco products over last four decades and more i.e., ever since I started reading the budget speeches. Every Finance Minister is addicted to increasing the taxes while only some people are addicted to tobacco products. The point is addiction exists and it is contagious. HRD ministry and Health Ministry are no exceptions. They are addicted to tamper the higher education of which they have no understanding.
Recollect the ordeal faced by the director of AIIMS not so long ago. Supreme Court had to intervene to give some solace by negating what parliament did by rallying around Health Minister blindly. Arjun Singh clearly had the better of IIMs and taught them what management is all about. I wonder if all IIMs collectively failed to manage Arjun Singh, even though illustriuos people were chairing their respective boards, what can they possibly teach at IIMs in the classroom. Their collective failure in itself is a good case study for IIM students. Giving a lecture to a bunch of kids with 99.9X percentile in CAT is a cake walk and putting into practice and demonstrating is different. They are all wizards in their subjects but when it comes to dealing the politicians, even collectively, they are just as inept as the next man.
In the present imbroglio at IITs, I wonder why IIMs are not actively involved and also the safe distance IISc, ISI and AIIMS are keeping. I am not suggesting that they should form a trade union but if they have common issues why not express at a common forum?
I do have some vague idea why TIFR has not figured anywhere. Fortunately, right from its inception, it has rightfully enjoyed a special status. TIFR owes everything to Homi J. Bhabha and Jawaharlal Nehru as these visionaries (have they anticipated 2009 events at a time when Kapil Sibal was just a toddler?) ensured that TIFR and subsequently BARC become part of DAE which has been traditionally a domain of PM considering the sensitivities involved in the work. Other ministries think twice, perhaps more, before poking their nose.
IITs, IIMs, IISc, AIIMS and ISI should jointly put up a simpler charter of demands i) autonomy ii) better pay-scales and non-negotiable iii) shift to DAE from HRD/Health ministries so that these institutes come under PM which leaves lesser scope to meddlers of higher education. The third point has a long term impact in the sense the academia will have time to concentrate on their work instead of fighting with persons of Kapil Sibal’s ilk after each cabinet reshuffle. I hope the point is clear.
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