Update on Today's Hunger Strike @ IIT Kharagpur.

We'll be updating the links from Press as they come on. For previous one, check this LINK

Already the news has been aired by ABP News, ETV news, 24 Ghanta, News India and few others.

Article from economic times telling the true picture. Lots of questions now get raised as to the true story behind this fiasco. Pran Kumar has given the perfect picture of the whole scenario. All rest of the print media links posted at the end of this article.

Delay in appointment of Director for IIT Kharagpur: Politics or Red tape?

http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/outsideedge/entry/delay-in-appointment-of-director-for-iit-kharagpur-politics-or-red-tape

IIT Kharagpur is without a regular Director since July 2012! How long does it take it formally appoint the Director of a major institute in the country? Shouldn’t it be a priority of some kind? How can we expect the best from our premier institutions when the government takes such a lackadaisical approach to the appointment of its top leadership? 

It turns out that the Ministry of HRD had selected Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti as early as last July, but his final appointment was subject to a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) clearance which is linked to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)  case of 2007. The CBI had recommended minor penalties to Prof. Chakrabarti despite the fact that he was neither involved technically or financially in the project. The CVC, however, does not appear to be inclined to bring the case to conclusion for unknown reasons. In the mean time, IIT Kharagpur's Board of Governors (BOG) cleared Prof. Chakrabarti of any wrong doing once in March 2012 and again on March 23, 2013. 

Prof. Chakrabarti, being a gold medalist of IIT Kharagpur in the mid-eighties, has impeccable credentials and tremendous support and goodwill among students and faculty, both past and present. His commitment to the institute and his integrity has never been in question to many who have known and interacted with him over the years. Yet, his final appointment remains stalled over a case that many argue has little to do with him personally. 

The intent is not to blindly absolve Prof. Chakrabarti of any wrong doing, if any. If the professor was, in fact, involved in a case of corruption, let the matter be brought to light. If he is innocent, then let the matter be closed and his appointment confirmed at the earliest. By letting the matter fester in a limbo, the government is adversely affecting a premier institution in the country and perhaps needlessly casting aspersions on a well-respected individual who has dedicated his life to the institute ever since he set foot there as a student.

I recall an incident when Prof. Chakrabarti was visiting the San Francisco Bay Area several years ago. While addressing the alumni in a question and answer session, one former alumnus asked him about the kind of projects he was willing to take up (perhaps with an eye on outsourcing and recruiting cheap labor from IIT) and went on to describe the kind of work he was looking to pass on to IIT. Prof. Chakrabarti said in simple, succinct words, “Is this a problem you can solve yourself? If yes, then I am not interested no matter how lucrative the project might be. I am looking to take up projects which you cannot solve. Then, it’s a challenge for me and my students.” Prof. Chakrabarti was pretty early in his career at that stage, and I thought he displayed immense simplicity and great clarity of thought.

Incompetence leading to bureaucratic delays in government is a universal phenomenon the world over. But our governments take it to a whole new level by combining incompetence with a potent mix of political machinations. Often, in order to achieve political goals, otherwise competent organizations like the CBI and CVC are rendered powerless and incompetent by the government in power. 

While politics is the key force behind many high-profile investigations which are doomed to failure, there are other situations where the visibility of the case is a lot less and hence little is known about the true cause of delays. In such cases, it is often a complete “black hole” partly because of relative lack of media attention. This makes it rather convenient for “someone, somewhere” in the government to bury or stall a decision, while aggrieved parties have little recourse to their legitimate grievances.  Well-wishers of IIT Kharagpur who want the matter to be addressed are at a loss as to where exactly this decision is held up and have no clear idea as to whom to approach to get the issue resolved. Sadly, while cases such as this languish in our bureaucratic and political morass, decisions to frequently transfer honest bureaucrats like Mr. Ashok Khemka are taken with great alacrity. 

With a combination of government indecision, bureaucratic delays, and complete lack of transparency, this case epitomizes the issue of poor governance. Such issues have stunted India’s progress across the board for decades. It’s high time premier institutions like the IITs, whose students have earned global recognition, be freed from such needless delays. One can only hope that the government makes a decision with regard to the Director at IIT Kharagpur sooner rather than later. 

Print Media links:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/No-director-IIT-Kharagpur-teachers-fast-in-protest/articleshow/21134139.cms

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130718/jsp/calcutta/story_17127327.jsp#.UedGDY0zhwA

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/iit-kharagpur-teachers-alumni-go-on-hunger-strike-964785.html?utm_source=fwire&utm_medium=hp

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/WestBengal/IIT-KGP-faculty-go-on-hunger-strike/Article1-1094207.aspx

http://news.oneindia.in/2013/07/17/iit-kharagpur-teachers-alumni-go-on-hunger-strike-1261787.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/345359/iit-kharagpur-teachers-alumni-go.html

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/iit-kharagpur-faculty-members-on-token-hunger-strike-393513

http://www.thehindu.com/features/education/college-and-university/iitkharagpur-faculty-members-stage-token-hungerstrike/article4924119.ece

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/education/iit-kharagpur-faculty-members-stage-token-hungerstrike/article4924159.ece

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/iit-kharagpur-teachers-alumni-go-on-hunger-strike-113071700799_1.html

http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/iit-kharagpur-faculty-members-stage-token-hunger-strike-25175.html

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/07/17/335--IIT-Kharagpur-teachers-alumni-go-on-hunger-strike-.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/IIT-Kharagpur-faculty-members-stage-token-hunger-strike/articleshow/21122998.cms

Photographs on the same event from official PPC for Director page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.655596044468665.1073741828.587779257917011

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