They were teachers from Delhi University; they were participating in a demonstration on January 17; they were raising the issues relating to the state of higher education, the agony of ad-hoc teachers, and the policies of reservation. But then, an insensitive Government with its brute force attacked them, injured them, and sent them to the police stations. Here is a piece-written with pain and agony-that reflects on the way the ruling regime looks at our teachers.
Avijit Pathak is a Professor of Sociology at JNU, New Delhi.
It pains me. It shatters me. I see my colleagues, my friends-the fellow teachers from Delhi University-being attacked by the cops. And I see them being detained, and taken to the police stations. What is their fault, Mr. Javedkar? Here is one of the finest universities in the country. And the teachers-young and old, and new and experienced-were participating in a peaceful demonstration, and articulating their concerns relating to serious academic issues (ranging from the job condition of the ad-hoc teachers to the policy of reservation for the recruitment and promotion of the faculty) affecting the everyday functioning of the university. Is it that the Government has become so insensitive that it sees even the teaching community as a threat-a ‘law and order problem’?
Mr. Javedkar, if you are really sincere about the realm of higher education and the state of public universities, you ought to evolve the art of empathy–the willingness to see beyond the discourse of power and the cult of commodification of education, and acknowledge the fact that a society that degrades its teachers is bound to decay even if the all-pervading ‘powerful’ Prime Minister–backed by the corporate elite, cricket/Bollywood stars and establishment-friendly ‘bestseller’ writers– receives all sorts of awards, promises bullet trains, charms the consumptionist middle class, and encourages media simulations in a ‘hyper-real’ world. Even if Mr. Mukesh Ambani comes forward with what you love to regard as a ‘centre of excellence’, and some scientists celebrate the invention of test tube babies in the age of Mahabharata in the recently held Science Congress hijacked by the ruling party, the death of public universities would cause severe damage to the culture of learning.
Have you ever thought, Mr. Javedkar, that DU teachers, unlike the team of hyper- masculine militant nationalists or highly pampered IIT technologists migrating to America, are truly working for the nation in silence and with absolute grace? A young girl from Agartala eager to study history, a Dalit boy from Bihar interested in Physics, a student from Kerala entering the world of English literature-DU reminds you of India:its diversity and heterogeneity which the private universities like Ashoka and Jindal, because of their inherent class character,would never be able to appreciate. And, believe it, some of the finest minds in the country are teaching at DU, refusing to be tempted by the ‘attractive offer’ from these exclusionary/elitist centres, and transforming the life-trajectories of so many young people. And I know many of these teachers who stay in rented houses, take public transportation, and come to their colleges and departments with absolute regularity from Munirka, Mayur Vihar, Noida and Faridabad. They work, and work honestly: something so rare in an age that believes in self-advertisement and empty rhetoric.
Think of it, Mr. Javedkar. This university has given us historians like Professor Sumit Sarkar and Professor D.N. Jha; sociologists like Professor J.P.S. Uberoi and philosophers like Margaret Chatterjee have inspired many young social scientists; and every department-even in an ‘unknown’ college–will surprise you. Good minds, vibrant teaching and academic rigour-it is impossible to separate Delhi University from the active intellectual life in the country. No wonder, DU, unlike the Nagpur RSS office, is the soul of India.
The wonder is that they keep working under extremely difficult circumstances. Yes, ad-hoc teachers-and many of them are truly bright/vibrant researchers and promising scholars-are living with perpetual insecurity; moreover, the burden of heavy teaching load, absence of adequate infrastructure and the tyranny of political interference-the obstacles are many. Yet, what is really encouraging is the spirit of the teachers, their united struggle, and their refusal to bow down.
Possibly, Mr.Javedkar, you are only a silent spectator. The ideology that shapes the ruling regime, it seems, is against the very idea of a university: its inter-subjective dialogic space, its culture of critical pedagogy, and its democratic process of decision- making. No wonder, all good public universities-the sites still trying to retain the dream of social equality-have to be systematically destroyed. JNU, DU, Jadavpur, Hyderabad-the story spreads fast. Don’t question. Don’t raise ‘anti-national’ slogans. Accept everything that the politically appointed Vice-Chancellors ask you to do. Allow the process of recruitment to lose even the slightest trace of transparency. Welcome the biometric system of attendance. Forget the ideal of social justice. Promote ‘meritocracy’ and ‘ranking’ fantasy. Sell the idea of ‘autonomy’. Don’t encourage ‘disturbing’ ideas. And follow the discourse of nationalism that the narcissistic anchors of noisy television channels sanctify!
Yes, it is obvious that when the Government runs on the basis of the monologue of the ‘supreme’ leader, all of you become essentially dis-functional. Except press conferences for condemning Mr. Rahul Gandhi for every word he utters, or promoting the ‘brand’ called Modi, nothing is left for most of you. Possibly, seldom do you find time to think of what you are supposed to engage with–the realm of education, the state of the learning environment, and above all, the dignity of teachers.
I am worried. I hear the echo of ‘sedition’ everywhere. Hence, my only request to you, Mr. Javedkar, is that you should at least direct the cops not to file sedition charges against the teachers. Is it too much to expect?
