Brahminical system Vrs Legal (public interest) System

Education systems either subscribes to a conformist view (like that of the
Greek or legal conduct) or a non conformist view (like in Germany and
Indian Gurukul R&D oriented). The former develops CONDUCT and later
develops CHARACTER.

The conformist view which is very common also in India restricts thinking,
and provides information as it should be. Teachers use books written many
years before to teach students for the future. This type of education does
not bring out character of a person but focusses at a uniform and legal
'conduct'. For example, a person can become engineeer, or doctor, or
criminal, or politician or prostitute or a dancer as known by thier
conduct. This education is secular and it separates character and conduct
by black loth of instrumentality of laws. This education is ideal for a
submisive and colonial republics that can run a country like a five star
prison.

Non conformist view is very interpersonal and aimed at reseach and
development of 'character' of self or individual person. By this edcation,
a person is thnking independently and uses books, environment and teachers
just as a reference material. He/she is not bound by the external influence
but treats it orgination of his/ideas appropriate to current space-time of
the world around him/her. Such as a thinking person evolves at every time,
from within, and just not remains a good engineer but also a good doctor
and a good architect and a good photograper and a good archer and a saint.
Such a person always rises by continuous reserch and development oriented,
and cannot repeat or consistent of same ideas at his/her job.  Such persons
are never known by their various diseases of specialization but get a
general aptitudes. IIT is therefore not able to develop the republican or
Greek model of specialists but it produces people who can think and committ
themselves to truth and peace and happiness, irrespective of thier conduct.


I think India should allow two types of education as it has already. IIT is
non-republican or brahminical education system that can apply universally;
and also allow other universities apprved by AICTE (a hopeless body) that
should use the Greek model of conformist legal view and approve colonial
and produce components of state machinery.

Regards
K G Misra
kg@qualitymeter.com
qualitymeter@qualitymeter.com
December 25, 2006

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From: Karmayog.org info@karmayog.org
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 23:23:56 +0530
To: qualitymeter@qualitymeter.com, karmayog@yahoogroups.com,
presidentofindia@rb.nic.in
Subject: Re: When you hear of IIT, What comes to your mind first? asks
President


From: <qualitymeter@qualitymeter.com>

Thanks for asking me this question on Dr Kalams' views of IIT.

IIT is not in league of a traditional education process. From the tradition
of Socratese/Plato/Aristotle/Alex in Greek, 'education' is technically, a
legal process of of building a republic and that needs people with
knowledge of a  'procedure' (also called laws) or 'accepted pubilc
knowledge' about a certain things, upon which one gets a legal sanction
(called degree) to apply that knowledge in public interest. Any 'private
knowledge' is not allowed by the state in public interest because it alone
has a responsibility of 'protection of public by a process of laws'.  For
example, a doctor is a 'lawyer' of medical science and is allowed to
practice his/her profession in that given way. Similarly, an engineer in
facts gets a degree of law in engineering, that he/she can practice after
the degree, and is thus accountable not by character but by the 'procedure'
or 'accepted public knowledge'. A law graduate is trained in management of
criminal and civil conformity. In Greek, a university graduate gets a
'degree' by the courts in public places, and entire public gets to know
that such a person is considered a fit person to apply a procedure in a
particular sunject.

Education thus is an institution on which the public system including the
markets stand.  He/she also wears a black cloth to signify how he/she is
not an individual, but an instrument of the law like judges. He/she is a
judge of himself and for others, and is truly faithful to laws of the
republic in different fields.

IIT is just not this. It offers the open environment to think beyond
limitation of the laws and freedom of thinking, and knowledge. IIT is a
place of knowledge and teachers allow development of the mind.

IIT students thus cannot be very good for the governments in India or for
the military or for the jobs where they are subordinate to a law. This is
very difficult for IIT student to be a conformist or act like a sarkari
babu. I personally know people in prison like organizations, that are IAS
for a long time and like use of slow poison are mentally retarted each day
of their life.  Many people who were IAS and joined IIT, had left their
jobs in government immediately after awakening. This is easy to find IIT
graduates in India as sanyasi or in NGO or in ISKCON or as teacher or social
reformer but in USA, you find them as CEO, and Director. IIT gives then the
ability to choose a correct way to use thier lives in variuos environments.
India is a country on prison (communist/corrupt socialist) model and
knowledge people find it suffocating, and cannot adjust inside it.

Some example like Narayana Murty suggest how he struggled to get a way out
to becoming Infosys. I often try to speak to industry and educate them on
JAIL YA KHEL (prison or sports). This is basic mantra of developing human
mind. JAIL is ideal model that reflects Indian government's vision of the
development. A person is jail is full of fool proof security, highest law
and order, boarding lodging free, no accountability, lots of procedures and
control,  full of politics and each one blaming the other to kill time.
KHEL is a different thing. It is free, it needs people with courage,
responsibility, team work, challenge and happiness. IIT students can create
a KHEL but cannot build a JAIL even if paid like a anything.

I certainly do not think that RAMANUJAN or RAMAN or KALAM are exceptions of
IIT. They are individuals that were somehow not detoriarated by the
education system. I fully agree that IIT have very little value addition in
the knowledge but only protect students to not let education deteriorate
their state of meditation. A plant in a garden develops by nature, and duty
of a gardener is only not get it deteriorated by polluted environments. IIT
is like a garden which is more than enough for a growing mind, free and
enlightened by own efforts.

I hope I clarified my point of view.

K G Misra
M Tech IME IIT Kanpur (1990)

---------------

[Very interesting. I am cc'ing the President by emailing him at
presidentofindia@rb.nic.in
He has promised he will reply to emails in 24 hours. Regards, Vinay]

-----------------
From: Karmayog.org info@karmayog.org
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 03:30:33 +0530
To: kg@qualitymeter.com
Subject: "When you hear of IIT, What comes to your mind first?" asks
President


INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM AT THE CONVENTION OF
PAN IIT 2006 MUMBAI ON 23rd DECEMBER 2006

"....I can visualise your student days in IIT. You will shine, wherever
you are ..... you will certainly perform.

While I was preparing for this talk, suddenly a thought occurred to me.
I chose to call randomly a few of my friends, from different walks of
life and ask them "When you hear of IIT, what strikes your mind first?"

1. The first person, I called was a Professor in the United States of
Indian origin and he is an accomplished educationist and an India lover.
He was frank enough to say that it conveyed immediately nothing. He
said, 20 million children are born in India every year. 1% of the 1% is
being admitted to the IIT. They are the best children in India. Wherever
you put them they will do very well. The value addition by IIT is very
low to the students it admits.

He felt that, there may be many hidden Ramanujans and Einstiens amongst
the vast majority of the students whom the IIT system does not touch.
The greatest challenge for the Pan IITians and the nation is to find a
mechanism to identify those needles in the haystack.

2. Then I called another friend, who was a General in the Army. He said
innocently that we have nothing to do with IITians. What he meant was
while many students from regular engineering colleges join the Army, "We
have not come across any IITian joining the Army in the last two
decades".

3. Then I asked another well known professor, who was not in IIT system,
but from a well known post graduate institution. He said that, it is a
great challenge for the Professors in IITs to teach the students.

4. I called a former Director of one of the IITs and a teacher who had
been in the IIT system since its inception. The Prof. said that IIT
means striving for excellence and discipline.

5. Then I talked to one IT friend and asked him what his views are? His
reply was that IIT takes the best students and delivers the best to the
world. He felt that, the direct benefits for the nation in terms of
knowledge products and Intellectual property is rather minimal.

6. I talked to a distinguished alumnus of IIT, last night. ....It is
ironical that the IIT which is mandated to produce the best minds for
teaching and research is unable to attract the best faculty today. Hence
all the more, the Pan IITians have to expand the spirit of IIT to touch
every technical university in the country. This will create a vast
number of quality students and faculty. This is particularly important
not only for taking care of the faculty needs of IITs but also for
taking up the challenges of development that would be thrown open by the
vision of the nation to become a developed one.

7. Then I asked a friend of mine who had held senior position in the
Government in the science and education management, his reaction was
that the IIT stands for a brand India.

However, of late it has become an exclusive institution in a world which
should become more and more inclusive and converging. Today more
children from urban affluent families who can afford to pay Rs. 10000
per month on education alone could dream of joining IIT.

There are around 8% of girl students in IIT, while the general average
over 30% in engineering.

Many institutions of same caliber as IIT in the western world, have been
contributing much more to the industry than what we see IITs in India.
The industry - IIT interaction has to become an icon to put their brand
on many products that will be used by the public on a daily basis -
there should be little bit of IIT in every Indian. ..."

To know what the President himself feels, read his engaging speech at
www.presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/eventslatest1.jsp?id=1402

Also do email your own views immediately to info@karmayog.org for
collation in www.karmayog.org

e.g. "B. Tech. IIT is the best brand that India has ever produced."
..... Prof. M. G. K. Menon