Dear oranges, your alma mater is JNU not SFI, ABVP or AISA
Dear JNU’s orange, you have been named ‘oranges’ contrasting the name, given to the student of Harvard who has been called ‘Apple’. You are called orange because you are tasty, nutritious and healthy for society and country at large. However, the apple of Harvard might be looking very good in colour and outlook but it is deficient in nutrition and also not available to all as it has been primarily the fruit of rich community. However, you are orange and you never have any kind of hatred for apple, as you are aware of the concept of co-existence, which is necessary for survival of human kind. For detail of this comparison between Harvard’s Apple and JNU’s Orange, you can read an article published in ‘The Hindu’ by Dr. Ajay Gudawarthy by just searching on Google the title “Harvard’s Apple vs JNU’s Orange. So be ‘orange’ not ‘apple’!
JNU has experienced the devastating tremor in recent years and you might be looking at, as a great conspiracy by the government. It may be but it is just not that only. JNU has been always on radar of any government so nothing new has happened to it. It was evident that mighty government would take on it with extraordinary force, let us say violence. JNU has also seen the ‘sine-die’ situation in 1970s. But you ‘oranges’ survived just because your alma mater was JNU. You always belonged to JNU. But see the tectonic change in yourself. Now you are no more JNUite rather your loyalty is more to SFI, BAPSA, ABVP or AISA. There was a time, when principles on which JNU was being created, used to be taken higher than the student’s organization utopia. Dear ‘oranges’, JNU was always cherishing the country’s diversity and given most scientific deprivation point on the basis of regional backwardness. It is the only university in India, which conducts its entrance examination in the second category districts to attract the talent existing in the most ignored area of this country. It could never let any one have excuse that it was not convenient to travel to Delhi or Patna to appear in entrance examination. It kept the fee structure lowest so that no one would drop his or her studies in between due to financial constraints. It provided hundreds of scholarship to the students surpassing their caste, religion, sex and region. It had hundred percent hostel facilities so that no one feels away from home. Rather! It was new home and better home. There are thousands of other thing exist there, which make JNU not different but unique. You know that and those who do not know they will have to visit the campus and stay for some days to experience this uniqueness.
Nevertheless, whenever government wanted to strike down the uniqueness, you all stood up and saved it successfully. It is painful that you are failing now. Dear oranges, you need to understand the reason of failure and you should have capacity to accept the failure. It is very difficult but reasonable to accept the defeat. You have not been able to convert single struggle into success in recent past. Go deep, search for reason. You would find your self ‘The Reason’. You just left your alma mater JNU alone to fight and you are fighting for SFI, BAPSA, ABVP or AISA. You must have understood also the reason of defeat. When you were fighting for JNU, you defeated the government every time, now you are fighting for your party and getting defeated.
Dear Orange! You are orange and happy to be squeezed for the benefits of the country and society that is your destiny. Be orange, the oranges of JNU, be loyal to your alma mater. JNU was crying when some of you were ‘shutting JNU’ reflecting your loyalty for your party. Recently, I met an old JNUite. He was dying for his alma mater not the party for which once he raised slogans. This is the change happened in recent years. Now, you have friends within your party, you started hating others. Your political score is more important than the score of JNU. Remember, it is better to be orange than apple or anything. It is important to be loyal to the institution (JNU) than the political organization like SFI, BAPSA, ABVP or AISA. You are any day better than the apple of Harvard. However, learn from apple also. Apple works for rich primarily and dear orange you work for people. Don’t make JNU a resource rather you become resource for your alma mater JNU. Otherwise, you would be defeated everyday by the fundamentalism, conservatisms and sectarianism.
Deepak Bhaskar
Alumni of JNU. Presently Assistant Professor Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi
“Dear Representatives, I have no reason to vote”
Dear Representatives of Delhi University Teacher Association, Executive Council and Academic Council. With all Respect and humility, we are saying that we have no reason to vote for any upcoming election in the university vis-à-vis country. Let us explain why?
We are working in the university as an Assistant Professor on Ad-hoc basis for long years now. We have voted in every election of teacher’s trade union time to time to strengthen Teachers Association so that it would be enabled to struggle for the rights of Teachers to be ensured in the university. Interestingly, every election has been focused on regular/permanent appointments in the university and different constituent colleges. The best parts of these elections were to keep my hope alive.
However, there is no hope left anymore, as after every election, the most important agenda such as regular/permanent appointments became secondary/tertiary issue in your struggle. The election happened recently for Executive Council (highest decision making body) raised our hope high again as one party of teachers National Democratic Teachers Front, wrote in their leaflet that all the appointment must happen and would happen before 31st July 2017. Other Party, Academic for Action and Development was for regularization and absorption of all the Ad-hoc Teachers in their respective colleges or place of work. Third organisation, Democratic Teacher Front was also having similar agenda. NDTF and AAD, both were being elected for the member executive council with massive mandate. However, the members called for any struggle and thousands of Ad-hoc Teachers marked their presence.
Unfortunately, the issues of election were nowhere as the struggle had to be done first to save the university against the colleges seeking autonomy and being privatized. Our heart was broken and hope died again. The same happen last summer when issue of extraordinary workload given by University Grant Commission was prioritized over our issue of regular appointments. We fought with you against UGC and saved our workload. This summer we are struggling together, not to let the largest and one of the best universities of this country to be privatized. Every summer, we struggled together to save university. The question every time come from the core of my mind that which summer would be their where our life will be saved. Dear sir/madam, we Ad-hoc teachers are dying on everyday basis. There are more than 6000 teachers working across the university on draconian Ad-hoc basis for so many years. Some are in their age of retirement too. We see people in the departments and colleges where they have accepted it as their fate. Imagine! We are teachers who have to change the fate of the students. How would we change their fate if we were unable to do of ours? How fake we sound, when we say our students that work hard, get a good life, and do have stability in your life. When we ask our students to go for higher education and become teacher in the university later on, we could see their rejection of this proposal. They know everything. They are pity on us. We do not motivate students rather they motivate us. Sometime, they come forward and say we should prepare for civil services. We get restless indeed. We know your limitations as the representatives of ours.
Nevertheless, when the time will come when we all will together rise and say that why to save that university which can not secure and give reasonable life to the thousands who have nourished the university and its constituent colleges for years with their blood and tears. We might sound cynical, negative but this was not we. We had high hope, which gave us motivation to give so many years of our life to acquire higher education. When my friends were becoming Bank PO and getting into other services. We decided to go for Higher Education. Now they have job, marriage, children and we have nothing not even hope. However, when we see your face, we recognized the same negativity on your part. We know you all are concerned but our life is beyond that. Some suggests that we should leave and do something else but imagine Delhi University where we have given our most productive years. When we started working, we were young not aged. We might sound ideal, emotional etc that is what a teacher need to be. We should be hopeful also but this hopelessness affects not only our life but the thousands of students as well.
We have voted and elected you, we have voted and elected the government. Now, it is your turn to justify our vote. It is up to you to change the gear of our life. We are tired to ride our life in the same gear for so long. We are unable to propagate the idea of change, as there is no change we have seen for years and years. We know you don’t get enough sleep as like us. You might be aware, if t goes like this then your son, daughter, relatives would be in the same cynicism where we are. There might be some as well. Dear representatives, saving us would save the university automatically. We are feeling departed, integrate us, ensure dignity of ours, and make us significant. If any government stops you to do that fight it out. If you would not be able to do that I might have no reason to vote for anything beat you or the government.
Regards!
Dr. Deepak Bhaskar
An open letter on the behalf of teachers, who left many things to enlighten thousands.
April 11 2017
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