Ok, I have seen the on goings and kept my mouth shut for too long on this. The reservations debate goes on and hats off to the students and doctors , who mind you without any political backing whatsoever and in spite of being continuously threatened by the government about their termination orders, kept the agitation going. And also to the media which continues to focus this news in its headlines.
After a meeting the student leaders last week, prime minister Manmohan Singh has said' he foresees a massive expansion in capacities of the higher education system which would see a huge growth in the educational opportunities available to all classes and categories of students. Therefore, they need not be worried about shrinking educational opportunities'.
In essence what he meant was for a corresponding 27% quotas brought for the OBC's, there will be a increase in the number of seats available on general merit. Which of course means that the student intake will be increased by 54%.
But wait a minute!!! 54% is a big big number. Ok let us for a minute, assume that this is a reasonable solution. But why O’ why is the government in a such a tearing hurry? I mean the HRD minister says the 54% hike will be implemented in one go the very next academic year, whereas the PMO says it is considering the report submitted by the GOM(group of ministers) which wanted to implement these reservations in three phases starting from next year onwards. Where exactly does the government stand on this? It should come out clear on this.
When the HRD minister says he wants to implement the 54% hike in one next year onwards, doesn’t it smack of political opportunism? I mean, a 54 % hike in student intake would also mean that there should be a corresponding increase in the infrastructure (classrooms, libraries) and more importantly faculty members. Many of the IIT's are already facing shortage of close to 20% of faculty members. So how does the government propose to handle these issues? Is the government aware that its actions may turn even the institues of higher learnings into substandard institutes if these issues are not handled in a sensitive manner? Everybody knows the state of government schools in India. The drop out rate of students and the absenteeism of teachers in these schools is already well documented. Do we want our institutes of higher learning to deteriorate too? And I think, that's why it is important to keep the issue burning and the agitation going.
Here is what I feel the next phase of agitations should concentrate upon:
1. Unless each and every institute is ready for the 54% increase in the student intake in all aspects like the infrastructure and faculty members, the status quo should be maintained. Even if the entire exercise takes more than 3-4 years, so be it. There should be no downfall in the standards and quality of education associated with these institutes. There is no time based boundaries for our law enforcers (i.e. the CBI / police) to solve a case nor are our courts exactly known for dispensing speedy justice, right? Surely two wrongs don’t make one right, I know that. But there, if the argument is that truth should prevail, no longer how much time is consumed, the same yard stick should be applied here too. Make sure that these institutes, each one of them is ready for the increase in the intake of students, until then, in order to ensure that there is no deterioration of standards, the status quo should be maintained.
2. The main issue of reservation itself: Exclude the creamy layer of the OBC's from these reservations, so that these reservations help only the people that it is intended to assist
Of course all these questions arise only when one considers the solution that the government came up with as reasonable, which I believe it is not. Which way will the wind blow now is something to be seen? How long will the agitating students and doctors hold on to their stand against the might of the government?
Doctors, though considered life savers by most of the aam janta, were in fact considered a disgraced lot till the recent past and were perceived to be hankering after money. The profession of a doctor was no longer considered a novel one. But I guess the stand that the doctors have taken, rather the stand which the majority of the doctors have taken will perhaps change the mindset of a lot of people.
One last word:
Ok...make it one last paragraph. Lots of patients, most of whom cannot afford the more expensive private practitioners/ hospitals and who look up to the government hospitals as their saviors were a harrassed lot, and I think here the doctors should take a more reasonable stand. I don’t think all the doctors should go on a strike to have their demands met. Mind you, during the first two days of protest, perhaps it was about the numbers too, I mean the more the number of people coming out on streets and protesting against this, the better. But now, this has turned into a country wide agitation, what with even the IIT, IIM , Engineering students and even people from general walk of life coming out and supporting the doctors. I feel at least 30% of the doctors in each hospital should be working and the rest 70% can continue to protest. And this 30% can perhaps be rotated on a day to day basis. I for one feel, it will create greater good will for the doctors among the general public.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Out of my hibernation
11 days....
I havent blogged since the past 11 days. Even as the reservation debate goes on......
For the past few days, I have been wanting to blog baaaaaaaaadly.... but havent done so, one of the reasons for not doing so is Chagan Bhujbal.
uhmmmmm, now why chagan Bhujbal,you may wonder? The other day, I saw him commenting on TV. A reporter asked him some uncomfortable questions on the police brutality against the students in Mumbai, his response was soemthing like this: ' logon ne goli khayi hai, jaan gavaya hai, aur yahaan pe chaar dande pade aur itna halla macha rahein hain'...... Hmmm Now I had decided that I am not going to use any swear words on my blog, and I wasnt exactly sure how I would do that when commenting on this. When I say this, I mean Chagan Bhujbal. Made me rethink about my decision on not using purple words...... No............. I finally decided, No usage of unparliamentary language on my blog.... though I am sot sure, How long I will be able to maintain that position...
Another important reason, why I havent been blogging, I am doing what I love doing in the evenings at office, reading blogs.......tons of them infact, and man I must say some people are endowed with all the literary talent in this world..... reading those blogs infact gave me such a complex....
However, I am going to resume blogging soon.......
the reservation debate will continue too.....
I've been reading a lot of books off late and so, lots to write, starting from tomorrow....
Watch this space...
I havent blogged since the past 11 days. Even as the reservation debate goes on......
For the past few days, I have been wanting to blog baaaaaaaaadly.... but havent done so, one of the reasons for not doing so is Chagan Bhujbal.
uhmmmmm, now why chagan Bhujbal,you may wonder? The other day, I saw him commenting on TV. A reporter asked him some uncomfortable questions on the police brutality against the students in Mumbai, his response was soemthing like this: ' logon ne goli khayi hai, jaan gavaya hai, aur yahaan pe chaar dande pade aur itna halla macha rahein hain'...... Hmmm Now I had decided that I am not going to use any swear words on my blog, and I wasnt exactly sure how I would do that when commenting on this. When I say this, I mean Chagan Bhujbal. Made me rethink about my decision on not using purple words...... No............. I finally decided, No usage of unparliamentary language on my blog.... though I am sot sure, How long I will be able to maintain that position...
Another important reason, why I havent been blogging, I am doing what I love doing in the evenings at office, reading blogs.......tons of them infact, and man I must say some people are endowed with all the literary talent in this world..... reading those blogs infact gave me such a complex....
However, I am going to resume blogging soon.......
the reservation debate will continue too.....
I've been reading a lot of books off late and so, lots to write, starting from tomorrow....
Watch this space...
Monday, May 01, 2006
Mommy,you are a STUD!!!
Timeline: March 1995
Venue: New-Delhi
It was exam time for me and sis. Mummy was suffering from insomnia then. She was under treatment for it from a neurologist. But on one of the nights, she was hyperactive; refusing to sleep herself nor allowing anybody else to sleep. We knew something was wrong, But what it was, nobody had a clue!!! She was absolutely fine until a few days back. She was taken to a hospital the next day where the doctors diagonsied her with bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder by one of the definitions that i found on the net is 'a major affective disorder in which an individual alternates between states of deep depression and extreme elation.'
It was the first time that I had heard of the word depression then. Of course I was too young to understand the word depression then. Nor did I have access to internet then. What I did know was that the next morning, Mommy refused to recognise me nor my sis. I do not remember if I cried. I guess I was just too young to realise what was going on. I remember being told by my aunt, who had come from mumbai that if someone enquires about mom, Just tell them its High B.P.
Depression and a visit to a psychiatrist were absloute subjects of taboo. Something to be spoken in a hush-hush tone.
Anyways, It took close to 9 months before mom got any resemblance of her old self physically (she had lost a lot of wieght in this period) as well as pyschologically. There was a lot of resistance from mom herself on the compulsory visits to the psychiatrist.
Mom was to be under the constant supervision of a psychiatrist and pills for the rest of her life, It was clear to us.
By now, I had done a lot of my own research on the inernet and came across something, which still gives me goosebumps: 'Bipolar disorder is a lifelong medical condition that can be confusing and unpredictable.'
All was fine for the most of the next 8 years. Until......
Timeline: January 2004
Venue: Bangalore
It was exam time for me again, My 7th semester exams. (Sis was married and in US, she had flown in december 2003 for her delivery in march). Mommy was suffering from insomnia again. It was the first day of the exam and I saw mom in the kitchen at 5:30 AM. I knew, It was BACK!!!
This time, I cried. I used to cry like a baby, never in front of mum though. My exam schedules were streched over the next 15-17 days, perhaps the darkest days of my life. Sis was kept out of it as much as possible due to her pregnancy. It was left to me and dad to salvage the situation. Everyday though before leaving to the college, i had only one wish on my lips. I prayed to GOD that mum dies as soon as possible. TODAY, if possible, I used to wish. Why did you make her my mommy, why not somebody else, I used to ask GOD. I had to feed mommy, me and dad had to take her to the loo and I had to put her to sleep, before I would get to my studies. Thinking about it gives me jitters even now.
Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide, reports an article in the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH).
I knew this was the state of mind of my mother. Looking back, somehow it is from that pain that we derived the strength to handle the situation, to believe in faith rather than fate. There was a lot of change though in the attitude of everyone involved from the first episode. Mommy herself was more entusiastic to make sure that the visits to the doctor were on schedule. More than us, she beileved that she had to fine, for herself, for all of us.Mommy being mommy bounced out of it!!! To have been in a situation that most of us cannot even comprehend or begin to imagine, and to attempt and lead a normal life reprsents the stuff that my mommy is made of.
Mommy you truly are a STUD!!!!!
Just to make sure that this article does not end on a depressing note, let me add a few things:
I cleared my exams with a distinction, an exam which i had decided to skip midway, and Sis gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in march 2004. :)
A few add-ons:
By the year 2020, depression is projected to reach 2nd place of the ranking of DALYs calcuated for all ages, both sexes. Today, depression is already the 2nd cause of DALYs in the age category 15-44 years for both sexes combined, reports the official website of the WHO.
Blogger Rashmi Bansal's article on depression, speaks of how she came back out fighting of deression.
Depression as a disease is still at a pre nsacent stage when it comes to awareness, I feel. Reminds me of the movie 'My brother Nikhil', wherein the protogansit played by Sanjay Suri is victimsed and sent to a mental institution after he is diasgonised with AIDS. That was supposed to a a true story based in the realy 1980's. Yet today, there is so much awareness about AIDS (atleast in urban areas)...... A similar campaign needs to be driven for depression too wherin patients are advised to seek medical counsel once the symptoms are rightly identified.
When I tried to restrict my google search on bipolar disorder to ‘pages from India’, the number of the search results as well as the quality of the links was pathetic. Certainly more needs to be done in order to bring about awareness about the issue and more than that people need to be more open minded about the disease. Depression is not a character flaw or a sign of personal weakness. It’s a disease, meant to treated like any other.
Venue: New-Delhi
It was exam time for me and sis. Mummy was suffering from insomnia then. She was under treatment for it from a neurologist. But on one of the nights, she was hyperactive; refusing to sleep herself nor allowing anybody else to sleep. We knew something was wrong, But what it was, nobody had a clue!!! She was absolutely fine until a few days back. She was taken to a hospital the next day where the doctors diagonsied her with bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder by one of the definitions that i found on the net is 'a major affective disorder in which an individual alternates between states of deep depression and extreme elation.'
It was the first time that I had heard of the word depression then. Of course I was too young to understand the word depression then. Nor did I have access to internet then. What I did know was that the next morning, Mommy refused to recognise me nor my sis. I do not remember if I cried. I guess I was just too young to realise what was going on. I remember being told by my aunt, who had come from mumbai that if someone enquires about mom, Just tell them its High B.P.
Depression and a visit to a psychiatrist were absloute subjects of taboo. Something to be spoken in a hush-hush tone.
Anyways, It took close to 9 months before mom got any resemblance of her old self physically (she had lost a lot of wieght in this period) as well as pyschologically. There was a lot of resistance from mom herself on the compulsory visits to the psychiatrist.
Mom was to be under the constant supervision of a psychiatrist and pills for the rest of her life, It was clear to us.
By now, I had done a lot of my own research on the inernet and came across something, which still gives me goosebumps: 'Bipolar disorder is a lifelong medical condition that can be confusing and unpredictable.'
All was fine for the most of the next 8 years. Until......
Timeline: January 2004
Venue: Bangalore
It was exam time for me again, My 7th semester exams. (Sis was married and in US, she had flown in december 2003 for her delivery in march). Mommy was suffering from insomnia again. It was the first day of the exam and I saw mom in the kitchen at 5:30 AM. I knew, It was BACK!!!
This time, I cried. I used to cry like a baby, never in front of mum though. My exam schedules were streched over the next 15-17 days, perhaps the darkest days of my life. Sis was kept out of it as much as possible due to her pregnancy. It was left to me and dad to salvage the situation. Everyday though before leaving to the college, i had only one wish on my lips. I prayed to GOD that mum dies as soon as possible. TODAY, if possible, I used to wish. Why did you make her my mommy, why not somebody else, I used to ask GOD. I had to feed mommy, me and dad had to take her to the loo and I had to put her to sleep, before I would get to my studies. Thinking about it gives me jitters even now.
Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide, reports an article in the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH).
I knew this was the state of mind of my mother. Looking back, somehow it is from that pain that we derived the strength to handle the situation, to believe in faith rather than fate. There was a lot of change though in the attitude of everyone involved from the first episode. Mommy herself was more entusiastic to make sure that the visits to the doctor were on schedule. More than us, she beileved that she had to fine, for herself, for all of us.Mommy being mommy bounced out of it!!! To have been in a situation that most of us cannot even comprehend or begin to imagine, and to attempt and lead a normal life reprsents the stuff that my mommy is made of.
Mommy you truly are a STUD!!!!!
Just to make sure that this article does not end on a depressing note, let me add a few things:
I cleared my exams with a distinction, an exam which i had decided to skip midway, and Sis gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in march 2004. :)
A few add-ons:
By the year 2020, depression is projected to reach 2nd place of the ranking of DALYs calcuated for all ages, both sexes. Today, depression is already the 2nd cause of DALYs in the age category 15-44 years for both sexes combined, reports the official website of the WHO.
Blogger Rashmi Bansal's article on depression, speaks of how she came back out fighting of deression.
Depression as a disease is still at a pre nsacent stage when it comes to awareness, I feel. Reminds me of the movie 'My brother Nikhil', wherein the protogansit played by Sanjay Suri is victimsed and sent to a mental institution after he is diasgonised with AIDS. That was supposed to a a true story based in the realy 1980's. Yet today, there is so much awareness about AIDS (atleast in urban areas)...... A similar campaign needs to be driven for depression too wherin patients are advised to seek medical counsel once the symptoms are rightly identified.
When I tried to restrict my google search on bipolar disorder to ‘pages from India’, the number of the search results as well as the quality of the links was pathetic. Certainly more needs to be done in order to bring about awareness about the issue and more than that people need to be more open minded about the disease. Depression is not a character flaw or a sign of personal weakness. It’s a disease, meant to treated like any other.
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