An agitation over having right to spoil by left only

FTII

An agitation over having right to spoil by left only.

          Usually I read 3 news papers. Times of India, India Express and Mumbai Samachar.  Last 2/3 days' newspapers are full with two issues. Sushma Swaraj helping Lalit Modi and FTII students’ agitation over Gajendra Chauhan’s appointment as a chairperson of the Governing Council of the FTII. Later one caught my attention because I think leftists have enjoyed direct or indirect control over many institutes of learning in India since long and I don’t think rightist taking turn now will ruin the nation. Though it is made out to be an issue of competence of the person appointed to lead it, in fact it’s an issue of intolerance to rightist ideology.

          The main argument of the agitating students is Gajendra Chauhan does not have the credentials to lead such institution of repute. The argument in first place sounds reasonable. But then I happened to read an article over the issue by Sunanda Mehta in Indian Express dated 16-06-2015. Some details were pinching. According to the article, this institute of repute is suffering from course backlogs, outdated syllabi, hostile student-faculty relationships, turf wars over creative freedom and alleged political interference. Backlog and overcrowding in classes and hostel is such that some students from as old as 2008 batch are still on campus. The article further reveals that the last convocation at FTII  was held 17 years ago in December 1997. Dilip Kumar was the chief guest. The convocation before 1997 had been held in 1989. An announcement to issue certificates to those students who completed courses between 1995 and 2006 was made last year. It really didn’t pinch me immediately when I read it, since I took it as it happens in India approach. But next day i.e. on 17-06-2015, I saw another news report over the same issue in T.O.I.  splashed over 7 columns. I read the names of past chairpersons in the report.

Shyam Benegal	1981 to 1983
	1989 to 1992
Adoor Gopalakrishnan	1987 to 1989
	1992 to 1995
Vinod Khanna	2001 to 2005
U R Ananthamurthi	2005 to 2011

          Ramchandra Guha, a well known historian and biographer tweeted that the issue is not ideology but competence.

          Now what’s inexplicable is why the institute is afflicted with the diseases listed in Sunanda Mehta’s article (Indian Express dated 16-06-2015) despite the institute was led by eminent persons between 1981 and 2011, last 30 years. And another question that comes to my mind is what Gajendra Chauhan can spoil further ? All these details reveal that issue is certainly of ideology and not of competence as it is made out to be. Some people in this country firmly believe that right to spoil the institutes of repute in India should be left to India’s left only.