If you happened to read the Times of India Online print recently (once you get passed its 4 billion pop-ups) I saw an interesting article.
Harvard University (yes, the very prestigious one in Boston, MA) is going to have "India" as a subject. (Right here you do the Scooby-Doo impression "huh?". Thats right.
The following is a direct excerpt from the article:
[America’s oldest institution of higher learning, Harvard University, will soon have India as a subject. And teachers will include visiting faculty members like Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Gardiner professor of history at Harvard Sugata Bose and Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna. In an exclusive interview to TOI , Harvard University's outgoing president, Lawrence Summers, said: "Like people study political science, culture, public health, economics, law and medicine, students in Harvard will now study India as a subject."]
I don't know what the F*CK that means... "like people study political science, culture, public health... NOW we will study India as a subject". HUH? What are you talking about dumbass?
Do you mean - The history of India? or Indian Philosophy? Religion in India? Economic Progess in India? (mind you, these are the broadest friggin' topics on the planet). 'INDIA' is an EVEN broader subject. So wait... there will be India 101- will you start with British India? or no wait, divided India before that. Perhaps when Ashoka conquered most of it? - when India was unified for the first time?... when the concept of "India" came about? But no no no wait... (and thats the point - we can go back and forth all day)
Whats more is - can one graduate with a B.S. in India? What about a PhD? Like an economist or an anthropologist... will one be an 'Indianist'... or like a historian - 'Indianorian'
Bravo! "We want to make people more aware of India". Newsflash genius - EVERYONE already knows about India.... only A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N-S don't know about India. Which is why perhaps you should have a course called - "The World"... not "India". Moron.
Lets analyze "more people aware of India" - hmm... Indians certainly know about India so thats 1/6th of the population of the world. Chineese definitely know about it... we're next to them, which means another 1/6. We're already at 1/3rd of the Planet being "aware" of India (thats 33.33%). Since Indians live all over Africa and Europe (we spilled over, yes.) and mind you, I have met enough Indians from Ghana, Ethiopia, South Africa, England, Germany etc. I've met enough indigenious people from those places as well - and they know India... f*ck.. they know bloody Amitabh Bachhan and Shah Rukh Khan for godsake! They know songs from the 50's. They know our wedding customs - they know a lot. And lets not forget the Indian presence in the Middle East. All-in-all you're looking at hmm... 90% of the planet being VERY aware of India. The remaining is the pacific islanders, you know - Gilligan's of the world... and lastly... America.
Like I said before - perhaps you should call your course "The World" and not "India".
Dumbass.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
but swirling... was how i got high as a child.
aye davanita welcomes you...
.
my heroes...
about moi...
- - Aye Davanita
- Manhattan, New York, United States
hop to another blog:
intended summer of 2007
12 comments:
For what its worth, it seems like an updated version of Indology, more in line with American Studies. Nothing totally shocking about it.
Yes, you can get a PhD in American Studies (in JNU, at least, since 1971), so why not Indian Studies?
Firstly, I don't think "Indology" is what they are talking about. Indology would imply a broader study of Linguistic form in India (and probably South East Asia).
Secondly, I didn't say I was shocked - I said its stupid.
Thirdly, just because JNU decided to have "American Studies" and people actually get PhDs in it - doesn't mean its not retarded.
Which brings me to my last and final point - you missed mostly everything this post hit. I'm saying its a dumb idea. The existence of one dumb idea (i.e. American Studies) somewhere doesn't justify the same idea popping up somewhere else.
At the end of the day, I don't really give a shit. Courses at a place like Harvard would generally run at $800-$1,200 per credit on a potentially 3-4 credit course. (Average = $3,500 = OVER a lakh of Rs.). If someone wants to spend that kind of money at learning about "India" - thats their prerogative.
Well, I do agree its a dumb idea.
Wanted to add:
American Studies, in its time, WAS an important area. The reality is, a place like JNU, with it's heavy Left tilt, felt the need to institute American Studies during the height of the Cold War. As was the case with Russian Studies, whatever our political bent at the time.
The role of Think Tanks as extranumary agents can't be denied. Regardless of what India felt about the US, India had to have means to predict the mood in Washington. Places like JNU were the seedbed for such Think Tanks. The effectiveness of these, however, can be debated.
Take, for example, India's precarious relationship with the US. In '61 the US dispatches a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier to aid India against China. In '72 the US dispatches a Nuclear Aircraft Carrier AGAINST India, over Bangladesh. One ordered by Kennedy, the other by Nixon. In hindsight these things seem obvious, but they were not back then. Like it or not, countries like India desperately needed to try and understand the American psyche.
In light of that, I'm not so sure that American, or Russian, Chinese, or God forbid, even Indian Studies is totally uncalled for. However, as an Indian, the idea of Indian Studies seems funny. I guess we Indians just have a self effacing way.
There is no "studies" involved here. American psyche, Indian psyche - diplomacy - all this is bullcrap. Bureaucratical trenches that slow everything down. India has done fine without having to worry about what the rest of the world thinks. I don't think India needs to "desparately" do anything of the sort.
I particularly enjoy how we (potentially) will get Nuclear Technology from the U.S., Uranium from Russia and Submarines from France. I don't think "American Studies" at JNU had anything to do with our diplomatic prowess and obvious growth over the past 40 years.
Why the hostility, man? And mocking the typo? Not cool.
The concept of American studies amuses you. Fair enough. But India has done it. You may consider diplomacy as bullcrap and a bureaucratic trench that slows things down. But India has a lot of goodwill around the world thanks to its diplomacy. India has taken a leading role to raise the issues of the global south, and whatever goodwill India enjoys in most parts of the world is because of its diplomats. NOT because of its Diaspora. India has great support in most of Africa, while the Indian diaspora is not welcome. Almost anywhere Indians have settled, there has been naked hatred for their homeland. But Indian diplomats have served them all. Consider it bullcrap, but pre-Pokhran, India was the international golden boy. Diplomacy.
As for India doing fine without having to worry about what the rest of the world thinks, not the case. Never has been the case.
I have a different opinion on the matter because I’ve had a different view of how India works. I sometimes question the direction the country is taking, but I also realise that for better or for worse, my opinion is biased by what I’ve seen.
MSVV certainly does NOT prepare you for how India truly is. That’s for sure. Its such a cushy life, you leave that red brick building with absolutely no idea how things are outside. I left MSVV with such a set idea of what India is, and its position in the world. Well, that certainly collapsed pretty quickly. I did my undergrad in Bangalore, and many classmates worked in Call Centres to make ends meet. I needn’t get into the details of the racism they encountered. But it’s just something they had to live with. Like it or not, that’s the reality of many young Indians today. Its degrading work, but its work. A lot of people I know ended up at Call Centres after postgrad, because there was no other work. Or rather, they lacked the means to pull themselves up. I’m currently wrapping up my own postgrad work, and I’ve been lucky. My work is funded by the government, and I pay a pittance for my education. But still many of my classmates must take student loans to pay for a monthly upkeep of about Rs. 2000. It shocked me at first, but that’s how it is. Many of my classmates are really brilliant, and deserve to be at some of the finest labs in the world. But who can afford to pay $140 for the GRE? Not to mention travelling to the nearest GRE centre, and accommodation. Its not fair. What about the top spots in India? Well, look at it this way. I got into my current position because I had an all India rank of 6. The guy who came in rank 1, well, he will be dropping out of research work to support his family, now that his father is retired. That’s the reality of how Indians live. As of now, people like us are assured a sum of Rs. 9000 a month from the government to do research work. Its certainly not enough to support a family back home in Bihar, at least not for him.
India currently charges an educational cess of 2% on all goods and services. But instead of going into education, as it should, it’s been absorbed back into the government… to pay increased dearness allowances. India’s forking out billions for Scorpenes, and here India’s universities are drying up. The best minds are forced to move out of science to support families, and where are we left? India’s share in output of research work is falling, and has been so since the 70s. That’s the reality. India is a growing economy, and has done so on the basis of its educated masses. But that’s going to run out soon. Within the next two years, 2 or 3 professors from my department plan to shift their labs abroad, since there just isn’t enough government cooperation. One of them, one of India’s finest minds in Cancer research, had asked me to deliver a letter to the Department of Science & Technology in Delhi. Funding issues. After 6 months, there has still been no official response from Delhi. Can’t blame the guy for deciding to shift his work overseas.
Whoops. Got carried away and went off on a tangent. My apologies.
no apologies required on this blog.
There is no hostility -only discussion.
I know nothing about your field and will not presume to comment on it. But I have a macro understanding of things like anyone should. You think Diplomats etc. are important people doing the "good deed" abroad etc. Trust me, they're not. My dad is a diplomat. Our entire social circle in New York is Diplomats. Its nothing but a ruse - and not even a clever one at that.
You bring up an interesting point about colleagues in your field shifting out. I'm sitting in New York, meanwhile, and watching a different trend. I'm watching kids getting an education here, working here for a few years and heading back. I see people our age (24-28), all from esteemed institutions of higher learning here, doing exceedingly well in various banks and hedge funds etc. - dropping everything and heading back to work and live in India. I'm seeing a huge shift of "Financial Services" into India. My brother being one of them - heading back after 10 years to set up his firm's office in Bombay. He'll be there in April.
I'll end this discussion with a quote from someone else and a line from me.
Quote: "India has done exceedingly well in the past several decades. It has been recognized as a powerful country but not because of its government. In fact, some would say inspite of it."
Dude, at the end of the day- if you feel that you or your profession/studies/college is so "wronged" by the government - why don't you do something about it? I'll tell you why.
Had I been in your position - witnessing the things you are - I wouldn't have done anything either. Its not that we don't care. We do... just not enough. We have this wonderful discussion on this blog and feel like the 'recognition' of a gross inefficiency/inadequacy/wrong-doing.... and a subsequent discussion on it - shows how much you care. In truth, its a shallow justification to onself - "See how much I care!" - now I can continue with my own shit. I'm not saying YOU are this. I probably weild the largest shield of shallow justifications than anyone else.
oh.. and "Indian Studies" is still stupid.. as is "American Studies".
i think both of you need to settle down.. oh yeah and a shot of tequilla...
mmm... tequila
No offence taken.
The thing about my colleagues. It’s true, I care, just not enough. The sad fact is that there really is very little I can do to make a significant difference for most of them. For example:
Most of my classmates survive on a monthly allowance, the exact amount I am not privy to. Now, lets consider what it takes to apply abroad.
For the US, you need the GRE and the TOEFL. Both are $140. So that’s $280 right there. Assuming that you’ve decided upon your universities in advance, and utilise the free reporting of scores, that saves you the $30 for each university. Most universities charge about $50 as application fees. Add to that the cost of a courier for a hard copy of your documents. That’s about Rs. 700. Let’s forget about the cost of travel (both ways) to the nearest GRE examination centre, since Madurai is not a centre. That would be Chennai. Fact is, you need money. That’s something most people within the Indian University system don’t have. Applications to Indian Institutions aren’t cheap either. Cheaper, yes, but enough to pinch. I’ve seen people spend an entire year preparing for the GRE but abandon it at the last moment due to financial constraints. The guy I mentioned earlier, well, I offered to pay for the GRE for him. He refused. Sure, perhaps I could have pushed harder, but yeah, a part of me felt relieved. Maybe I could afford to pay for his TOEFL too, but the application fees? Travel? The list goes on. I have deep pockets, but not limitless.
So what do you do? I do what I can. Helped him with his CV, proofread his applications, and helped him in other ways I could. As long as it didn’t cost me any money. Or was too much effort.
Sure, we’re all hypocrites at the end of the day. I know I am. I may be choked up by the suffering of other people, but to make a real effort? Na baba na.
The US is not the only one:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/060401/43/639xq.html
Post a Comment