PU Vice-Chancellor deserves a break...

Harish Khare

EVER wondered why none of the Indian universities makes it to the top hundred in the world? The blunt answer has to be that almost every other university in India has been reduced to a den of factionalism and intrigue.

Look no further than what is going on in Panjab University, Chandigarh. An archaic governing structure renders the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Arun Kumar Grover, hostage to factions and factionalists in the senate.

The PU should have been a central university long ago. Both during the Vajpayee years and the UPA days, serious efforts were made to make it a central university. But Punjab’s politicians would not let go of it — nor, would they find funds for it. Consequently, the university is often dependent on handouts from the UGC.

This dependence gives the senate factionalists a handle. Some of the senate intriguers have developed links of collusion with low-level UGC functionaries. They combine forces to give pinpricks to the Vice-Chancellor. Recently, there were unsavoury media reports that the UGC had chastised the PU for making some irregular payments to the Vice-Chancellor.

Interestingly enough, even before the UGC letter landed in Chandigarh, it had already been leaked to senate factionalists, who, in turn, fed it to a gullible media. And, the media, in its turn, had a field day at the expense of the Vice-Chancellor. 

The vice-chancellorship of Panjab Univesity is not a job for a sensitive person. A thick hide should be made an essential qualification for future applicants. 

Not only is Professor Grover a very sensitive a man, he also seems to have not understood what is involved in changing an old place, especially a place which has its own cherished ‘culture’, which often is an excuse for complacency, second-ratedness, low-level intrigue and zero accountability. And Panjab University is indeed a very old institution, in desperate need of renewal and revival.

There is no doubt that Professor Grover is trying to raise PU’s profile. He does things differently. Professor Grover fails to appreciate that anyone who tries to be innovative, or imaginative or just different will face resistance, even challenge and conspiracy from the established interests. The trick is not to let the conspirators rattle you.

Unfortunately, Professor Grover has petulantly involved himself in a daily battle of wits against the media — he feels he is entitled to the benefit of the doubt. Consequently, he feels righteously offended that the media lends an ear to his tormenters in the senate. 

I wish someone could advise Professor Grover that it is not enough to have reason, facts, ‘truth’ behind you. You still do not necessarily win the argument. Creating ‘controversy’ has, unfortunately, become a cultivated habit with the media. Perhaps, a national addiction, as well.

Otherwise, very reasonable men and women would not be sitting every night in front of the television and soaking in the utter distortions and paid ‘news’ being palmed off as the ‘truth’. Prejudices and passions are hawked as reason and lapped up. Professor Grover has to understand the nature of the beast that is the media. But more importantly, he needs to be able to distinguish between friends and foes. In a good fight, victory goes to the one who chooses one’s enemies wisely. Unbridled righteousness ends up uniting all enemies, even converting potential allies into antagonists.

Above all, anyone who is trying to shake an old rusted system will need to have a robust intellectual fortitude — a rare quality — to stay the course, in the face of opposition. And, you need moral sturdiness to not get distracted by pinpricks. 

Professor Grover has my empathy and sympathy. 

FOREIGN  policy scholars and security experts are busy analysing the importance and implications of the agreement our Defence Minister has signed with the Americans. On my part, I was rather relieved to see that the honourable Manohar Parrikar chose to dress up in a bandgala suit for the occasion.

This act of dressing up was an important concession. The honourable Raksha Mantri, who heads probably the most disciplined and ceremonially-inclined establishment, has a preference for informal, too casual, attires. Some even accuse him of being unkempt. His taste for crumpled half-sleeved shirts reflects a certain clumsiness which finds its way into his performance.

How one chooses to dress in public matters. A dress imposes its own discipline of the organisation. For example, the Army uniform denotes dignity and discipline. A school uniform induces a sense of belonging, a feeling of unconscious but comfortable equality.

I am inclined to believe that the personality of a public figure can be discerned, in part, from the way he dresses. Sobriety in dress is often reflective of sobriety in thinking. Take Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Except when he was on a vacation, Vajpayee was impeccably dressed in Indian dhoti and kurta. There was an understated elegance about how he appeared in public. The same goes for Manmohan Singh, except that he never went on a holiday. 

Some scholar may be able to discover a correlation between Prime Minister Modi’s dress and his rhetorical performance. For instance, in half sleeves, he tends to be wild, accusatory, rough and unrefined. 

Those who want to be taken up seriously in public life need to dress up soberly and elegantly. 

I was sad to learn of the demise of Raj Kumar Aggarwal. He was 92 and probably the oldest advocate in the high court in Chandigarh. His son Kapil Dev, who was kind enough to inform me of his father’s passing away, believes Raj Kumar Aggarwal represented “the oldest advocate office of the high courts in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh or Delhi and probably also West Pakistan.”

I never met Raj Kumar Aggarwal, but corresponded with him. Early this year, I had received a very angry letter from him. He was very, very annoyed with The Tribune’s coverage of the JNU affairs. He suspected that The Tribune had become “a mouthpiece of the Marxists and their brand of violent, destructive agenda.” 

The communication was full of passion and anger. He reminded me of a recent history of Punjab: how in 1978, the then SGPC chief, GS Tohra, and Marxists had joined hands to help send Harkishan Singh Surjeet to the Rajya Sabha with the help of the Akali MLAs, and how this alliance wreaked havoc on Punjab. He warned me that “The Tribune’s continued support to the Marxist brand of violence and death will plunge Punjab into another reign of terror. The Press can push any nation into chaos by false reporting as is being done by The Tribune.” 

He had concluded his letter on an ominous note: “I will shortly be approaching my newspaper agent to discontinue The Tribune with a heavy heart for ending the 100-plus-year-old relationship with The Tribune.” I wrote back to him, as soon as I could, expressing my surprise and anguish. I offered him to come and have a cup of coffee with him. He graciously called back to say that we would meet as soon as he felt a little better. Unfortunately, that did not come about. 

Raj Kumar Aggarwal’s communication was an elegantly drafted letter. I was struck by the mental agility and intellectual clarity that Raj Kumar Aggarwal could command at the age of 92. Though it was not so gentle a rap on the knuckles, I felt deeply impressed that someone could feel so strongly at that age. 

THOUGH I think of myself as a non-sectarian and non-practising Kayasth, I remain religiously fond of what is called the Kayasth cooking. It is in this spirit of partisanship that I recommend a very, very readable book, Mrs LC’s Table — Stories about Kayasth food and culture by Anoothi Vishal.

During my student days in America, I got initiated into the art and joys of cooking. What began as a bare necessity became a source of enjoyment when I got access to Madhur Jaffery’s first book, An Invitation to Indian Cooking. 

Madhur belongs to one of the oldest Kayasth families of Delhi. Like a good Kayasth, she too was sent to vilaayat for studies. Away from home, she pined for the family food. It seems that her mother was periodically writing to her — that was the age of letters, before the Internet — recipes for this or that dish. And Madhur would try to carry out — clumsily and laboriously — her mother’s instructions. And, then, she had a brilliant idea. She put together all those recipe-letters into a book, making it the first Indian cook book to capture the imagination of the West. 

From Madhur’s book, I developed an appreciation for the nuances of the food one had eaten all one’s life. That book became a Bible.

Anoothi Vishal’s book has the same flavour, the same sense of exquisiteness as Madhur’s book. It has the imprint of her very impressive and imperious grandmother, Mrs LC. And, more than a collection of some very khandaani recipes, it is a racy introduction to the refined world of the Kayasthas. 

I look forward to trying out some of these recipes. Cooking is good for the soul. 

And, what else is cooking? It is time to brew some coffee. Please join me.

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