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Journalism of Courage
The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) chairman Sam Pitroda today expressed surprise and disappointment at Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh’s attacks on the Commission, which reports directly to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
On the issue of OBC quotas, the NKC chairman said numbers cannot be forced on these elite academic institutions and the autonomy of these institutions must be allowed. In an e-mailed response to The Indian Express, Pitroda said,‘‘We are surprised and disappointed at the HRD minister’s comments on the Commission and the chairman.’’
He said,‘‘We agree that no one is above the law and the Constitution. No one in the Commission has ever said so. We do not know from where the minister got that impression.’’
On the current controversy of reservations for OBCs in premier academic institutions, he said,‘‘We recognise that the problem of reservation is very complex and has many faces. We agree with the concern for the poor and under privileged in India. We strongly believe that the Indian Knowledge society must be socially inclusive.’’
However, he said, there are ‘‘perhaps other ways to achieve the same objectives’’. In a very clear response he also said,‘‘We believe that we cannot force numbers on our institute(s) of higher learning.’’
‘‘We must trust them and allow them the autonomy and flexibility they need to provide the best talent (to) the country for the 21st century,’’ Pitroda said, referring to the autonomy to be allowed for IIMs, IITs, AIIMS and such institutions.
In a reference to the Union Cabinet — which is expected to discuss this issue in greater depth when the Singh’s proposal comes before them — Pitroda said,‘‘We hope that they will keep these guidelines into consideration and move towards affirmative action programme in the future.’’
shubhajit.roy@expressindia.com
