IITians Are Big Fools

'IITians Are Big Fools' : outlookindia.com http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070201&fname=iiti...

1 of 3 2/5/2007 10:27 PM

Arts & Entertainment Books Business International National Society Sports

Society WEB | FEB 01, 2007

Current Stories

Kolkata KornerWhat is it with Kolkata's "intellectuals"? Why do they think that environmentalists are anti-culture and anti-literature? And why can't the West Bengal government make up its mind once and for all on Taslima Nasreen?

Minding Mrs MannersNo bear, please, we're in the army now. Army spouses get a manual on how to look smart, but stay in line.

The Law In StoneA village in Vizag swears by the court of The Rock. It's truth or divine retribution.

ALBINA DU BOISROUVRAYAlbina Du BoisrouvrayA French countess, Timemagazine's hero of '03 and founder of the international NGO FXB, which works in the area of HIV, on her plans for India

Zero MelaninCast-a-tourist? India now has a thriving 'white' channel.

Free SpeechSpeak up! Express yourself in our free- wheeling

ENCOUNTER

'IITians Are Big Fools'No, it wasn't a frustrated or failed aspirant but a former IITian who said this last week at a lecture, while addressing a crowd of nearly a thousand IITians.RAJESH GAJRA

| E-MAIL | ONE PAGE FORMAT | FEEDBACK: SEND - READ |

No, it wasn't a frustrated or failed aspirant but a former IITian who said this last week at a lecture while addressinga crowd of nearly a thousand IITians and other collegestudents during the annual Techfest at Indian Institute ofTechnology, Bombay (IITB). But coming from Dunu Roy, who, unlike his colleagues and peers, decided to pursuegrassroot integration of technology with local and practicalrequirements, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyonewho has followed this IITian's career.

But for a first-timer, the 90-minute talk and the subsequentQ&A could well have been an eye-opener. Provoking hisaudience by calling them "big fools" who know nothingabout India and its village life, Roy said the IITians arevictims of the politics of education and science. He addedthat the first lesson he learnt was that technologists andengineers are under an illusion that they get to take thedecisions. That was not all. He went on to say thatenvironmental dynamics aren’t understood by engineerswho seem to specialise in solving one problem to createanother one, thereby creating a "sustainability for theengineering profession—and not for the people".

"How many of you will end up working for the Haliburtonsand Microsofts of the world?" he asked. And thenproceeded to answer by pointing out that many of thestudents would do so because "Indian technical educationis geared to meet global demands". The collapse of the USeducation system has led to a shortage of scientists andtechnologists, he said, which is why the courses they [the IITians] are learning are required for the US". Since Indianengineers are also cheaper than the Americancounterparts, "it made good sense for the Indiangovernment to promote technical education so that you canprovide cheap service to the US." Therefore, he suggested,the curriculum has changed. Earlier, he pointed out, IITshad a more integrated approach and also taughthumanities, ethics and logic. But these subjects were

UK Shopping Store

Buy Shoes on SaleGet Discount on jewelry Find Sale on apparels

Valentine Gifts Online

Discount Shopping Online

UK Holiday Shopping

'IITians Are Big Fools' : outlookindia.com http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070201&fname=iiti...

2 of 3 2/5/2007 10:27 PM

discussions or start those of your own.

Caste As Racism: So what's wrong with talking about it at the UN?Creamy Layer: Now why has that not been excluded?Heard a good one lately? Some of our readers have, apparently. Join in.

Secularism What is wrong with it?India: A peaceful and peace-loving society? Is Idealism Dead? Has practicality taken over?"Hindus" versus "Muslims" Are we any different? Must it be so ugly?

...and more

removed in order to hasten the production of ‘unreal’technologists.

The original vision to set up IITs stemmed from the independence movement. The Indian leaders at that timerealised "the need to have trained scientists andtechnologists" who could provide equal rights to food, shelter, education and work to the people. The idea was totake the "best from universal education, invest in pocketslike IITs (so that) they would return their expertise to thecommon pool of the country." Which is why the money tofund the IITs comes from the exchequer, he pointed out.

And then came perhaps the most thought-provoking part ofthe lecture. Referring to the hyped-up success stories ofIITians —he cited the example of Kanwal Rekhi, a SiliconValley-based venture capitalist— who have earned millionsof dollars, Roy posited that while the ostensible aim ofeducation is to teach us about success, most of ourlearnings comes from analysing and understandingfailures. For every one IITian who makes money, there are10 others who don't. And no one talks about the thousandsof IITians who stay back and work for the country despiteencountering victimisation by domestic politics of scienceand technology. Urging the young students to askquestions, and not just be receivers of "wisdom", Royasked them to "learn the laws of motion of society and notjust the laws of motion of science."

And coming from him, it did not sound phoney. For after his post-graduation from IITB, Roy moved to Shahdol district ofMadhya Pradesh and started the Vidushak Karkhana aspart of the Shahdol Group carrying out focussed work onbuilding a development model for the district and its implementation, in conjunction with local people.He wasinvolved in this for 17 years during which he earned hisincome primarily out of repairing bicycles in the villagedistrict. He then shifted to Delhi for a four-year stint with theWorld Wide Fund for Nature, and later set up the HazardsCentre, a multi-disciplinary consultancy group.

It’s rare for IITians to be the recipients of such blunt talk.And it should be noted that the student organisers ofTechfest invited Dunu Roy to give this talk after acceptinghis condition that there would be no restriction on thecontent of his lecture. So perhaps the IITians are not suchbig fools after all.

| E-MAIL | ONE PAGE FORMAT | FEEDBACK: SEND - READ |

MORE STORIES: RAJESH GAJRA DUNU ROY

Order Online

Looking for more in Society? Just choose the period (fill in the dates) and click Go.From 66 JanJan 20072007 To 77 DecDec 20062006 Web Magazine All GO