A Soldier's Perspective - Part 4

As India celebrate 65th year of independence, I write this article in retrospect. I have been watching the promos of  a TV show 'Jai Jawan' with Deepika Padukone jumping around with the soldiers. Each year it is one of the stars of modern India who spend some time with soldiers on 26th Jan and 15th Aug, speak a few words of sympathy and the whole country assumes that enough has been done for them and for their sacrifice. I may sound cynical but that is the way I see my countrymen and may be you will understand my cynicism after reading this true story.

I am a veteran from the Indian Navy with 25 years of distinguished service to the nation. While I was still doing well, I decided to 'swallow the anchor' (equivalent of 'hanging up my boots' of  the army) to take care of my ailing parents, father being 84 with a history of brain stroke and mother 70 with a history of breast cancer. Unlike most soldiers, I knew quite well that someday I will have to join the civil society and hence was regularly upgrading my educational qualifications and went on to gather six post graduate degrees / diplomas and when I was in the last leg of my service career, I enrolled for a doctoral research as I wished to join the education sector and contribute to the development of the youth. I was all of 44 when I stepped out of my uniform.

I returned home with lock, stock and barrel and joined a Management Institution at Nagpur as Director. I enjoyed a sense of purpose and was doing my job sincerely. I was trying to bring about a change in the way students approach their life and my process had a fair mixture of awakening and admonishing. Soon the students started falling in place and the method was finding acceptance as even with their immaturity, they started to see the genuineness of purpose.  

As time went by, the management took up a case with the university for regularization of my appointment. A committee was constituted which after due diligence found me suitable enough to head the institution. However, after about three months, the university intimated that my appointment cannot be regularized as my PhD was not in Business Management but in Psychology allied to Organizational Behaviour. There were also questions raised on my Defence experience - If a retired Commander can be equated to that of a business manager/professor. Taken aback, I wrote a letter to the Vice Chancellor (VC) explaining as to how Psychology is very much part of the management domain, as if he did not know already, and also cited several examples from the best institutions like the IIMs where some of the well known professors are from Psychology background. On the issue of defence background, incidentally, five former VCs of the same university were retired Defence Officers which I happened to see on the succession board when I went to call on the VC the first time. 

Seeing no response, I took the initiative of meeting the VC personally along with my management. I once again explained that my PhD was interdisciplinary in nature having overlap with management and psychology. He seemed quite perplexed that the case was turned down for this reason and promised to look into the matter but time went by with no response whatsoever. The management after waiting for some time officially represented to the university and I wrote two additional letters citing examples of approvals accorded by the same university in the past to candidates with psychology background. The academic fraternity was unanimous in their opinion but the administrative machinery was stubborn. After three more months, the university responded to the representation of the management and both my letters to the VC by a common one liner, saying that the candidate’s PhD is not in Business Management and hence approval cannot be accorded. The university was relying on the AICTE norms which reads 'PhD in relevant discipline' as one of the essential qualifications.  Ironically, the AICTE had approved my candidature. The management lost steam and wanted to give up and asked me to continue as an unapproved Director which was not to my liking.

While this controversy was going on, in Feb 2012 the Vice Chancellor of the same university, based on my separate application,  recognized me as a PhD supervisor in the subjects of Business Management and Administration which necessarily means that they have accepted my PhD in Psychology as relevant to Management. It was a clear case of arbitrariness. Since my management was not willing to fight any longer, I resigned from the post to file a writ petition in the high court.

Any respectable organization would have admitted their mistake and resolved the matter amicably but the university filed a counter affidavit and let the case proceed. Shamelessly they contended that a candidate’s qualifications may be suitable for supervising PhD scholars but not be good enough to teach at Masters’ level, a rationale that can at best be termed as ‘absurd’. So much so, even the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) an apex body controlling technical education in India has been accepting candidates with psychology background. However, the university strangely took an adamant position. Three hearings were held and the case was turning against the university. Finally, as a face saver the counsel of the university requested the court to include AICTE as a party to this case and clarify if I can be appointed as a Director despite the fact that I have cited cases where AICTE had approved such candidates in the petition.. The case in now sub judice and I am confident that logic and truth will prevail.

All along, I was wondering why the university has taken a position so illogical against me, until my counsel who is well known in the city, told me that it is an outcome of personal vendetta on two counts. Firstly, he reminded me of an incident when I had admonished a student of my college for his misbehavior. Incidentally, that student happened to be a son of the official looking after faculty approvals in the university and that it is his handy work. Typical of bureaucracy, the VC signed the noting without application of mind or may be even without seeing what is written in the file. All subsequent letters, were marked by the VC to the concerned section without any remarks and the concerned official, a Assistant Registrar, has succeeded in holding the entire system at ransom. Secondly,  there are two political factions that rule the university and all institutions under the university have affiliation to one of the two parties. Incidentally, I was heading an institution which is known to be part of the faction that is not in power. What an example of how politics is ruining  our educational system!!

I was virtually sitting at home with no work for four months. I was completely distraught with the feeling of betrayal and finally, I had to move out of the city, leaving behind my old parents , my wife and children. Did I deserve this as a veteran with 25 years of meritorious service to the nation? This is not how veterans are treated elsewhere in the world, I suppose!!!