Things are little funny at the moment.
The administration asked for the CVs of all emeritus professors who had crossed the age of 75. For once I was very happy that Prof. Asis Dutta took a stand and refused to send his CV to the administration. Exactly who is going to evaluate the CV of Prof. Asis Dutta or Prof. Romila Thapar? It is so silly.
And then the administration decided to dig out the JNU hostel manual and implement it in toto. Of course time limits are mentioned in the hostel manual but should not the administration pause for a moment and ask itself whether the Ph.D. scholars are children? As for the dress code, the only thing I can conclude is that we love to show our power and authority. Dress codes, especially for women, are very popular across Colleges and Universities in India. How else can a patriarchial society control its women?
When I look at the girls, I feel pang of envy for they have so much dress choices. Things were limited when I was growing up. Of course the saree had gone out of fashion amongst my peers. But the choice really was only salwar- kameez and occasional pants. Very few girls wore pants. All my friends wore salwar-kameez.
When I was working at Center for Biotechnology, Chennai, in 1990s, a colleague one day told us about her niece taking swimming lessons. In the end she said, it is good, you know, because she is comfortable wearing the swim suit. I cannot do it because there are so many inhibitions but she has no such inhibitions. I am so happy for her.
When I see students wearing shorts, I feel the same that there were so many inhibitions that we grew up with that it is so nice to see girls exercising their choice with respect to the clothes.
Of course, the administration might not see it that way.
And finally, of course, our alumnus got the Nobel Prize. It is very instructive to know that he, along with a group of students, did gherao the VC when he was a student.
The administration asked for the CVs of all emeritus professors who had crossed the age of 75. For once I was very happy that Prof. Asis Dutta took a stand and refused to send his CV to the administration. Exactly who is going to evaluate the CV of Prof. Asis Dutta or Prof. Romila Thapar? It is so silly.
And then the administration decided to dig out the JNU hostel manual and implement it in toto. Of course time limits are mentioned in the hostel manual but should not the administration pause for a moment and ask itself whether the Ph.D. scholars are children? As for the dress code, the only thing I can conclude is that we love to show our power and authority. Dress codes, especially for women, are very popular across Colleges and Universities in India. How else can a patriarchial society control its women?
When I look at the girls, I feel pang of envy for they have so much dress choices. Things were limited when I was growing up. Of course the saree had gone out of fashion amongst my peers. But the choice really was only salwar- kameez and occasional pants. Very few girls wore pants. All my friends wore salwar-kameez.
When I was working at Center for Biotechnology, Chennai, in 1990s, a colleague one day told us about her niece taking swimming lessons. In the end she said, it is good, you know, because she is comfortable wearing the swim suit. I cannot do it because there are so many inhibitions but she has no such inhibitions. I am so happy for her.
When I see students wearing shorts, I feel the same that there were so many inhibitions that we grew up with that it is so nice to see girls exercising their choice with respect to the clothes.
Of course, the administration might not see it that way.
And finally, of course, our alumnus got the Nobel Prize. It is very instructive to know that he, along with a group of students, did gherao the VC when he was a student.
