Odisha HRD

Why many in Orissa mistrust MHRD of India: a cry for help to the PM and Planning Commission

February 3rd, 2008

======= His message is below my reply to him. ======

Dear Mr. Acharya:

It is very easy for some one in Orissa to believe that you said what is reported to have been said in Samaja.

Already, your minister Mrs. Purandareswari said something similar. See http://www.indianexpress.com/story/30436.html where it is reported that she read a list of institutions in Orissa that have central assistance to justify why Orissa should not have given an IIT. If she, or the staff who wrote that response, had bothered to compared this with other states, which we did (please see http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol1/state_wise_national_lab.pdf ) she/they would have found that other states have much more such institutes and this reasoning is yet another attempt to harm Orissa by the MHRD.

In general, people all over Orissa have developed a deep distrust of MHRD for reason listed below. From your past actions we are very apprehensive that MHRD will find or make up some reason or other to deny an IIT to Orissa or just deny without any explanation.

This is despite the fact that:

(i) Orissa is now is at the bottom of per-capita spending by MHRD in marquee institutions. In our earlier calculation, reported nation wide (see http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol0/2006%2002%2014%20ht-mhrd-spending.pdf  and
http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol0/2006%2002%2012%20asian-age-mhrd-spending.pdf ) and in International Herald Tribune, Bihar and Rajasthan were below Orissa and they were rightly given an IIT. But then Orissa was skipped for the 3rd and 4th new IIT announcements.

(ii) Orissa is at the bottom of higher education enrollment at about 6.1% and needs to cover the largest gap to get to the 11th plan goal of 15%.

(iii) Orissa is the 9th largest state in area and 11th largest in population. (Note that the 8 new IITs will take the total # IITs to 15.)

(iv) Orissa is among the most backward state of the country in most parameters and has the most backward district cluster (KBK districts made up of almost half the size of Orissa) in the country.

(v) Orissa has a vast population of tribals.

(vi) Orissa is trying its best to industrialize and is among the lead in recent ASSOCHAM  studies regarding investment destinations.

(vii) The people of Orissa, its MPs, and its CM have been trying very hard for several years now to convince MHRD and the PM about an IIT in Orissa, but without any results. Please see the media articles stored at http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol0/ , http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol1/ , http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol2/ , http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol3/  to know the involvement of every one in Orissa on this. This is very very different from any other state asking for an IIT. Nowhere, the intensity and passion comes even close.

Now let me give you the reasons why people in Orissa have a deep mistrust towards MHRD and believe that MHRD is actively working to keep Orissa down and harm it.

A. MHRD took away a previously announced (by the President) NIS from Orissa. The MHRD fought tooth and nail with Orissa in the political arena (parliament), in courts (Cuttack high court and supreme court), and other places on the NIS issue. And it never gave Orissa the NIS it had taken away which are now called IISERs. MHRD gave them all to its favored states (Pune, Kolkata, Punjab, Bhopal and Kerala.) See http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol1-nis/ and http://iiser.blogspot.com for the press articles and chronology of this.

Thank God, India has a prime minister who has some shame, who sanctioned NISER from his ministry, the DAE. Despite that NISER’s approval in the cabinet was delayed and even now other hurdles have been put that continues to prevent NISER from recruiting regular faculty.

B. The following is a partial list of higher education institutions funded by MHRD  that MHRD has announced since this government came. Sir: Can you please find Orissa’s name in it?

1. IISER Kolkata, West Bengal (1)
2. IISER Pune, Maharashtra (1)
3. IISER Mohali, Punjab (1)
4. IISER in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (1)
5. IISER in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala (1)
6. IIT in Andhra Pradesh (1)
7. IIT in Rajasthan (1)
8. IIT in Bihar (1)
9. IIM at Shillong, Meghalaya (1)
10. SPA in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh (2)
11. SPA in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (2)
12. Upgradation of Bengal Engineering and Sc U to an IIT clone (IIEST), West Bengal (2)
13. Upgradation of Andhra Univ Engineering College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (3)
14. Upgradation of Osmania Univ Engg College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (4)
15. Upgradation of IT BHU to IIT clone (IIEST), Uttar Pradesh (1)
16. Upgradation of Cochin Univ of Sc and Tech to IIT clone (IIEST), Kerala (2)
17. IIIT Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu (1)
18. Allahbad University made to a Central University, Uttar Pradesh (2)
19. Manipur University made to a Central University, Manipur (1)
20. Arunachal Pradesh university made to a Central University,Arunachal Pradesh (1)
21. Tripura university made to a Central University, Tripura (1)
22. New Central University in Sikkim, Sikkim (1)
23. CIEFL Hyderabad made to a central university, Andhra Pradesh (5)
24. Indira Gandhi Nationan Tribal University, Madhya Pradesh (3)
25. IIT in Himachal Pradesh (1)

This MHRD has announced TWENTY FIVE+ national institutions so far and Orissa does not even figure once in that list and I am sure you can figure out why people from Orissa completely distrust MHRD and its intentions.

C: Please read the following excerpt from the Orissa government press release on Oct 24 2005 where CM of Orissa discussed about a tribal university in KBK region of Orissa.

… In addition to this, Shri Patnaik also requested for establishment of a Central University for the KBK Region, which is one of the most backward regions in the country. He pointed out that there was a heavy concentration of the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste population in this region, which has a literacy rate below 50%. Shri Patnaik stated that setting up a Central University in the KBK region would go a long way in encouraging higher education among tribal population. He added that the university could also set up specialized centres for tribal development related studies, as tribal development was one of the biggest challenges facing the country today. Shri. Arjun Singh appreciated the rationale of having a Central University in the KBK region and sought a formal proposal in this regard from the State Government. He assured that this would receive high priority whenever the Central Government considers setting up of new central universities

Please compare it with the following about the proposed Indira Gandhi National Tribal University that came out in Hindu on 19th November 2006.  (http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/19/stories/2006111900750900.htm) and it seems that the idea proposed by our CM was stolen by MHRD to establish a similar university with HQ in MP and Orissa was conveniently ignored and thus harmed.

• … The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University will encourage studies on tribal art, culture and traditions, forests and natural resources. Tribal students will be given priority in admission. … The D. Swaminadhan Committee, set up by the University Grants Commission, recommended the setting up of a varsity exclusively for promoting tribal culture and providing tribals access to higher education.

====

Thus MHRD is the ministry which not only has not given any national institute to Orissa but seems to have taken away two of them from Orissa: an NIS/IISER and the tribal central university which Orissa seem to have proposed first. Please look up a thesaurus to find out the adjectives used for some one who steals from the poorest of the poor. MHRD, because of its actions towards Orissa, deserves that adjective.

==

Since we do not have any trust in MHRD, we have to take things directly to the PM, Mrs. Gandhi, the planning commission and the people of India at large. There is no other option left for the weakest and the poorest and the most backward when the MHRD that is supposed to help it steals from it and tries its best to harm it and makes up ridiculous and false reasons for it.

We sincerely hope that either the MHRD will come to its senses or the PM and the planning commission will bring it into its senses so that MHRD grants at least

(i) an IIT to Orissa so that Orissa has one of the 15 IITs in the country (b) one of the 14 proposed world class central universities (c) one of the proposed 10 NITs (d) a tribal central university in KBK (out of the remaining 16 new central universities) for all of the reasons mentioned earlier in the mail.

[Again, Orissa is the 9th largest state in area, 11th largest state in  population, has been historically funded the least by MHRD, has to bridge the largest gap from 6.1% to the 11th plan target of 15%, and among the states that is trying its hardest – by rapid industrialization- to get out of the bottom of everything.]

Anything less, we will know that MHRD is up to its tricks again, and despite the fact that the PM has increased the number of institutions to so many (8 new IITs taking the total to 15; 14 world class central universities; and 10 new NITs) that there is really no reason, except spite and intent to harm, to not give Orissa the above mentioned institutions.

 
sincerely and with best regards,
Chitta Baral

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Krishna Murari <kmacharya@…>
To: RAJESH MOHAPATRA <mahapatrark@…>
Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:43:18 +0500
Subject: Re: Please don’t force Orissa to remain backward: Reaction to "No IIT for Orissa because it has NISER" – MHRD special secretary as reported in The Samaja

The statement apparently attributed to the Special Secretary, MHRD, in some sections of the Oriya press is completely wrong. No such statement -that because of the NISER, IIT would not be considered for an IIT – was ever made. What was actually said was that Orissa’s demand for an IISER was met by establishing a NISER there. 
 
– Special Secy, MHRD

Entry Filed under: Eleventh plan,IIT, oDishA,MHRD bias against Odisha (past?)