On May 8th 2007, NDA MPs from Orissa brought a call attention notice in the Lok Sabha about an IIT in Orissa and dissatisfied with response walked out of the parliament and were supported by other NDA MPs in this walkout. Speaking about this MP Baijayanta Panda of BJD is reported to have said, “Orissa is being continuously neglected by the Centre, especially by the ministry of HRD.” Is Mr. Panda right? Or is this a typical whining allegation that opposition parties from various states regularly throw at the government.
Continue Reading May 9th, 2007
Following is an execrpt from the Statesman article on this issue.
Call for dharna
Meanwhile, the BJD Rajya Sabha leader, Mr Baijayant Panda, has requested all MPs from Orissa, irrespective of party affiliation, to be join a sit-in dharna near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the premises of Parliament tomorrow for an IIT in the state, SNS adds from Bhubaneswar.
All BJD-BJP MPs from Orissa have decided to stage a dharna and others from the state are invited to join, he said.
Orissa is being continuously neglected by the Centre, especially by the ministry of HRD, said Mr Panda. In spite of the declaration by the HRD minister of state to have two IITs in Orissa last year, the Centre has decided to have three new IITs in Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
It is unfortunate that Orissa’s longstanding demand for Central institutes like Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management continues to be ignored by the Central government, he observed.
May 9th, 2007
Newsreports [Times of India, Hindustan Times, Tathya.in, Kalinga Times, Statesman, Indian Express, Sambada, Samaja 1,2,3, Dharitri 1,2,3,4 ,India-e-news, Pragativadi] and emails are coming in regarding the IIT issue being raised in the parliament. At first glance the news is negative, especially the headline in Times of India which says “Govt says No to an IIT in Orissa.”
However, this is a starting point in Delhi. Now the MPs can set up an appointment with the PM and make a case. Another good aspect of this is that the walkout by the Orissa BJD+BJP MPs is reported to have been supported by the NDA partners. We need to find out by how many and if there were any BJP stalwarts. In any case, this provides a fallback option. If the MPs fail to convince the PM, then having the NDA partners on board now, makes it easier if and when the NDA comes to power next.
If one is depressed after reading the news items, they may checkout what happened when the NIS issue was brought up in the parliament Q & A sessions in December 2005.
May 8th, 2007
Today, there is an opinion piece in Times of India that suggests that some of the best NITs and IT-BHU should be upgraded to IITs. I wrote along the same lines in an Indian Express op-ed article last year. This is discussed in more detail in the blog specifically on this topic. Here is a quick overview of the issue.
Continue Reading May 4th, 2007
In Today’s Telegraph, it is reported that:
“Goenka, who is also the chairman of the board of governors of IIT-Kharagpur, said the construction for an off-campus branch of the IIT would start this year. The state has already offered 300 acres of land near Bhubaneswar for the campus and is committed to provide all the necessary assistance for this purpose. The Rs 800-crore project would house nearly 5,000 students annually. The institute will impart technical education to around 5,000 students. ”
I don’t know if this is to be believed or not. However, let me briefly touch upon the history of this branch campus idea.
Continue Reading May 3rd, 2007
Respected Sirs,
This appeal is being raised to you by the intellectuals, students, and professionals of Orissa with a sense of deep anguish and high hopes. Statistics alone speaks volumes about the continued injustice meted to Orissa – may it be allocation for railways, planned grants, and among many, the allocation of central university & IIT to Orissa.
Union minister of state for HRD Shri MAA Fatmi had announced at the inaugural ceremony of NIOS on August 28th 2006 that 2 IITs in Orissa and one in Bihar would be included in the 11th Five Year Plan.
Continue Reading April 28th, 2007
Documents that make our case for an IIT in Orissa.
* A collection of points and counterpoints regarding making a case for an IIT in Orissa. (pdf,2MB)(word document, 500kb)
* Compilation of news items (9 MB): http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/Binder1.pdf
* Digambara Patra’s compilation of national labs distribution across India: http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/state_wise_national_lab.pdf
Now the article: “IIT in Orissa: talking points”
Following are some points that can be used to convince the other MPs, the PM, the planning commission etc. that the issue of an IIT in Orissa is an extremely important one; it has caused a lot of strife in Orissa; and appropriate amendments must be made at the earliest.
Continue Reading April 27th, 2007
The various news items on the IIT Orissa issue that has appeared in the various Orissa based and national media has been compiled to a single 9 MB pdf file and is made available at http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/Binder1.pdf
I think if this compilation is shown by our MPs to other MPs, the planning commission and PM then it will convince them that this is a big deal for Orissa and it has caused a lot of strife in Orissa and they should pay attention and do something urgently.
In this regard, Sambad reports that Orissa MPs are gearing up to raise the IIT issue in the current session of the parliament.
April 27th, 2007
After rallies in Bhubaneswar and Berhampur, there will be a rally in Sambalpur on the 28th April 2007. Please join it if you can. A rally in Delhi is planned for middle of May.
The rally in Bhubaneswar was widely covered in the media: Statesman, Hindustan Times, New Indian Express, Pragativadi, Tathya.in, Kalinga Times, Odisha.com, Santosh Tripathy, Lalit Patnaik, Orissadiary.
Watchout for updates at http://iitorissa.org.
April 26th, 2007
Sambada has translated the article posted earlier and has published it in their Editorial page (pdf). (Thanks to Sambada editors and staff for the translation.) The original article in English is also available in word and pdf. Tathya.in also published it in English with some editorial changes. http://iitorissa.org
April 26th, 2007
1. Why this FAQ?
When one brings up the topic of establishing an IIT in Orissa MHRD officials, ministers and spokesperson, and even many technical education committee members sometimes retort back: “Why does it matter where an IIT is located as students from any where in India, including from Orissa, can study in an IIT.”
Until recently, I thought it was just some thing said and not really meant by the MHRD officials or the technical education committee members. However, a recent exchange of emails with one of the most well respected technologists of India, Mr. K, makes it clear that many influential people in decision making roles sincerely believe that it does not matter where an IIT is located as students from any where in India can study in an IIT. This misconception needs to be cleared up, as otherwise, as we argue below, it will further worsen the existing inequities in India.
Many in Orissa also question why one should focus on getting an IIT to Orissa when there are several other pressing issues in Orissa. In this FAQ we try to address these and related questions.
Continue Reading April 22nd, 2007
Chitta: Details on the rally with pictures is being chronicled at http://iitorissa.org. [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Here is a first hand impresison of one of the main organizers Lalit Patnaik.
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The rally was a grand success, because it has really evoked very positive response among BUDHIJIBI and Students. The Budhijibi assembled just in time i.e. 8.30 a.m sharp . The rally progressed by 9 a.m.
Continue Reading April 9th, 2007
ARE YOU A SWABHIMANI ODIA
One IIT each for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajsthan has been sanctioned with an investment of Rs.4000 crores. Orissa, although promised two IIT by Central Minister for HRD Mr. M Fatmi on 28th August 2006 at Patna, has been befooled with none.
* Orissa being one of the poorest states in terms of infrastructure in education and technology needs establishment of IIT more than any other state.
* Orissa having richest Mineral deposit needs an IIT to provide knowledge and technology base for best utilization of it’s resources.
* Let us not be blamed by our grand children that we have overslept when their future was being dismissed.
1) We demand establishment of an IIT and up gradation of UCE, Burla to IIEST in Orissa.
2) Join for Orissa in our demand on 8th April 2007 morning at 8.30 am in AG square, Bhubaneswar.
Continue Reading April 7th, 2007
Pragativadi reports that the CM has secured an appointment to meet the PM on April 19th and one of the issues he will bring up is the IIT issue.
April 5th, 2007
(Update: Tathya.in has a nice story on this.)
(From Lalit Patnaik)
Dear friends,
Yesterday, Agamee Odisha has decided to call all it’s members and supportive organisation and also each & every Swabhimani Odia to join the Mass rally to Governor’s House on 8th April’07. Our demand for sanctioning an IIT in Orissa and upgrading UCE, Burla to IIEST will be handed over to Governor. The Memorandum will be sent for Priminister of India through Governor of Orissa. The rally will start from AG square to Governors House on 8th April’07( sunday) and the duration is from 8.30 am to 11 am.
Continue Reading April 3rd, 2007
The IIT issue rocked OLA yesterday. Some BJP legislators were very vocal about it and said they were fed up with the central government’s negelect with respect to higher education locations. In jest, some even suggested that Orissa should have an economic blockade against the center as suggested by Biju Patnaik decades ago. Other members suggested that an assembly committee on this issue be formed and that committee visit the Prime minister on this issue. The proceedings of the assembly on the debate on IIT shifting is further reported in Tathya.in, New Indian Express and Samaja (in Oriya).
March 30th, 2007
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