Tuesday 26 April 2016

                        सदेव कमजोर की मदद करें 

अनुज गर्ग,
प्रबंध निदेशक, 
ईयान स्कूल ऑफ़ मॉस कम्युनिकेशन

आप सभी ने बचपन में सिद्धार्थ और देवदत की कहानी पढ़ी होगी। यदि नहीं तो बता दें । सिद्धार्थ गौतम बुद्ध के बचपन का नाम था और देवदत उनके चचेरे भाई थे। एक बार देवदत ने अपने तीर से एक हंस को मार गिराया । जब सिद्धार्थ ने उस हंस को तड़पते हुए देखा तो वो उसे उठा लाए और उसका उपचार करने लगे वहीं देवदत आ गया और कहने लगा इस हंस को मेंने मारा है और इस पर मेरा अधिकार है । वहीं सिद्धार्थ ने कहा इस हंस को में तड़पता उठा कर लाया हूं मेंने ही इसका उपचार कर के इसकी जान बचाई है और मारने वाले से बचाने वाला महान होता है अत: इस पर मेरा अधिकार है । दोनो लड़ते हुए राजा सुद्धोधन के पास पहुंचे जो सिद्धार्थ के पिता थे । राजा ने कहा एक काम करो इस हंस को खुला छोड़ दो जिसके पास यह स्वंय जाएगा उसी का अधिकार इस पर होगा । दोनो ने राजा की बात मान ली और हंस को मुक्त कर दिया । हंस ने दोनो की तरफ देखा और सिद्धार्थ के पास चला गया ।

मेरा यहां इस कहनी से यह तत्पर्य है कि जीवन में सदेव कमजोर की मदद करो । चाहे वो कितनी भी छोटी ही क्यों न हो क्योंकि आप जब भी ऐसी मदद करोगे तो आप जीतोगे और आपको संतुष्टी मिलेगी । चाहे आपकी इस छोटी सी भूमिका से इस देश में या समाज में तुरंत कोई बड़ा परिवर्तन नहीं आए, परंतु यदि हम सब ऐसा करने लगेंगे तो धीरे-धीरे इसके परिणाम अवश्य देखने को मिलेंगे । यह सत्य है कि हमारा समाज गैर बराबरी पर आधारित समाज है । कानून या संविधान चाहे कुछ भी कहे सच्चाई यही है कि कमजोर ही सदा पीटता और पीसता रहता है । विकास का फाएदा भी ताकतवरों को ही मिलता है । बल्कि कई बार तो यह कमजोरों की कीमत पर होता है जैसे फ्लाईओवरों को ही ले लीजिए । ये इसलिए बनते हैं कि कार तथा बड़े वाहन फराटे से जा सकें परंतु पैदल यात्रीयों के लिए बने फुटपाथों पर अतिक्रमण रहता है । शासकों के दिमाग में कार वालों की समस्याएं तो होती है परंतु पैदल यात्रीयों की नहीं, ये तमाम लोग जो गरीब और कमजोर हैं, उनके लिए भी हम कभी कभी अपनी छोटी सी भूमिका निभा सकते हैं । वरना बस यह है कि, खुद को देवदत की सोच से अलग करें और अपने अंदर के सिद्धार्थ को जगाएं और स्वीकार करें की इस देश में हंसों को भी रहने, खाने और जीने का अधिकार है ।               


           

Thursday 21 April 2016

Commercialization of Education in India; Legal Perspective:

By:- Mr. Pradeep Dubey
Legal Advisor, Iaan

In India, there has been rapid expansion of private higher education institutions in the last decade. A large number of universities & affiliated colleges and deemed to be universities have come up. Though a majority of these institutions have been set up as “not for profit” institutions in the education sector, the real story is something else. The Government has consistently held the view that education in India is not regarded as a commercial activity and all educational institutions have to be set up in the “not for profit” mode. ‘Fee Fixation Committees’ have been set up by the State Governments, which are fixing fee for all professional and technical courses. 

The Government has taken following initiatives to curb commercialization of education:

1.    Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009:
Section 13 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 clearly prohibits collection of any capitation fee.

2.    UGC Act, 1956
Clause 12A(2)(d) of the UGC Act, 1956 provides for the minimum standards which a person possessing such qualification should be able to maintain in his work relating to such activities and the consequent need for ensuring, so far as may be, that no candidate secures admission to such course of study by reason of economic power and thereby prevents a more meritorious candidate from securing admission to such course of study.

3.    The Deemed to be Universities are regulated by the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2010 and its amendment in the year 2014 and 2015. Various provisions have been added in the UGC Regulations, 2010 to prevent commercialization of higher education.



4.   Private Universities are regulated by the UGC as per the provisions contained in the UGC (Establishment of and Maintenance of Standards in Private Universities) Regulations, 2003. Clause 3.9 of the above regulation provides that the admission procedure and fixation of fees shall be in accordance with the norms/guidelines prescribed by the UGC and other concerned statutory bodies.

5.    Pursuant to the Judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the “Islamic Academy of Education Vs the State of Karnataka” and “T.M.A. Pai Foundation Vs the State of the Karnataka”, Fee Fixation Committees have been set up by the State Governments, which are fixing fee for all professional and technical courses.
 
The country needs a good number of professionals, engineers, MBAs, doctors and other technically educated youth in the years and decades to come. It is therefore the pious duty of all key players and stake holders to join hands and contribute their mite in pursuit of fulfillment of the national objectives in the field of higher education keeping aside individual business greed and other considerations.





Tuesday 19 April 2016

I Can Become a Leader
By Anoop S Chawla 
Faculty –IAAN School of Mass Communication

Every child, every person, looks up to someone and somewhere deep inside, wants to be like him/her, tries emulating his/her mannerisms, style, way of working …..
I will be a pilot one day, says a child; I will be a teacher, I will become a doctor ….. says another and another. Something in the role model strikes as being worth doing and achieving and more so worth ‘becoming’.


Surinder (Suri) Sahni (played by Shahrukh Khan), in the recent Rab ne banadi jodi (RNBJ), transforms himself into Raj !! His wife Tania (Taniji) loves dancing. She looks for a partner in her dance classes and the imagery of ‘Raj” (played by Shahrukh in various movies), dominates her mind. Ordinary looking, Surinder (Suri) Sahni, an employee with Punjab Power, dons a different look of a flamboyant, flashy, outgoing ‘Raj’, to be able to spend time with and to gain acceptance from Taniji; to be close to her, to be able to be her dance partner, to be able to get her love, to be able to build a family with her. The story goes through its own Bollywood twists and turns, but finally Taniji prefers Surinder Suri over Raj. Genuineness prevails.

 ‘Trueness’ of intentions wins over a ‘borrowed’ style !!

 Each one of us 'IS' a Leader ….. A Leader to someone !! To our children, to our family, to our customers, to a sports team, to our subordinates ….. There is NO choice here. As much as we aspire to be someone, or to be like someone, the ones we are Leaders to, may also be aspiring to be like us. To have a role model is like having a source of energy, an unseen power guiding us towards a direction. Needless to say, a very positive energy at that !!

 While there is NO choice ….. each one of us is a Leader to someone ….. the only choice is ‘What kind of a Leader I want to be !?’

That is where, I guess, the choice to be genuine and true to one’s nature and style comes up as being important. A borrowed and ‘put on’ style is seen through very easily. Not only that, one is comfortable with one’s own style. In the movie RNBJ, Surinder Suri’s discomfort in a copied style and attire, is depicted quite well in his attempt to ‘adjust’ his undergarments under the uncomfortably tight trousers. The style gets shattered there and then.




A Leader cannot be different people at different times

. It is not possible to separate who you are as a person from who you are as a Leader.
Also, this notion of Leaders being ‘charismatic’ has been debated endlessly. There are many cases of organisational successes with Leaders who were NEVER known. Their organisations’ results and performances were what got known. These Leaders remained in the background, unseen, but led their organisatons very effectively for sure.

Over a period of time, they were replaced by others and the organisation continued to work very effectively after them too. That is what matters ….. their work, their creation of an organisation that continues to perform effectively even without them. There are also, however, cases of very charismatic Leaders, who dominated the show all over, but without high performing organisations. Not to say that there is a clear ‘negative correlation’ here, but a ‘causal’ relationship definitely does NOT seem to be existing.
Can one be a Leader about whom someone says ‘I know of a Leader, in whom there is a deep burning passion for his work’ or ‘I know of a Leader in whom Integrity is fully alive’ or ‘I know of a Leader in whom compassion, respect, equality and empathy thrive’ ….. !?
Leadership is a vast and wide topic. Fundamentally, a Leader has to provide an environment conducive to the flowering and fulfillment of the potential of those who follow him/her. Leadership is like an energy flow, an influence effortlessly leading those who choose to follow, towards a rewarding, desired and aspirational future state of being. There are traits and traits being talked about and listed. A listing of all these will probably require someone more than a ‘Superman’ to qualify.

However, the fact is that a Leader need not be a Superman. He/she can be you and me !! An ordinary human being can be groomed, developed and polished. It requires effort and intention though. Leadership is not a ‘skill’ to be picked up and to get ‘trained in’. It is an experiential and spiritual ‘state of being’ !! A Leader can make mistakes. A Leader can ‘trip and fall’. A Leader can ‘stammer’. A Leader can change his/her mind. These faults don’t ‘lessen’ a Leader. If at all, with a ‘Genuine State of Guiding Energy Flow, truly taking those who choose to follow to their desired states of being through a complementary Rythmic Dance’, the seeds of a True Leader can take root in anyone, no matter how ordinary, who has strong and true intentions.
Most importantly ….. A Leader chooses to Follow, because he has to be A Leader to his Followers.
Be One !!

 10 Leadership Tips :
  • L : Listen, Listen, Listen
  • E : Set an Example
  • A : Build a Positive Attitude
  • D : Develop Others
  • E : Have Empathy
  • R : Respect Others
  • S : Build Self Control and Service Orientation
  • H : Be Humble
  • I : Have Unquestionable Integrity
  • P : Be Passionate


Wednesday 13 April 2016

Morality vs. Greed



                                                                            -----   P.K. Bandyopadhyay, Former Principal.

Greed, greed and greed! The world is in the grip of greed.  Greed for money, greed for power, lust for sex and obsession for cheap fame.  So newspaper pages are full of stories of greed.  Businessmen,
politicians, civil servants, legal luminaries, sportsmen, god men, medical practitioners, --- none is
immune from greed today. No profession, no discipline seems to be above this chronic disease with
dangerous prognosis for humanity.


Why not ask yourself then, what is morality? Morality is one’s respect for right principles and right
values of one’s time and societies.

Human beings are essentially Divine, say saints. They get corrupted by greed.  Now  how to destroy
greed?  Sensitize your conscience and enrich your soul by reading lives and thoughts of Mahatma
Gandhi, Tilak, Buddha, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda and others like them. Remember, greed is a very powerful instinct, a dangerous enemy. Only an equally or more powerful sense of  morality can  destroy it. So worship morality like an ardent devotee.  Otherwise we will all be destroyed by our greed.