Phir Subaha Hogi !

फिर सुबह होगी !

 1.            It was a wintry Northern India morning. I was quite unsure of what lay ahead as I drove out of Delhi. I had left Roorkee 42 years ago, never to have had an opportunity to get back again. It was indeed disappointing to miss the Silver Jubilee Reunion of my 1972 batch because of commitments within the IAF. And, the 40⁺ Reunions began only after we had already crossed that mark. So, here was a God sent opportunity - An alumni group in NCR had coaxed me to accept being the advisor to the Director IITR for following up new initiatives.

2.            Next only to the Air Chief, as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Maintenance Command, I had seen the high and mighty. I had been there and seen it all. Yet, I was a bit anxious as I made my way to the Director’s office through the old Vice Chancellors lobby, where we would never venture as students.

3.            The Director Dr. Pradipta Banerji promptly came out to greet and usher me in. The looks of the man had changed - old Vice chancellors in formals giving way to the Director in casuals. However, the dignity and warmth in the man occupying the highest office on campus was the same. A year on campus for me in company of alumni and non-alumni on faculty, and the students was delightful and heart-warming.

4.            Young or old, any alumnus somewhere on campus was treated with utmost love and affection by all on faculty including the Director. One of the most revered since our student days, Dr. Prem Krishna was seen as the father figure on campus while also being the President of the IITR Alumni Association. The alumni-alma mater relationship appeared to be one of the finest, befitting the legacy of the oldest and the finest engineering institution of India

5.            What has then gone wrong now?

6.            The current spat between the IITR and the IITRAA has been in the open for the last three weeks. After the Director IITR’s statement announcing dissociation with the IITRAA and associated blames of non-performance, the AA has also circulated its side of the arguments. For us the alumni it’s been disgraceful and embarrassing to even read through both sides’ arguments blaming each other instead of suggesting a solution for holding the family together.

7.            The information of an average alumnus like me is based on the following communications:-

(a)    Director’s Statement (dated 04 Jun 20) dissociating with IITRAA, which includes:-

(i)        DORA’s support to the Dir’s statement.

(ii)       Previous President, Mr. Bhuwan Chaturvedi’s appraisal of IITRAA.

(iii)     Current President (although ousted by the EC on 30 May20), Mr. Mohinder Nayyar’s letter.

(iv)     Mr. Kapse’s description of a farce that the EC meeting was.

(b)    Having overthrown the President, the IITRAA Vice President, Dr. Achal Mittal’s mail to Alumni dated 07 Jun20. This includes the following:-

(i)        A few alumni’s emails in support of Mr. Mittal or displaying resentment over the Director’s act.

(ii)       A summary, compiled by the AA, of the responses by the Task Force for the proposed major changes in the by-laws.

8.            Like others, I have been reading these communications, each one clearly on either side of the dispute. I am sure that like me there are many who are not on either side – or shall I say that they are on both sides. We are the most distressed and confused because we don’t take sides.

9.     The following appear to be some of the points of contention:-

(a)	Dir IITR, as The Patron must exercise control over AA administration and finances. -       IIT gives funds to AA year after year. -       IITRAA does not meet IIT’s expectations		By definition, the Patron is one who gives something in support. The patron doesn’t need to control functioning. -       Alumni need to know about these funds. -       The expectations are not explicitly made. If these relate to generation of funds for IITR, then it would be unreasonable.
(b)	IITR should have a direct control of IITRAA -       President should be nominated by Dir IITR. -       DORA should be the Hony Secretary		Leave it alone like an independent club. The Director has enough on hands to manage the institute well. -       The patron may only be consulted for President’s appointment. -       DORA can be only a guest attendee, without any voting rights.
(c)	The Executive Committee composition should not be Roorkee centric. Secretary and Treasurer shouldn’t be appointments reserved for Roorkee based alumni.		-       The previous president’s report indicates low attendance in EC from outside Roorkee despite making provision for travelling allowances. -       The requirement of Roorkee based Secretary and Treasurer seems justified. -       In fact there is enough reason for the President/ VP to be India based.
(d)	IITRAA doesn’t make enough efforts for getting funds/ donations to IITR		They can be expected to make efforts, but, IITRAA should not be obliged to get funds for IITR
(e)	IITRAA doesn’t support the chapters well		The chapters are clubs of their own for connecting alumni within their region. We shouldn’t carry unnecessary expectations of support.
(f)	The President has been wrongly removed		There are question marks on the process of his appointment.
(g)	IITRAA has become a self-serving body – coterie of a few. It has desecrated the ethos and reflects poorly on the institute.		-       A review by an unconnected group of eminent alumni must be requested. -       Byelaws should be comprehensively reviewed.
(j)	The bond between the alma mater and the Alumni Association has steadily gone weaker over the years.		-       Dwindling Strength of Alumni on the Faculty has been one reason. -       Is there an unwritten policy to avoid taking alumni on faculty? -       The few alumni left over as faculty would rather avoid having anything to do with the Alumni Association.
(k)	Finance is the key today for running an institute well.		-       IITR must use DORA for connecting with alumni for funds generation. -       IITRAA must support whole heartedly. -     However, IITRAA can’t be held responsible for inadequate collection of funds.
(l)	Formation of an organisation alternative to IITRAA under DORA at IITR.		-       This will be unprecedented. -       All globally reputed institutes have something known as Alumni Relations Office. However, the Alumni Associations continue in parallel with a happy relationship between the two. -       Under DORA, we may have an organisation to promote IITR’s specific interests – that cannot replace IITRAA.

10.         IITR aims at all graduating students henceforth paying for life membership to the IITR Alumni organisation instead of IITRAA. That would mean undercutting the Alumni Association for funds. All doesn’t seem to be good with IITRAA either. The answer seems to be in the Review and refinement of IITRAA Byelaws, which would be acceptable also to the Director IITRAA as the Patron. He does not have to directly control the Alumni Association. The two organisations, one within the IIT and the other independent as AA can exist to cooperate with each other rather than being in competition - Happiness should be the key!

11.         The newly graduating students cannot be forced either way, to join the IITRAA or The Alumni Council at IITR. They will have to weigh pros and cons of their decisions. They will look up to senior alumni for making this vital decision.

12.         This debate, therefore, needs to come out in the open instead of vague allegations labelled against each other by the two sides. We cannot afford a division within the family where each side would be a loser. A few eminent alumni, who enjoy confidence of both the sides, can play a role here for a win-win solution.

Air Marshal PV Athawale PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd)