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)
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