Page 124 - EW November 2025.pdf Final

ANNIVERSARY ESSAY

Sorry plight of Indian

universities

RAJIV DESAI

HE LADY ON THE OTHER END WAS indignant: Let us be clear about the purpose of
“Universities have become a parking lot for bigots
and sycophants. They are the party faithful. Planted India's universities: it has been to deliver
There to give a semblance of academic credibility to a poorly educated men and women into
medieval agenda that denies India’s heritage of tolerance,”
she told me over the phone. As a teacher, she believes that the workforce. Such frustrated young
ideological placements at universities and the bodies that people easily fall prey to demagogues
govern them are intended to reward the faithful but under-
mine the fundamental nature of higher education. In her
passionate view, such actions are detrimental to the spirit Over the years, new generations of immigrants with In-
of independent inquiry and objective reasoning. dian roots have made their presence felt in almost every
While largely true, the argument goes against the record sector of American society. Many live in leafy suburbs in
of academic institutions. There are many who believe that million-dollar homes and high-end urban neighbourhoods.
India’s universities have not been able to inculcate excel- They are not just well off, but well-integrated into the main-
lence and persistence. In my own experience, five years of stream. The fact they are English speaking has gone a long
education at a respected university failed to ignite passion way in helping them achieve this status.
for a career in mechanical, electrical, civil, metallurgical, or One of the objectives of this dissertation is also to put
chemical engineering. to rest growing sentiment that all non-resident Indians are
Over the years spent in teaching and writing in the US, bigots who support the hate agenda spewed by communal
I came to understand that the Indian university system is groups in India. In the many years we lived in Chicago, we
merely fulfilling the commercial need for a degree. It also formed and were part of progressive groups that embraced
provides a path to securing admission to universities in the secular republic proclaimed in the preamble to the Con-
America, like bail from the restrictive confines of India’s stitution of India.
licence-permit raj. Meanwhile foreign policy mavens are oming back to the plight of Indian universities, let us
fretting about student and work visas when they should be Cbe clear: their purpose has been to deliver millions of
focused on the unhinged tariff regime proclaimed by US poorly educated men and women into the workforce. Such
President Donald J. Trump. frustrated young people easily fall prey to the messianic calls
As an aside, consider this: the Trump administration says of demagogues.
it endorses an America First policy. It has tried to correct This happened in Europe nearly a century ago and is now
what it perceives is an “imbalance” in favour of foreign prod- playing out in former European colonies. In India, such re-
ucts, services and personnel. Its supporters say the tariffs gressive forces have been held in check by a watchdog de-
did it for products and services; the restrictive visa regime mocracy. Leaders like Nehru and Gandhi inspired respect
will slow the inflow of foreign students and professionals. for the Constitution and democracy. But without sensible
It is useful to remind gung-ho US nationalists who form economic agendas, India remained mired in poverty and
the bulk of Trump’s support, that many US companies are illiteracy, breeding grounds for populism.
steered by Indians, including megacorps Microsoft and Returning back to what the articulate teacher said, the
Google. Also, numerous Indian doctors serve in America’s Indian university system is in large part responsible for the
rural areas that would be hard-hit without them. Plus, Indi- confusion that governs India. In recent times, the academic
ans occupy key positions in the US academy. What’s more, world has been riven by influx of politics. Ruling parties
not just in corporates and professions, Indian workers dis- have always influenced appointments, admissions and cur-
charge a vital role in convenience stores, gas stations, fast ricula. Consequently, the academy has been subverted by
food outlets. Dunkin Donuts is reported to favour handing competing ideologies. Yesterday, it was besotted by the left’s
out its franchises to Indian entrepreneurs. Hence the ‘Om- licence-permit raj ideology; today, it is at the mercy of the
wich’ (omelet sandwich) billboards visible everywhere, espe- aggressive right-wing nationalism.
cially neighbourhoods with large Indian diaspora presence. As a result, the reputation of the Indian academy is in tat-
This is not to suggest that Indians are indispensable, but ters. This has grave consequences for 43 million youth and
they do play vital roles in the US economy. Trump support- teachers seeking to upgrade skills and learning to become
ers need to be reminded that Indians are not taking jobs globally competitive. The ruination of Bengal’s once great
away from Americans, they are useful links in the US supply universities is a live example of the consequence of party
chain. It is ingratitude to disdain them. Most of them are not faithfuls and apparatchiks being parachuted into varsity
old school immigrants, “your tired, your poor, your huddled leadership and faculty positions.
masses yearning to be free.” They represent the Go West (Rajiv Desai is president of Comma Consulting and a well-known Delhi-
ethic that built America. based public intellectual)

124 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2025