in the climate of "semitics can do anything in india" in today's dispensation, christists -- not even embarrassed by valson thampu's phd from allahabad agricultural university which, i hear, is "an introduction to the finer points of amour with those of the bovine persuasion" -- are now boldly saying, "our only objective is conversion, screw you hindus".
valson thampu is clearly a first-class charlatan (i really miss his old pal, that "useful idiot" swami agnivesh who was so totally used and abused by valson that he's now disappeared out of sheer shame and embarrassment, i hope). this laurel-and-hardy duo used to write these masterpieces of sheer hypocrisy and holier-than-thou-ness in the papers; i guess they were written by valson, a practised fraudster, while agnivesh was led by the nose to support him.
the church of north india has shown it is full of unprincipled rogues and that valson is not some outlier.
such is the status of "india's premier college". just like "india's premier university", JNU, a communist-infested garbage-dump. these are the colleges that produce all the humanities and social sciences people in india. no wonder these people loath the products of the IITs and IIMs, because they themselves are such rogues and charlatans.
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The Pioneer, June 29
A tale of two Stephens'
The cutting ed: Chandan Mitra
If running down one's own country is an offence amounting to
treason, deriding one's alma mater is no less so. Therefore, I am acutely
conscious of the crime I may well be accused of committing when I say that St
Stephen's College under the present dispensation deserves nothing better than
relegation to purgatory. Those who determine this great institution's destiny
are hell bent on destroying everything it stood for, on tarnishing its image,
reputation and academic standards. This is a painful denouement for its
illustrious alumni, a feeling that was pervasive at a prayer meeting on June 22
to pay homage to Vinod Choudhary, professor of economics in the College since
1972 who passed away at the relatively young age of 57. Almost everybody I met
at the large gathering had only one overpowering question: How can they do this
to the College? Can't anything be done about it? The powers that be discreetly
stayed away from the event, otherwise, I have no doubt they would have been
gheraoed by the alumni, young and old. The most poignant remark I heard was that
'VC' (as Prof Choudhary was known) died before he could see the college fall
into complete ruination. "It's just a matter of time though; I doubt if
Stephen's will feature in the list of India's top colleges in the next decade,"
a resentful old-timer suggested. Ironically, the authorities had fielded 'VC' to
defend the indefensible during the traumatic Thampu era. For, Prof Choudhary,
who live and died with the motto 'My College for better or worse' was hard put
to offer credible responses to the host of hostile questions the media, rightly,
asked about the damaging experiments that the Church of North India (CNI)
imposed upon India's premier institution, the finest centre for higher education
east of Suez. In retrospect, I think the pressure told on Prof Choudhary's
already delicate health.
When Rev Valson Thampu stepped down in the wake of a blistering
controversy over his PhD degree in theology from the Church-run Allahabad
Agricultural University, many of the College's well-wishers rejoiced assuming
his departure signalled an about-turn in the dubious quota policy for
admissions, which was fanatically championed by Thampu after the authorities got
rid of his predecessor, the "inconvenient meritocrat", Anil Wilson. This was a
totally mistaken assumption on our part. This year, the College has actually
toughened the policy, announcing 50 percent reservations for Christians, backed
by an additional 20 percent for SC/ST and Sports categories. That leaves a mere
30 percent of the seats to be filled by students in the General category, which
in turn implies that only those with obscenely high marks will compete for the
less than one-third seats open to merit. The Church has learnt from the
disastrous Thampu experiment, for the combative Reverend personalised the issue,
put himself upfront doling out incredible theories in favour of positive
discrimination and stressing the Christian character of St Stephen's. As a
result, Thampu became a national whipping boy and all stories relating to his
dictatorial functioning, lack of adequate qualification, backdoor methods
employed by the Church to install him and his continuation in a quasi-Government
job in the National Commission on Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI),
were subject to media scrutiny. So, this time the Church changed tactics: They
made the College faceless. It is running without a Principal since Thampu's exit
although the post has been widely advertised. Only an elusive Vice-Principal
"officially" holds the fort, while statements are issued by a young Spokesperson
who is in the unenviable position of being the fall guy. The media has to be
satisfied with cryptic announcements periodically doled out by the Governing
Body, which is under the Church's thumb.
The affairs of one particular college, no matter how exalted its status,
would not have merited such widespread attention had it not been for the
implications of its quota policy. However, the systematic dumbing down of St
Stephen's College actually shows us the shape of things to come as a consequence
of the UPA regime's quota politics and minority appeasement. St Stephen's has
merely taken advantage of the Government's recurrent exhortations on these
issues to bulldoze policies aimed at making it a Christian preserve. It has gone
so far as to turn sectarian, saying CNI adherents rather than those owing
allegiance to the rival Church of South India would get preference within the
Christian quota! The fact that cut-off marks for Christian applicants has been
reduced to 60 percent against the 90-plus for the General category reveals the
mindset driving the Stephen's authorities.
Clearly, academic excellence has ceased to be a priority; St Stephen's
will hitherto be run as a grooming centre for a particular community somewhat on
the lines of the Special Coaching Classes organised by the Delhi Government for
minorities appearing for CAT, MAT, IAS and other Civil Services entrance tests.
Arguably, minorities (although not necessarily Christians) do suffer from
educational and cultural disabilities. There is nothing wrong in providing
special training free or at subsidised rates for them. But is it necessary to
convert an entire institution into a glorified study circle for Christian
students? St' Stephen's always kept some seats aside for Christians. But most of
them were meritorious even if they did not get "obscenely high marks" unlike
their non-Christian counterparts and, second, they never felt, nor made to feel,
like quota beneficiaries. There are some illustrious Stephanians, who happen to
be Christian, in top positions in various Government and private sector jobs. In
my time in College, we hardly looked upon them differently from the rest. Sadly,
that is no longer the case.
Stephen's was a centre of excellence not because Christian values were
drilled into our heads at the morning Assembly. In fact, in our time attendance
at the morning sermon was not compulsory though in later years it was made
mandatory. It was an institution of outstanding repute not so much because of
the faculty or its theological orientation but on account of the sheer talent
that it attracted from all over India. If the various official and unofficial
quota entrants subsequently shone in their careers it was because the
overwhelming ethos of St Stephen's celebrated excellence. Students like me
initially felt all at sea because the College's culture was so different from
that of my hometown -- Calcutta. But as we inhaled the heady ambrosia of the
Calvinist work ethic, competitiveness without personal rancour, pursuit of
excellence and the liberal value system, all of us became better professionals
and decidedly better human beings. CNI has now created two St Stephen's: One
peopled by the best of India's young talent and the other by those who have
gained entry solely because of their denominational origin or alleged lack of
social privilege. With the latter vastly outnumbering the former, is there any
question as to which culture will prevail? Will it draw people upwards or drag
them down? No guesses!
