Deja vu promises

As recounted in your cover story, the new HRD minister Kapil Sibal has big plans for India’s education system (EW July). For the sake of every young Indian, I hope he makes good these plans. It’s important to remember that India has a history of high-profile HRD ministers promi-sing to enact drastic reforms, and little has ever come of them. When Murli Manohar Joshi took charge as HRD minister in 1999, he promised India would achieve the Millennium Development Goal of Education for All by 2010, much before the deadline of 2015. Nine years later we are nowhere near achieving universal primary education.

More than 60 years of government regulation and intervention in the education sector has clearly not worked. Perhaps by opening the market to private participation, India can improve its dismal education record.
Surendranath Tripathi
Delhi

Golden times?

It seems like golden times for Indian education with a can-do leader like Kapil Sibal heading the Union HRD ministry. Reforms in Indian education are long overdue, and the sooner the clean-up job begins the better. I just hope Sibal’s promises don’t turn out to be mere eyewash.

I look forward to further coverage of Sibal’s plans for the revival of Indian education in EducationWorld.
Madhurima Mullick
Bangalore

Look in the mirror!

What an enlightening story about reportedly racist attacks on Indian students in Australia (EW July)! So many in India are quick to put the blame on white Australians without ascertaining the identity of perpetrators and why they commit these violent crimes. Australia has a history of institutionalised racism, which makes it easy to assume that whites are responsible for the attacks.

Nevertheless, the Australian government must share some of the blame for the violence against Indian students. It’s the government’s respons-ibility to ensure that all citizens — including visiting students — are safe. The Oz police and government must accept that the problem is spiraling out of control. Better law enforcement and stiffer sentences for offen-ders are necessary to curb the violence.

The boxed item on racism against foreign students within India gave an insight into our own systematic policy of racism. It’s entirely possible that Indian pubs where Foster’s is no longer served have turned away patrons because they are of African descent. How ironic! Before Indians fly off the handle accusing other countries of racism and prejudice, they should look in the mirror.
John Mathews
Cochin

Sad situation

Re: your special report ‘Rampage Down Under: Why Indian students are soft targets in Australia’ (EW July), at least in Australia the government and society acknowledge the wrongs suffered by Indian students. Back home in India, people are so uneducated — even university graduates — that they don’t think twice about openly expressing colour and racial prejudices. Indians don’t even know the concept of political correctness. It’s sad.
Prerna on e-mail

Condemnable attacks

The racist attacks on Indian students in Australia are most condemnable (EW July). Until a few years ago, Australia had the reputation of being a friendly country. Suddenly the scenario has changed with white Australians resentful of Indian students, who are seen to have the personal wealth to afford expensive universities, and who take jobs after graduation that not all Australians can get.

Indian students are more smart, intelligent and hardworking than local students. Obviously some Australians can’t tolerate this.
Mahesh Kumar on e-mail

Manners deficiency

Dr. Drew Faust and the Harvard crowd are shockingly rude (EW June cover story). It boggles the mind as to why they meted out such shabby treatment to you, despite your traveling such a long distance to visit the Harvard campus. It’s amazing that people who run the world’s most admired university are so deficient in elementary good manners.

Anyway your manners are exemplary. Despite their boorish behaviour, you didn’t allow it to cloud your judgement of this great institution which deserves better leadership.
S. Rangaswamy
Chennai

Correct advice

I was shocked by the refusal of ‘President Faust’ of Harvard University (EW June) to accord you the basic courtesy of replying to your written questions. That too, after you had traveled all the way to Boston to meet her. You are correctly advised: they are like that only. Sue the hell out of them!
K.Chacko on e-mail

Accidental millionaires

Re. your postscript page (EW June), you are on the ball about the tendency of Indians abroad to paint a false ‘positive’ picture of India. People like Kris Gopalakrishnan who get huge income tax and other exemptions from government and do business abroad, have no idea of the difficulties businessmen experience in doing business in India.

Licence-permit-quota raj is alive and kicking in India. Ask any foreign businessman working here, and he’ll readily swear to it. The accidental millionaires of the IT industry will be the last ones to know.
Ramesh Kumar
Bangalore