Hafta letters: On IITs, reservations and the importance of humanities

Siddharth 

Hi Hafta Team,

In Hafta 604, Dr Sameena Dalwai mentioned that she is anti-war and would rather see people on both sides of the border focus on things like sanitation and development. I get the sentiment, and obviously nobody wants war, but I found the idea a little utopian.

You can want peace, but what if the other side doesn’t? Isn't preparing for war sometimes exactly what prevents one? Being militarily capable can act as a deterrent even when you have no intention of using that capability.

There’s also a strange paradox here: the countries that want peace may need to be very capable of fighting to preserve it.

It would be interesting to hear where the Hafta panel stands on this. Is being anti-war simply a moral position, or should it also mean reducing military preparedness? What do you do when the other side doesn't play by the same rules?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Madan 

IITD student suicide case: Maybe it was mentioned, and I missed it. The apathy of professors (especially the HODs and above) and university admins (clerks and such) towards student issues, and this is across universities in India; needs to be discussed. Babudom of Indian academia is a problem.

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Madan Sharma

Regarding the discussion in hafta 604 on caste and reservations, there was a mention of poor employability of BA DEGREES AND LACK OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING. One aspect of it is the social acceptability of college degrees as opposed to manual and technical work. Furthermore, it can be argued that it can also be read as linked to the caste system, where reading is associated with upper castes and technical jobs with those of a lower caste.

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Nithila

Regarding Hafta 604. Anand said he feels social sciences should not be compulsory after school. Perhaps he meant it in a specific way, but as someone who studied science in college (and as a PhD student now), it was my “English” classes that opened my mind to the world and taught me to be a curious and engaged adult. “English” class was truly a misnomer because we read, animatedly discussed, and wrote about politics, history, culture and much more. Particularly for students who study only science, there needs to be some regular, structured “touching of grass”. 

PS - I will continue to support NL despite being disturbed by recent news because I believe you will hold yourself accountable in a meaningful way. 

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Prakash 

Resending this very old email regarding merit vs reservations. A Let’s Talk About [series] on this topic is long overdue. 

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