‘Indian universities should be run sans governmental interference’
TUESDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2012 01:34 PNS | CHENNAI
Indian universities should be liberated from the shackles of the Government and administered by the alumni for better results. “The lost glory of Indian system of education could be regained only by entrusting the management of the universities to the respective alumni,” Dr Subramanian Swamy, former professor of the Harvard University, said here on Sunday. He was addressing the first ever meeting of Harvard Club of Chennai, a new platform promoted by more than 100 alumni of the elite university based in Tamil Nadu.
Elaborating on ‘What they do not teach in Harvard’, Dr Swamy said all US and European Universities focus on one-dimensional intelligence while the need of the hour is teaching based on multi-dimensional and cognitive intelligence. “Harvard University is what it is today because the university is run by intelligence without any Governmental interference. There is complete commitment by the alumni,” he said. He said what made Nalanda and Taxila, the global hub points of higher learning, unique was the academic freedom, freedom of thought and expression enjoyed by the teachers. “This is what replicated by foreign universities. The moment government started meddling with the universities and their academic freedom, they lost their glory,” said Dr Swamy.
Universities in India should focus more on social and spiritual intelligence so that the youth coming out of the institutions are better trained to take up any challenges with prime focus on the country’s development. “Our universities do not encourage the students to develop questioning minds. They should be trained in emotional intelligence, moral intelligence and spiritual intelligence,” he explained.
Dr Swamy pointed out that institutions like Harvard would flourish only in environments which grant full freedom of speech and expression. He recounted an incidence in Harvard University during the tenure of Henry Rosovsky as president. “One of the Saudi Arabian princess approached Prof Rosovsky with a request to set up a Harvard University like institution in the Kingdom. The Prince was willing to spend whatever money Prof Rosovsky demanded. But the professor asked the Saudi royalty whether the faculty would have academic and spiritual freedom. In a country like Saudi Arabia founded on religious conservatism, it is impossible to magine about such freedom and hence it still lacks an institution like Harvard University,” said Dr Swamy.
http://dailypioneer.com/nation/114694-indian-universities-should-be-run-sans-governmental-interference.html
Swamy to file curative petition in SC
TUESDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2012 01:27 KUMAR CHELLAPPAN | CHENNAI
Dr Subramanian Swamy, president, Janata Party, will soon file a curative petition in the Supreme Court against the rejection of his review petition to make P Chidambaram, the Union Finance Minister a co-accused with A Raja in the 2G Spectrum scam trial.
On Friday last, a bench of GS Singvi and K S Radhakrishnan of the Supreme Court had turned down Dr Swamy’s plea to reconsider its August 24 judgement which rejected his plea to make Chidambaram a co-accused in the case.
In a statement released to the media on Monday at Chennai, Dr Swamy said he saw the news about the rejection of his plea for review of the August 24 order in The Indian Express. According to Dr Swamy, the order of dismissal of his petition was based on arguments which he did not make and was not on arguments he made.
“In the Review Petition I had pointed that the Order was substantially flawed to merit review. I had not argued for Chidambaram to be made co-accused on grounds of his taking a bribe [an offence, which requires mens rea, under Section 13(1)(d)(i) & (ii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act] but on the grounds of jointly taking decisions with Raja to enable Swan and Unitech telecom companies to make windfall monetary gains by selling out their spectrum licences to Etisalat and Telenor at several multiple of what they paid the government and this was not in the public interest [an offence which does not require mens rea, under Section 13(1)(d)(iii) of the Act].
Therefore the Order of dismissal of my Special Leave Petition was based on arguments I did not make but not on arguments I did make,” Dr Swamy said in the release.
Dr Swamy, a former cabinet minister for law and justice, pointed out that the same error has been committed by the Bench while rejecting the Review petition. He said the Supreme Court order published in the Indian Express, had probably been provided by.Chidambaram himself to the Editor. “On Friday, the Court Master had told my representative that no Order has even reached him,” he said in the release. He said he would appeal against the flawed Review Order by way of a Curative Petition to a new three member Bench. “I shall also seek a Supreme Court inquiry as to how the Indian Express got the Order even before I was given the Order,” he said.
http://dailypioneer.com/nation/114695-swamy-to-file-curative-petition-in-sc.html
