Mr. Markandey Katju is one of the daring talkers we have, he speaks what he feels, you can’t expect any diplomatic answers from him. This is one more over the top reaction from the former Supreme Court judge.
In my speech at IIT, Bombay yesterday, among the things I said was :
” Most of you IIT students have no genuine love for the country. You are utterly selfish, with no patriotism or idealism. All you want is to migrate to America ( and most of you manage to do that ), usually by first going for an MTech. degree there ( for which you get scholarship ), and then settling down there and enjoying a comfortable life– and to hell with India,
Your education in IIT is largely subsidized by the Indian taxpayer. But after we Indians pay for your education, you are taken away by America ( or Europe) who benefit from your technical knowledge, which was imparted by us.
Higher education is very expensive in the West. So at a small fraction of the cost of educating you in their own country, the Westerners take away our best brains. That is no doubt a considerable saving for them, though no doubt at our expense.
And after settling down in America, you will become NRIs— supercilious know-alls, who will give lectures to Indians about what is good for them and what is not. “.
I have a lot of respect for IITians and I don’t agree with what Mr. Katju said here.
Some of his exact words are,
Most of you IIT students have no genuine love for the country. You are utterly selfish, with no patriotism or idealism.
How do you define love for the country? Do Indians living in other countries don’t love India? How can you generalize patriotism or idealism?
As a student in IIT, you can just laugh at the above statement!
All you want is to migrate to America.
If you are a kid studying in school or college, what’s your parents wish for? For many, it’s having a good job and a comfortable life. Going abroad is a part of that process. It has nothing to do with patriotism and IITians.
Your education in IIT is largely subsidized by the Indian taxpayer.
This, subsidized fee, is the major reason people like Mr. Katju and others raise objections. Either remove this subsidy or implement some work constraints, it’s a job of authorities and the government. Don’t drag students into this. They have done nothing wrong and have every right on what they want to do after getting an IIT degree.
Update : The government has started its process to reduce the funding for IITs with steps like steep hike in IITs Fees. So hopefully people will soon stop complaining about using taxpayers money to study in IITs.
My Take : IIT students are not selfish and they deserve all the respect for what they have achieved.
We’re listening to students.
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