Minority quota in colleges a major mistake http://www.ibnlive.com/printpage.php?id=68945§ion_id=3
In what could be the first signs of a rebellion against Christian quota at the prestigious St Stephen's College in Delhi, most members of the permanent faculty boycotted the special Assembly on the first day of the academic session on Tuesday. Just weeks after announcing a 50 per cent quota for Christian students, St Stephens went a step further in preserving the "Christian character" of the institution by announcing a quota in faculty recruitment as well, leading to the boycott call from various faculty members. The college has been divided on the issue ever since pro-tem administrator MS Frank decided to unofficially reserve seats for Christians in the college faculty. In fact the St Stephen's controversy focuses attention on how exactly a minority institution should define itself - a centre of religious identity or a centre of institutional excellence. Is India's premier centre of excellence turning into a Christian institution from being an Indian institution? CNN-IBN's *Face The Nation* debated if minority institutions have taken their minority identity too far. The panel of experts comprised alumnus of St Stephen's and Senior Fellow in Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Dilip Simeon; Spokesperson, Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, Father Dominic Emmanuel and Principal of Jai Hind College in Mumbai, Kirti Narain. CNN-IBN's Sagarika Ghose moderated the debate. *Public institution* Sagarika initiated the debate by saying that St Stephen's College was a public institution and public institutions exist on basis of public funds. The taxpayer pays for the institute. Should St Stephen's College or a minority institution like this, therefore violate certain basic rules of fairness, saying that faculty positions too must be reserved for Christians? Father Dominic questioned why St Stephen's College was being singled out as a public-funded institute. "There are thousands of institutions in India which are funded by public funds but which are for specific minorities and that is how it has been decided by the Constitution and it is a privilege given to these institutions by the constitution," said Father Dominic. He added, "What is this debate about the academic excellence being sacrificed? What is the big deal about academic excellence? St Columbus, also known to be a highly excellent institute academically, has long time ago given up the idea of excellence and many other Christian institutions run by the Jesuits have given up the idea of academic excellence. It is because at some time it felt that it had gone away from the basic call of Jesus Christ, which is an option for the poor and the oppressed. If academic excellence is there, well and good, and if it is not, our first priority anyways is the downtrodden and the poor." *Religious duty* Is too much of a fuss being made about academic excellence? Dilip said his criticism was not targeted at St Stephens alone but would imply to all minority institutions that use public funds and back reservations. "It is very sad that the policies that they are adopting in matter of reservations, not only for students but also for teachers, are irregular and probably illegal. It is blatant misuse of public funds. St Stephens is a 100 per cent publicly funded institution. It was no less a Christian institution 30 or 40 year ago," said Dilip. He recalled, "When I was a student, there was no such reservation policy and the impact of the college was felt in terms of its love for knowledge and truth and not because of love for a particular community." "I am sorry to see that a sectarian agenda is being pushed in the name of minority rights," he added. *Can merit be given up?* Quotas are not uncommon in a number of institutions in Mumbai. Although there is a Sindhi quota in Jai Hind College in Mumbai, Kirti said, "I do not think that faculty quota is really required. Merit is something that has to be stressed upon for a college to remain one of the best colleges in any city." *Identity issue* But is it not important for a minority institution to steer clear of a very narrow interpretation of identity? Kirti agreed but Father Dominic Emmanuel argued that St Stephens was established with a particular cause. "Why was Stephens established? What was the basic motive of the founders and why was it given a minority status. Why is it named as St Stephens? It could have been named anything else," he argued. Meanwhile, Sagarika asked Father to respond to the charge that a publicly funded institution must not propagate a particular religion. Father Dominic defended his stance by stressing that there were many other institutions that are funded by public. "Isn't Jamia Milia or Aligarh University funded by public," he questioned. The law says that the minority institution can establish and administer educational institutions in the way they choose. *Crossing the line* "The Supreme Council of St Stephens College is not entitled under the constitution of the college itself to interfere in academic and administrative matters. Now it has clearly gone beyond that. It has crossed that line by interfering in admissions policy. Tomorrow, they may say that having said that you have to have certain number of students belonging to this community and if they cannot find enough people to fill that slot, then they could insist that the cut offs to be lowered," said Dilip. He added, "Tomorrow, the Supreme Council may start interfering in the marking procedures." What if the Supreme Council dictates the curriculum? Bothered by the appointment procedures in St Stephens, Dilip said, "Over the last several years in St Stephens College, many appointments which should have been made for permanent positions have not been made. It has become a habit to appoint temporary teachers." "One has to question carefully as to why this is happening. Secondly, if this continues, the Supreme Council could ask the departments to alter their mode of assessments," he said. However, Father Dominic disagreed and said, "The allegations are all hypothetical." Dilip, however said that there was ground for such criticism. "The Supreme Council of the St Stephens College should be examined carefully by an impartial body to see whether they are actually functioning according to their mandate," he said. *Interference in academics* When religion comes into an institution, then religious head becomes the head of the institution. What if he starts interfering in academic life? Debating on the religious interference in academics, Father Dominic said St Stephens belonged to the church of North India and therefore while it's not a religious organisation by itself, it was run by a religious organisation. However, Dilip was not convinced. "Let them get their funds totally from that Church. Then they can appoint 100 per cent Christian teachers and students," he said. Is it right for a minority institute that gets public fund to implement a minority agenda? Kirti agreed that a minority institution funded publicly must not impose a minority agenda. Meanwhile Father Dominic argued, "Let the Supreme Court and the Constitution decide that." *Duty towards the community* Many say a minority institution must also have a duty towards its minority community. Dilip disagreed and questioned, "Was the Christian community not uplifted by activities of St Stephens College for the last 100 years. Has the Christian community now decided that St Stephens College is not fulfilling its duty." "That is exactly the point," argued Father Dominic Emmanuel, "Al this while, when we were teaching everybody else, nobody had raised any objection, but the moment Christians want to empower their own community, there is a lot of noise." Unfazed by Father Dominic's argument, Dilip continued his argument. "Are you suggesting that you were not empowered before. Are you saying that suddenly the Christian community has realised that it is very backward and it requires to throw all academic norms in making appointments?" However, Father Dominic questioned Dilip, "Is academic excellence defined by the Constitution?" "If there has to be excellence, then it has to be in following Jesus Christ and his commands," he said. Wrapping the debate, Sagarika said that there was absolutely no consensus on how minority institutions should define themselves in a secular India. -- Jogesh tere ishq ne nachaya, karke thaiya thaiya tere ishq ne nachaya, karke thaiya thaiya. - Bulleh Shah
