Illinformed criticism  

AN American sociologist once divided society into nine divisions: Lower lower, middle lower, upper lower, lower middle, middle middle, upper middle, lower upper, middle upper and finally upper upper. It is necessary to recall this in connection with the media campaign against the HRD Ministry's decision to slash IIM fees by as much as 80 per cent.

Fees slashed

The HRD Ministry's order slashes the annual fees from nearly Rs. 2 lakh per annum to Rs. 30,000 from the 2004-2005 academic year. Now let us consider the average earnings of a lower middle to upper middle class family. Estimates differ. But on the assessment that normally there is only one bread earner, a lower middle class family would probably make about Rs. 6,000 pm and an upper middle class family roughly between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000 pm. The income of a middle class family would be anything between Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 20,000 pm. This would suggest that the annual income of a lower middle class family (say of five members) would be around Rs. 72,000, that of a middle middle class family around Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2.4 lakh and that of an upper middle class family would be around Rs. 3.00 lakh to Rs. 4.2 lakh. If we further presume that the monthly expenditure of a middle middle class family is around 80 per cent of income, it would mean that this class would hardly save Rs. 7,500 a year—if that?  One would like to ask: how can such a family with such limited savings be expected to send one son (or daughter) to an IIM? The usual excuse is that a bright student can get a loan from a bank.

Purpose is just to criticise

As matters stand though the story of slashing of fees is over a fortnight old, not one newspaper has made a serious study of the composition of IIM students and their class structure. A deliberate effort is made almost without exception by all newspapers to damn Dr Murli Manohar Joshi by suggesting that his decision is, as Indian Express (13 February) noted, “politically motivated”.

The Indian Express (February 13) carried an interview with Dr V. Kurien, the father of the White Revolution condemning the slashing of IIM fees on the grounds that it amounted to “government interference” and one that could lead to lowering “educational standards”. Really? So far there has not been one story strongly supporting the government's decision that leads one to the conclusion that there is a conspiracy hatched by the rich classes to capture business management entry for their own children. Hindustan Times (11 February) carried a story that said that the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has offered to fight on behalf of the Indian Institutes of Management. FICCI President has been quoted as saying that “the controversy over IIM fee cut deflected attention from the more important issue—the neglect of primary education”. The president, Mr Yogendra K. Modi would like primary education made free. This is a clever way to deflect attention from the fact that the managements of the IIMs want to reserve entry into their schools only to the rich and the super-rich. Yet another paper (The Tribune) carried a story (February 12) that said that “nearly 400 students of the IIM, Ahmedabad signed a memorandum addressed to President A.P.J Kalam” opposing the HRD Ministry's unilateral fee cut order. Mark the word “unilateral”. The objective in using the word is to put stress on the feeling that it is arbitrary, dictatorial and one-sided.

No survey of parents

Hindustan Times (February 11) carried an edit-page article by Sandipan Deb described as an IIT-IIM alumnus and managing editor of Outlook, that claimed that the HRD Minister is “hell-bent on destroying one of India's world-class institutions”. According to Mr Deb “while his government speaks of aggressive disinvestment, the Human Resources Development Minister is hell-bent on nationalising our finest educational structures” and “regimenting our finest minds”. Mr Deb says that, “no IIM alumnus I know has ever heard of someone getting an admission to an IIM and then not joining because he or she couldn't afford it.” Granting that to a bank, a student walking in with a letter of admission to an IIM “is 24-carat collateral” should the Government sit back and see a student and his family under tremendous financial stress?

Insult to Indian society

The Tribune (February 11) carried a report that said that “a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)” has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Government's “controversial order” jointly by a lawyer (and a former student of Bangalore IIM) and a student of Ahmedabad IIM.

The impression one gets from the manner in which stories are selectively published is that the aim is more to damn the HRD Minister and the NDA Government than to make a scientific study of the issues involved.

The attack on the HRD Minister was begun by The Times of India which is increasingly being seen as the spokes-media of the rich and the powerful. Shockingly, the rest of the English media has followed its example. The entire thrust of the arguments produced by our rich ‘national’ dailies is that if you admit children from the lower middle and upper lower classes to prestigious institutions like the IITs and IIMs, their standards will predictably fall. Is it any wonder, then, that long reports about a wedding in the Sahara family have apeared on the front page of papers like The Times of India, Hindustan Times and even The Free Press Journal? And how come that the wedding made the front page? Why not, when the guest list included names like Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharad Pawar, the Ambanis, Aishwarya Rai et al?

Conversion Tehelka

VEN as Defence Minister George Fernandes was cleared of charges of corruption levelled against him indirectly by Tehelka, the latter's controversial chief Tarun J. Tejpal has emerged as editor-in-chief of a new weekly, also named Tehelka which promises to be as controversial as its earlier avatar.

People's paper

The 48-page tabloid hit the news stands for the first time on February 7 and, judging from its contents, promises to live up to its old reputation. It describes itself as the People's Paper, embodying “the values that Tehelka has come to stand for”, “aggressively independent, not aligned to any political affiliation or vested business interest, passionate, totally transparent (and) committed to constructive, crusading public interest journalism”.

Well-funded network

It has certainly begun well. In a massively researched article running into thousands of words, Tehelka has exposed the machinations of a “well-funded, superbly networked” “aggressive evangelism” which apparently has the full backing of “the highest in the land”, namely, the United States of America. Among other things, the author of the expose, V.K. Shashikumar, writes: “Missionary-run operations have put in place a system which enables the US Government to access any ethnographic information on any location virtually at the click of the mouse.” The charge has been made that the US President George Bush is actively supporting his evangelist friends who run huge Transnational Missionary Organisations. (TMOs). Writes Shashikumar, “The network in India, established with funding and strategic assistance from US-based TMOs, gives US intelligence agencies virtually real time access to every nook and corner of the country.” It would seem that organisations like the International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention, Christian Aid, World Vision, Seventh Day Adventist Church, which have together come to be known as Joshua Project II, have become active in sustaining conversions “and intelligence gathering”.

Crores pouring

In other words Tehelka all but condemns Joshua Project II as a spying operation. How did Tehelka come across this story? It says that like most stories, this one started with an innocuous tip. But its findings are truly frightening. Indeed, they are mind-boggling. Thousands of crores of rupees are apparently pouring into missionary activities in India. Says the report: “What should by now have been picked up by the Indian Government is the fact that only a fraction of the total money flowing into the country is reported.”

Tehelka names 67 missionary agencies working in India.

What Shashi and Bhushan have now unearthed suggests strongly that a third fundamentalism Christian, may be injected into our bloodstream, creating an even more volatile cocktail. The fact that this strain of fundamentalism has its wellsprings in the United States is orchestrated with enormous guile, secrecy, corporate skill and is swishly funded, makes it yet more alarming.”

Not to create rift

The VHP may feel pleased with the investigative piece on Christian missionaries but the approach, evidently, is not to create rift between Hindus and minorities as much as to ferret out facts. Thus the first issue carries a story about a Muslim teacher who performs Saraswati Pooja and of 28 big temples that were built by Muslims centuries past. “Ayodhya is dotted with evidence of this syncretic tradition” says the story. If this very first issue of Tehelka is any indication, succeeding issues are likely to make history. What seems clear is that a new type of investigative journalism is now making itself felt. How it will shape up in the coming weeks, how it will affect Indian society in the months and years to come can only be guessed. But unquestionably we have here the beginnings of a New Journalism.