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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

VIT, Vellore: Curbing freedom of female students or being protective?

Lets have a look at the links below first if you haven't already:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/kept-away-from-commotion/article5222370.ece





Ok. So much of the hoopla-hooh is going on around the VIT, Vellore campus these days. But what is this all about? You would know if you would have gone through all the links above.

Angry? Dismissive? Your blood boiling of anger and rage? Alumni females, you would agree with this right? How could a university which claims to be number 1 private university in India and aims to compete with the IITs do such a thing? Curbing freedom of speech, gender discrimination, women disrespect. All these words are coming across your mind. Right?

But guys. Hold on. Take a deep breath. This blog’s gonna be long but I guess by the end of it, we all would come to terms with each other. I am writing this blog from a neutral perspective. Being an alumnus of this prestigious institute I think I hold some amount of respect to it. And let’s not forget. It is not the University at fault here and I am sure even you would agree ‘coz most of us have spent at least 3 years of our youth here and we know what importance it holds for us!

So about youth, Robert Kennedy once said:
"This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease”

True to his words, all of us (at least me, at the time of writing this blog) have that energy, courage and will power to bring about a change in society, in surrounding and in the place of our work and not tolerate the wrong at any cost. And I am sure perhaps this is what these two ladies who were sent back home had in minds when they opted to run an opinion poll to present the fact to the college administration of what ordeal are the girls at VIT are going through. Hats off to them. They really did a great job out there. I mean, look at the numbers. The result of this poll taken by 399 female students speaks of itself about the fuss that the students have to go around daily.

You would have had the whole picture of the how the system works for females in VIT. And yes, for the female students, it is a tough time. I have witnessed it myself and would often make fun of it when I was studying!! It was a regular complaint that one would hear about the 8 o clock deadline, the fuss about the week end plans that would eventually get cancelled because my female friends were not given permission, or plans that we had to cut-short due to the 5 pm deadline during weekends. It got worse after I graduated as I often hear from my juniors. More so, they would often crib about the deadline given to the boys on a Saturday night that was extended from a daily 9.30 pm to 11.30 pm. The misbehavior of one of the top most persons, who would actually go in and sit inside the girl’s host (where even a girl’s father was not allowed) passing lewd comments at the girls who would enter at two minutes after the 8 pm deadline, the restriction on the kind of clothes that they could wear outside the hostel and endless other complaints.

But let me just stick to the issue of restrictions here. You know when anything stops us from doing what we think is right, we tend to abolish and rubbish and protest against it. We want to break the boundaries and go beyond them. And that’s our nature. We just love the adventure.

But how often do we sit back, relax a bit and ponder about “Why that restriction is there after all?” Do we really need it? Is there a better way to that neither restricts us nor defeats the purpose for what that restriction is there for? My new boss describes life to be driven by two factos: 1. Principle and 2. Practice. And how do the two differ from each other? It is simple. Principle is what your objective is. And practice is what you actually do to reach that objective. So, principles are always right. There cannot be any opposition to it. No second doubt. Now how that principle has to be achieved i.e. the Practice can be right or wrong and it is perceptual. And I believe the same goes here as well.

I would start by quoting father of one of my female friend. On being questioned what made him send his daughter to VIT Vellore, despite it being in such a small town, where there was null possibility of having a guardian also. And I will quote him word by word: “I decided on the two main purposes. One, that it is the number one university. Two, I really liked the way they organized the security details of the campus. Though, I am sending my girl off to such a distant place and she has never been outside home before. But sitting thousands of kilometers away, I can am assured that my daughter will be safe though the 4 year tenure of her education”. Though I suspect he didn’t add the third reason: She didn’t get admission elsewhere… (Kidding) So don’t stop reading here. I know you would say, Blah!!! Another supporter of VIT administration. No, I am not a fan of their either. But guys, peace out. Go till the end.

We are educated, well behaved citizens and know our responsibilities, rights and duties. We are open to new ideas, new culture, westernization, we respect other religions. And it is our generation that is doing it at such a huge level. It is like a mass movement where we find ourselves more able and aware than our parents and their generation and trust me, the same would have been the case with them too. The point where I am leading this whole conversation is that yes, crimes and discrimination against women are on the rise. We know it. We are aware of it and we oppose it. So our principle is “Abolish this crime and discrimination”. And to achieve this, what our university practices is ensuring that the female students are safe and sound and it wants to take care of them. Now, there would be somewhere around say a thousand female resident student parents of whom day-in-day-out worry about their well being. More so, due to the greater risks that they now see which ponders on females these days, it gives them even more reasons to be anxious. So to ensure this, the university has implemented some rules and strict procedures because the ultimate responsibility lies with the university itself. Now, just imagine if something happens to any of the student, a guy or girl, it is the university who comes into picture. And let’s agree to this… No university would like a black mark on its name. Be it of any sort. Incidents do not discriminate gender. If it has to happen, it will happen. Putting up such rules is the practice of the university. Managing thousands of students is tough as far as I know they are doing okay with it. Think about the president who moves with a Z++ security. A whole convoy moves with him. He is important and an asset for the country. To protect him is important. He would certainly feel restricted. Restricted to move around, follow a set of rules and procedures. He has to because at the end he needs to be protected. It is like locking your house so that a theft can be avoided. But then if you close your doors and windows as well to avoid any possible opportunity, you will suffocate. And again, principle should be correct; practice may or may not be!

To counter why such rules are implemented only for girls and not for boys, yes the university administration is at fault out there. Perhaps they have got the funda of co-ed education system all wrong. But this is not discrimination. I am sure with leadership like Sekar Vishwanathan, gender discrimination can never hold up in the VIT. Girls have equal opportunities to compete in each and every field as boys, same job opportunities, exactly the same classes and faculty and exact same amount of access to each facility. Nobody wants to jail you, girls. Realize it. It is perhaps the university’s self-defense technique. You can definitely come up with some better out-of-the-box solutions and am sure they will be welcomed. Every student should have the freedom of doing things. But when you are under the umbrella of this university, you are bound to abide by the rules of the college. And rules should be equal for both boys and girls. 

Dear readers, I know that restricting the female students is not the correct way of fight against the crimes. It is not an option at all. Empowering them is. Having a mentally correct society is. Having a society which treats women at par with men is. But do you think it will all change in one night? Rapes will stop in a day? Harassment will end just by itself? No it won’t until a stricter punishment is guaranteed to the wrong doer. It will take time. We have come out of dark shades of practices that used to be there at our parent’s time. We have evolved and matured. All of that has happened over time and this will take time too. We need to create awareness, we need gender sensitization. In my perspective, college’s intentions are not wrong, their methods are. VIT has set a wrong example by putting up such strict rules and cubing the voices of the students and sending off the two women students back home for doing the polls.

Maybe VIT should allow students (and that means both boys and girls), to be in campus by certain time and fix an equal hotel entry time for both. I believe the campus in itself is highly secure for a female to safely venture out at night. Maybe women can be taught some self defense techniques, a distress cell of the university, a special cell for crime against female students, a better methodology to track students in and out going. If our university is so much concerned about the security of the students, let it target both segments. And rather than making it a jail for the students, give them a little flexibility, have arrangements to make it a better place to learn. A place where both genders can interact with each other towards a productive future. Make it feasible to arrange to attend seminars and participate in competitions. Let them volunteer for NGOs. Erase all sorts of complications that they have to go through while crossing the university gates.

Before I end this blog, I would like to point out one thing and I hope you all will agree. Our culture and our mindset is arranged by the society we live in. This further affects our actions and opinions. Validity of such actions and opinions can differ from person to person and no one can justify them. To all the current students, you are there in that college for four years. Act responsibly and make those years the golden period of your life; not a time which you would regret later. Act responsibly and who knows, restrictions might just be done away with? Think how your parents would react to your actions. Your new found freedom, away from home is their major concern. But with freedom, comes responsibility. And it is quite often that we have seen the responsibility part being ignored so casually and later repented upon. Turn it into an opportunity to gain their trust and not to shatter their respect. University hostel is your home away from home. And some house rules apply to everyone!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Some inspirational quotes!!

  • Oprah Winfrey, American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist: "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
  • Barack Obama: “Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.”
  • Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo: “I always did something that I was a little not ready to do. I think that, that is how you grow. When there’s a moment of ‘Wow, I’m not so sure that I can do this, and you push through those moments, it’s then that you have a breakthrough. Sometimes that’s a sign that something really great is about to happen. You’re about to grow and learn a lot more about yourself.”
  • Narayana Murthy, co-founder Infosys: This is what Narayan Murthy wrote to his Infosys staff. "It’s half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on… PCs still running, coffee machines still buzzing… And who’s at work? Most of them??? Take a closer look… All or most specimens are?? Something male species of the human race… It's a typical Indian mentality that working for long hours means very hard-working & 100% commitment etc. People who regularly sit late in the office don't know to manage their time. Simple!”
  • Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook: "The question I ask myself like almost every day is, ‘Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?’… Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not going to feel good about how I’m spending my time. And that’s what this company is.”
  • Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: "Life is fragile. We’re not guaranteed a tomorrow so give it everything you’ve got.”
  • Donald Trump, CEO of the Trump Organization: "Without passion, you don’t have any energy, and without energy, you simply have nothing.”
  • Michelle Obama: “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”
  • Bill Gates, American Business magnet, Philanthropist: "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."
  • Beyonce, American singer, Songwriter, Actress: “Whenever I feel bad, I use that feeling to motivate me to work harder. I only allow myself one day to feel sorry for myself. When I’m not feeling my best I ask myself, ‘What are you gonna do about it?’ I use the negativity to fuel the transformation into a better me.”

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Fun @ Fun World, Bangalore with VIs

Saturday was to be as usual as any other weekend for me. Little did I know, that it would turn out to be such an event-filled break from the monotony of daily life. And I would solely dedicate this to the new initiative by Prarthana and Prateek Kaul’s GiftAbled.

GiftAbled is a concept turned reality to create an inclusive gift store which provides a one stop shop for the gifts for the hearing impaired and the visually challenged.

So on Saturday, guys at GiftAbled (Prarthana and her core team) organized a trip to the Fun World, Palace Grounds, Bangalore to celebrate Joy of Giving Week. But what was different was that this trip was for the kids and adults who were visually challenged. I was one of the lucky 85 volunteers who got the opportunity to accompany the 50+ Vi s(Visually impaired). Trust me, this turned out to be the best event ever for me.

I could not resist noticing the zeal, the enthu in the kids. Some of them are 100pc blind and yet they had the courage to sit in the rides in a few which even we adults would think twice. The aura around them, their confidence, their power of imagination and their courage, give me one more life, even then I won’t be able to match any of them. How we take things in our life for granted and then make ourselves rely on them. And then you look at these kids and realize the actual importance of those things. The logic behind the turns each ride makes, why you get jerk on rides, how do they stop a ride, what happens in emergency case, medical facility of rides etc.. Tonnes of questions and it left me wondering that even though I have gone to so many amusement parks, I never thought about these questions. All I did was get on the ride, have fun and rush to the next one.

I now realize that all the differently-abled people, even though lost one sense, have the capability to develop the others so strong that no one can beat them. The spirit and the smartness they exhibit inspires me even more to have a positive outlook of life. An eye-opener, this day made me realize how little things in life are so important and how being optimistic and patient can win you the day! Hats off to all the people who are working/volunteering to make disabled people a part of the society, an effort to re-invent themselves, to prove their worth, to give them equal opportunity in every aspect of life and to bring smile on their faces.

Check out the pics here(Pics Courtesy: GiftAbled)