Saturday 24 May 2014

Crisis in Academics- Teachers as Casual Laborers


Higher education system in India, especially since the past five years, is going through turbulent times. We would like our students to go for higher education, we are competing with China for producing the highest number of PhDs, we denounce the trend of brain drain, when our students go to foreign shores for further studies, but, when we cannot provide jobs for our existing PhDs, maybe there is something seriously wrong with our system.

I have friends who went for jobs outside Delhi, but I was more hopeful that since, we have so many universities in Delhi itself (DU, JNU, Jamia, Ambedkar, IGNOU, Indraprastha, SAU), why should one look elsewhere. It is going to be three years, and counting, since I got my PhD in Sociology, but still searching for that elusive stable job of a university teacher.

Every year, the number of new PhDs who join the pool of Adhocs and Guest Lecturers is scary. The number of jobs remain forever shrinking, while the number fighting over these jobs keeps on increasing with every semester, and with Social Sciences it is even worse. The new private universities, coming up within a hundred km radius all around Delhi, are mostly offering technical courses, and run universities as profit making bodies, often treating teachers worse than cattle.

The main universities of Delhi- DU, JNU, Jamia have all been running on Guest and Adhoc teachers. Every semester there are interviews, people get hired, and teach for a semester, have a high probability of getting hired back again, if-
a) they do their work quietly,
b) do not have any opinion on controversial matters,
c) do not protest against administrative policies,
d) do not have strong political leanings,
e) are most friendly with department Heads, do open chamchagiri ,
f)do not ask any questions, and
g) do not complain on social media sites like Facbook/ Twitter about their condition.

And, if a Guest/ Adhoc does not follow any of the above points, well, goodluck with the next job! There are too many scholars desperate to get that job, it provides stability, some money, and some respect for at least six months, but you will have to be on mute button constantly OR speak, and be thrown out!
 Alternatively, you can also be a swinging monkey like me, you do random projects (at least they give some stable income for 8-9 months, if you get lucky, they can even stretch beyond a year), take whatever comes your way, go for every available job in town, even if the Requirement column says, graduate/ post graduate, you have a PhD, a higher degree, you can eat their job, you can always compromise on  the respect part, of course! An odd office clerk may even shout at you, but that is part and parcel of being an out- of- stable- job PhD!!

I have friends, who have faced biased interviews, who even knew before the interview starts, who was going to get the job, sometimes I have had really good interviews and have not got the job, some of my friends have said, they have been rejected for ‘speaking too much’, sometimes I have had to answer for ‘why Muslims are not more loyal towards the Indian State’, ‘why do they have to stand out with their symbols of topi/ beard/ burqa’ (well, I am sure, nobody asks those questions to Sikhs!). All this for a job for five-six months.

The lucky ones who are not in academics, might wonder about the difference between the Guest and Adhoc teachers, not much both are non- permanent teachers, the difference is in the number of classes they teach, and the amount they receive as salary at the end of the month. Guest teachers do not get more than 25,000 and Adhocs get somewhere around 40,000 plus, as they take more classes, spend full day in the college. Some of my neighbors who are DU students feel that Adhoc teachers are better teachers than the Permanent teachers! 
As Faiz said, post 15th Aug. 1947,  
Ye Daag Daag Ujala, ye Shab Gazeeda Seher
Wu Intizar tha Jiska, Yeh wu Seher tu Nahin
Ye Wo Seher tu Nahin Jiski Arzoo lay Kar
Chale` They Yaar Ke mil Jayegi Kahin Na kahin

I would just ask my friends, the non- permanent teachers, how much more are we all going to wait, nobody is going to fight for us, we will have to fight for ourselves..we will have to Speak up at some point. ..
Bol ke lab azad hain tere...
  
p.s.Also, read this article on the American PhD crisis in humanities-
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/joshuarothman/2014/06/fixing-the-phd.html 

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Social Identities on Social Media



In the recently held Indian elections, bitter electoral battles were not just fought between Congress and BJP, but between people who supported these parties, across different social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook.
Indian society has always been a society where social identities like, one's caste/ religion/ region have always been important factors for an individual. The social identities we have are usually something that we already become a member of, by virtue of our being born into these social groups. Our opinion is neither sought, nor taken seriously in these social memberships (caste/ religion still serious matters!).

Social identities also provide the context for the experiences that one has in his life. For example, if I am a Muslim from Delhi, I should be living in Old Delhi’s Jama Masjid area/ Okhla/ Nizamuddin, I should love non- veg dishes like qorma, biryani, nahari, I should dress in a particular way, vote according to Shahi Imam’s dictates, have a big family of siblings, and a large brood of my own! (phew!)  

Social media has changed many things in a traditional society like India. Earlier, we were just numbers of a social group, our individual lives/ experiences/ views were not important. Social media has made extended families to bond over Facebook, Whats App, Skype, everything from marriage, love to break ups are now shared on social media. It shows as an individual, my life, my experiences are important, my views (often unsolicited) are important, the world should be made aware of – if I am in love, if I have lost something/ someone, if I support a particular ideology, suddenly the routine things of sleeping/ waking up/ eating- what cuisine/ where, are all being shared by everyone on multiple mediums, everyday. The barrage of information (often useless, but sometimes very helpful), that we have just at the touch of a button is astounding!

Social media took time to make its followers in a society like India, where education levels are not very high, and it needs one to be literate, computer/ smart phone savvy, but the peer pressure of joining the bandwagon,  as the youngsters in villages and small towns of India are discovering the shiny new world of Facebook, etc. India is changing drastically, something that BJP/ AAP used to their advantage, and Congress lost, as they did not realize how impatient, how aware this social media adept new India is!   

New social identities are now being created on the basis of the political ideologies that one follows- left/ right/ liberal/ conservative. People are still fighting on Facebook, Twitter, post-elections, gaining new socio- political identities in the process. The political divide was never so sharp in Indian society, we were mostly passive voters, who voted mostly, under parental pressure, based on the caste/ regional/ religious background of the candidate! It still is the case in most of India, but we are more aware of the choices that we have and we are making. The new 24*7 media channels have played a big role in creating these identities for us. Now, we do not just want to be relevant by stating our opinions on different issues, but, we want to be Liked/ Retweeted/ Favorited/ Shared by our followers!  The NEW symbol of social prestige, and more important than people in our lives, more than family/siblings, etc. are the number of Followers/ Friends one has on these mediums, and it does not matter which country/ region/ caste/ class they belong to!! Identities, either social or personal, have the only purpose of satisfying our need for a ‘positive self image’ (Turner, 1981), and as new socio-political identities are created on social media, we can only wait and watch, if these identities weaken or strengthen traditional identities of caste/ region/ religion.   
  

Beedi Peeti Aurat

 बीड़ी पीती औरत   अंकुश लगती है घूरती निगाहों को समाज नकारता है कुढ़ता है उसकी बेईमानी पर   उसके कर्त्तव्य याद दिलाता है   ये उसका हक़ नहीं   इ...