NUJS Kolkata’s West Bengal domicile quote of 30%, which had been delayed from implementation this year, would take effect from the 2020 academic year, vice chancellor (VC) Prof Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti told the Telegraph.
The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) committee has apparently been told about the move, Chakrabarti said.
The quota bill was first tabled in the WB assembly in 2018, and passed without much discussion in June 2019.
While the quota was to kick in for the 2019-20 academic year, it had not been possible to implement at such short notice within the parameters of the CLAT.
Existing students at alumni will probably not be happy at what could be perceived as a dilution of quality standards at NUJS.
The state government, on the other hand, will no doubt be delighted.
We have reached out to Chakrabarti for comment; he had been appointed at NUJS in late June from KIIT Bhubaneswar, after a power vacuum for nearly a year at the Kolkata NLU.
Comments
What they should do now: Petition CJI and CLAT consortium. Demand better EC members. Go on strike.
What they will do now: Make Facebook memes and support the NLSIU strike (as if they give a shit).
Why play the blame game?
There is no role of vc to apply or not to apply the law it strict-to-senso comes into effect.
The institution was in a vacuum for 1.5 years, now it is slowly gaining momentum (ask students, faculty, staff) let it flow because institutions remain people go. Hence the impact is more on institutions.
There was time NKC lobbyists used to come to Legally India and claim that he is very good, VCV never wants to be VC of anything other than NLUD etc. I guess they don't have time to visit LI anymore. Too busy enjoying their rewards.
1. A campus in Asansol (law minister's constituency) just before 2021 elections.
2. More TMC people in the EC, the few eminent people left asked to leave.
3. Appointment of new faculty who are from local Bengal colleges and lean TMC (already happening).
4. Regular invitations to Mamata/TMC ministers at convocation and other events.
5. Amit Talukdar as chair professor.
1) Procedure and consultation not followed implementing quota.
2) In general, students have a constitutional right to information independent of the RTI Act and it is not being respected.
Hello, this is what happens when you get imbibed into SS brand of constitutional law. Eat less mess food, abandon the pink for the black otherwise even Thanos will know more constitutional law than you.
https://barandbench.com/nlsiu-protests-student-body-resolves-to-boycott-exams-in-wake-of-crisis-at-university/
https://barandbench.com/hpnlu-protests-administration-denies-attempting-forcible-eviction-students-respond/
1. Faculty hiring: shutting out alumni from NUJS and other NLUs.
2.Not allowing some very good alumni to give guest lectures, out of insecurity. Then lying and telling them that the students do not want you to give a lecture as they want people with better credentials. Also claiming that UGC rules require guest lecturer to have an LLM (no such rule). And if you want to call someone with an LLM, some other rubbish excuse.
3. Spreading lies that alumni guest lecturers were treated badly.
4. An alumni delegation from JGLS offered to teach a credit course on various business laws without asking for money or accommodation, but wanted to distribute JGLS bags and LLM brochures to students. They were told you cannot do so or even use JGLS logos on your slides. They refused to teach.
2. the alumni who were teaching were forced out. KRay being the case in point. The petitions that the SJA wrote alleging that K.Ray was not qualified to teach as he did not have UGC NET are floating around LI pages- go take a look. The UGC NET requirement is thus something that the students themselves have asked for.
3. in para 2 and 4 you claimed that they were treated badly, in para 3 you state that there were not!!
1. Faulty are self-serving. Students and VCs (even Registrars) come and go. But if the Faulty despite their differences had some conscience the institutional decay wouldn't have take cancerous proportions.
2. Students are on their own. We need to acknowledge individual priorities that may include those in student leadership positions (or the aspirational) to be influenced by fear/favour tactics of Faulty and admin members.
3. Students need to understand how the EC really works and influenced by politics inside and outside the university. Current composition and politics favours the state (rather certain key people representing the state)
4. The power/prestige/neutrality/independence of the judge reps (CJI nominee and Cal HC nominee) are overblown. They too are human....
5. The VC selection process is never straight forward. The state always had a big say. This is likely true in all NLUs but in NUJS no VC has ever got through without the blessings of the state govt, whether expressed through the Law Minister or the AG or CM or even through a regime friendly judge in HC or SC. The state always has a way to make its preferences known. The state does not necessarily need to have its own guy or gal in VC search committee.
6. MKS was a supposed "done deal" after Prof MP Singh. But PIB came in. How? EC records now show that MKS was not even on the shortlist. The same Prof Singh now discovers "youth power" in Sudhir for NLS but maintains radio silence when it comes to NUJS? And many such questions will keep popping all pointing to the fact that VC selections are deeply political at multiple levels. Having "judges", "academics" etc does not change the nature of the beast.
7. NKC came here because he lobbied the hardest. It did help that the state had already made clear that they wanted "a Bengali" VC this time. That's how despite SJA attempts MKS stayed away. The state made its position known through multiple channels. VCV never stood a chance.
8. Every VC comes with his or her game. And the state sets its own political targets. A fine dance plays out between the two. VCs who dance well attain or continue with "great men" status. PIB had become a liability for the state and hence got booted out. Care to explain how and why he survived the earlier protests by SJA, which even had Shamnad and "alumni" in protest?
9. Large-scale scams always have tacit institutional support at multiple levels. That's why they remain hidden and when discovered, the inquiries are diluted or frustrated. Scams involve money but also favours etc. Care to explain why successive VCs have tried to bury the Justice PN Sinha Inquiry and soft-pedalled other inquiries?
10. For those really looking to "evict" NKC please build a proper case against him. So-called reports in TT and gaps in CV will not do. By those standards, quite a few of our Faulty gems will need to be ejected.
11. After the paralyzing tenure of Lord Taluk and opportunities squandered by the Justice League, NKC understands that the bar is set really low. Doing anything now, is doing "something". Over the next few months NKC will be populating Chairs, Centres and Faulty ranks with his "own". Injustice League have lately realized that enemy's enemy isn't necessarily your friend. Hence the commentaries here and secret instigation on campus.
12. NUJS has reached a point where a VC alone cannot do much, including evil. For example, if NKC wants to get his "own" he only gets to do that because the Faulty and admin folks have their own favours to secure. Inconvenient deficiencies need to be papered over; promotions; leeway over how project funds are used; overpayments continued etc. And so this Game of Favours ensures business as usual.
13. NKC as VC; domicile quota; and generally the overall mess (which did not happen overnight) happened under the watchful eyes of the high and mighty in EC. And yet the false hope that things will work out differently in the courts? On the specific issue of domicile quota, the courts would have taken due notice had it been opposed institutionally. Will NKC do that?
14. NKC knows that as long he serves the personal (couched as political) interests of the high and mighty in EC and some folks outside, he is protected. Only when he becomes a "liability" and "incapable" of getting the promised goodies for such worthies, will he get evicted.
Veer Singh got booted out after two explosive events. A review committee headed by a retired SC and having serving AP HC judges as members brought out inconvenient details including from the RS era. Matters had also come to head between VS and AD. SH charges against VS were hinted and contested. Soon VS exited. FM came in. AD became de-facto head. Creases were ironed out. FM and AD decided that FM can start his journey to pontificate vigorously in future but selectively go silent such as in the instances of trouble in NUJS (he is an AC member), RGNUL (AC member) and NLS (cat got more than one tongue). If you are on campus chat with you-know-who for more info. You can also check these.
https://www.legallyindia.com/analysis/nalsargate-the-inside-story-of-an-institution-and-a-secret-report-20120205-2549
https://www.legallyindia.com/lawschools/breaking-nalsar-vc-veer-singh-resigns-chancellor-starts-hunt-for-new-vc-20120209-2561
https://www.legallyindia.com/lawschools/committee-absolves-ex-nalsar-vc-veer-singh-of-dhanda-sexual-harassment-20120417-2748
https://www.legallyindia.com/lawschools/nalsar-recovers-new-registrar-bc-exonerates-fac-dhanda-becomes-de-facto-chief-20130305-3488
Some senior professors whose names cropped up in one report and cleared in another (although the latter concentrated only on one) made quiet exits and later joined the pantheon of "great men".
Are you suggesting that unless invited or sought out, the alumni wouldn't offer assistance or do what they can? Alumni too are human and most will act, stay away etc depending on their priorities, interests, needs etc. For now, it will be interesting to see what unfolds next at NLSIU
1. Very few NUJS alumni go into academics owing to law firm herd mentality, so little chance of an alum ever applying for VC. It will anyway take at least 30 more years as the rule is 10 years as professor.
2. The brand value of the college is low, so no media support.
3. Students are insecure and divided.
4. Alumni disenchanted after shameful treatment of iPleaders by students.
1. The Telegraph reports you were investigated for serious misconduct. What was the finding of the committee?
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/private-tuition-slap-for-two-university-teachers/cid/1119477
2. What was your exact designation at the IIT law school, if you had one?
3. Does the designation of "adjunct professor" exist under the IIT system?
4. Which is senior: Dean of the IIT law school or the position you held?
5. What was your exact designation at the Max Planck Institute? Were you a library visitor or a visiting fellow?
6. Please list your best 5 journal articles/book chapters, excluding those co-authored with your students.
7. Please list your best 5 journal articles/book chapters, including co-authored with your students.
8. Please list any academic fellowships and research grants that you have received.
9. Please list any practice or consultancy experience you have.
10. Please list all the colleges where you have taught as a full-time faculty member.
Why question NKC here? If you already know some damning secrets, may as well provide the answers (and show evidence) and approach the court. If you have nothing, then stop being a prick and do something useful. Rooting for VCV or batting for iPleaders exposes who you really are? Cutting the hand that is sheltering you because your promotion may come undone?
Maybe you should have concentrated less on regime changes, iPleading etc and more on getting your doctorate.
If you really want NKC out, you know what to do. But will you?
1. He does not have a PhD (and probably isn't pursuing one on the side). It is common for people abroad to receive professor rank without a PhD. JGLS follows the practice in India and MP Singh set a precedent with Shamnad. But this will be used against him by NLU profs who hate NLU students/alumni.
2. In an article some years ago, he attacked s 377 and publicly came out as gay. This is not an issue in the 21st century, and is as irrelevant as Sudhir K being a Tamil or Faizan M being a Muslim. Also, the elevation of Menaka Guruswamy shows people are more tolerant today. However, many of these old-school professors are complete homophobes, casteists and misogynists. They would rather cut off their right arm then see a person from the LGBT community become a VC.
I doubt it is the Justice League character. This person is the real architect behind the departure of KR. Based on EC agenda notes, KR appointment was irregular and smacked of favouritism. Nothing happened except continuous bitching by the architect. Then an opportunity came along with Lord Taluk. Architect and friends complained to Lord Taluk but had the blame shifted on students who had clearly told Lord Taluk that KR is among a string of irregular appointments all pointing to the fact that PIB rigged faculty recruitment between 2012 and 2017. For students it was never about KR but ensuring solid evidence against PIB.
It was unfortunate that KR had to leave. Many will say his lack of people skills (apparently that and other things caused fallout at a famous law firm) did him in again. But KR was a goner ever since architect wanted him gone. It was only a matter of time.
Interestingly this architect seems to go after alumni and others who have foreign qualifications and solid work ex. In quite a few instances the targets were successfully bundled out or sidelined. Probably the architect suffers from sour grapes or frog-in-a-well syndrome. Apparently a common affliction of NLU alumni who prefer the comforts of stagnation - undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees from the same institution. However this personal choice is packaged to us as "staying back" to "serve" or "give back". Questionable what they truly give back against what is taken. I am not suggesting everyone who fits this mould is a time server. But the architect is.
Anyway the KR matter is with the VC now. The evidence of irregularity and favouritism is strong. This is a really difficult matter. On one hand bypassing certain arcane requirements (NET, PhD etc) can help us get good faculty. But we have also seen VCs abuse and apply such "relaxations" in a very uneven manner. Therefore I feel we need to have sensible and responsive faculty recruitment rules; and very importantly the recruitment process must be kept transparent.
NKC or any VC for that matter is unlikely to agree to these two demands because they have excelled in manipulating UGC rules to play favourites. But this should be one area for SJA to push hard. If the SJA doesn't or is unsuccessful, NKC acolytes will flood the campus in the next faculty recruitment. A test run is being done through centre appointments.
Going ahead, be careful what you wish for. Students wanted "centres" etc. Now watch how our wish is distorted by NKC to achieve his ends.
If it is untrue or half-truth, will be happy to be corrected. Prickly personality, borderline snooty etc but KRay is far superior to Architect. Hence threat got neutralized.
1. Quite a few external members (past and present) insist on business class tickets etc and there is considerable expenditure on logistics etc.
2. Kolkata or WB-based EC members will result in more frequent EC/AC/FC
3. The present composition rules seem to suggest that WB lacks talent etc. This needs to be "disproved" especially for a "great" state like WB and its history, culture et al.
Other such yarns will be spun and offered for effecting the changes. Whether those will happen now or later remains to be seen. In any case does that necessarily matter? We have seen that even in the current set up, the state easily got its way. Why this false assumption that judges and external guys on EC will not ally with or give way to the state government?
Despite so-called stalwarts in the EC, we were blessed with PIB who was also given a second extension. Scams keep on happening and inquiries buried. VCs do what they do best (that includes "great men"). We are like the ordinary shareholders of a company who are getting f****d by the management and will not even get peanuts once the company gets liquidated. Meanwhile the management honchos would have skimmed off at our expense and others who had very little skin in the game will also get something despite "haircuts".
We can debate whether NLS students got overplayed by a section of the alumni. But it is clear that the judicial leadership (high on rhetoric and low on substance) endorses the old school philosophies. Therefore they want us to keep writing blank cheques; be acche bacche since achhe din is contested territory; and allow getting ourselves f****d. Survive, thrive or perish by these rules because those "great men" (and women) did.
The state government can and has been accused of many crimes. And Faulty as expected didn't (and wouldn't) bother for obvious reasons. But are we sure that the "venerable" serving and retired Lords, academics and senior members of the Bar (such sweet neutral fellows) did not p**p us? And why should we be surprised anymore if they do?
Let us dwell no more on what they (esp the ones who stay in ivory towers of delicate/fragile independence) ought to do or not do. Instead let's focus on what they actually do; have done; and will very likely keep doing.
As for the state government moves. It does what it does. Very simply, because it can (and will). Hollowing out institutions is an ingrained political culture.
Back to NUJS. Yes alumni did protest against PIB etc. Did they get PIB resign then? The student leadership walked in lockstep with the (amorphous) alumni then. Still nothing happened. Why?
Many of us (students and alumni) know that back then it wasn't an organic or spontaneous outpouring of alumni concern or collaboration with student leadership. A regime change was attempted but the unstated reasons had little to do with the stated ones. The attempt failed and the alumni suddenly went into Hurt Locker who allegedly need to be mollycoddled into assisting us. Or dare I say some need to be (I)pleaded a lot?
The fact remains that alumni suddenly lost all their zing when it came to denying PIB a second term; or getting the Justice PN Sinha Inquiry reccos implemented; MIA when PIB was being evicted; some reportedly took umbrage to being investigated; many others felt we should be deferential because we lack "quality" to get jobs but fail to ask what the Faulty alumni are doing other than bickering, bitching and having paper centres opened; and the list can go on.
Call me ungrateful etc but does the alumni demand subservience? I thought that having experienced life outside "law school bubble" they would now have the maturity to appreciate differences in opinion, strategies, tactics etc. Cannot still be petulantly demanding "my way or the highway".
NUJS is adjacent to a highway (right now steered towards oblivion) and we are inhabiting it. We are on the line. They had their time. Many do come by. For plural reasons whether (packaged as) altruistic or not.
But for now its our university. We are living it, mostly bad. They once did. Mostly good. So if they and their fanboys/girls and Faulty allies can pontificate less and truly work WITH and not FOR us, I think that will help.
https://twitter.com/deepanshu_nujs/status/1176074407795732481
I also urge NUJS students and alumni to protest against this RACIST and BIGOT.
We need to start facing (not necessarily resigning to) certain ground truths. We all know the limits of SC and the less said about Calcutta HC, the better. And please don't belt out the names of certain political personalities, Bar members etc. The reality can be quite depressing.
Seriously, what can SJA or we do with a Govt that does these?
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/govternment-bengali-film-plea-to-plexes/cid/1707763?ref=west-bengal_west-bengal-page
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/government-not-to-showcause-sanskrit-varsity-ex-vc/cid/1707806?ref=more-from-west-bengal_west-bengal-page
It is now very clear why Justice PN Sinha Inquiry and other inquiries thereafter will never go anywhere. Maybe the trail goes into inconvenient territories. Too many skeletons will tumble out. All the more reason that we should put sustained pressure on NKC to ensure the inquiries are done properly and swiftly. Trust me, he will royally fail this test.
I am not saying that the SJA should get political, but your biggest enemy is the weakest it has been in 10 years, and may even be permanently vanquished in less than 2 years. Is this not the right time to consider a calculated counter attack, after years of assaults and humiliation? At least send a signal? For example, if a letter is released accusing the AG and law minister of being "dictatorial" and praising the earlier AGs, what is lost exactly? In fact, the earlier AGs have more clout in the senior judiciary and bar, as one is president of the Cal HC bar library club. Remember also that the law minister has his own enemies within the ruling party, including the person he replaced.
In fact, the CM has now started an initiative called "Did Ke Bolo", to complain about misconduct of her officials and ministers. What better way than to complain under this initiative and make your enemy score an own goal?
Ravi Shankar Prasad has been very clear. BJP ruled governments have themselves brought in or allowed domicile reservations to continue. BJP states don't exactly have a stellar record of respecting autonomy etc. To be fair the other parties also have similar or worse histories of playing politics with education. And this is likely to go on. We need to learn to negotiate and navigate better. And we are not going to reach the stature and funding status of IITs, IIMs and AIIMS. The central govt is not interested to shoulder additional financial burden more so because NLUs are not as politically (or "nationally") important as IITs, IIMs and AIIMS.
Coming to the issue of Bar seniors in Calcutta. PIB got an extension despite the then AG's protests. All AGs that did not toe the party line left. Only one has prospered - KD. Know why? Because KD is deeply political and is stylized as a non-elite party apparatchik whose loyalty to party diktats come first. It also helps that his mentor KB is very well placed in the party and has excellent personal relations with CM (they are also neighbours). It is KB who has the last word on all legal matters and not MG.
Here is a test. Go to the former AGs (with bruised egos) of TMC govt or even certain retired SC and HC judges who are known for independence (or have kept their distance from TMC) and tell them that KB and his minions in the EC are giving NUJS hell. Do tell these Bar seniors and retired judges the name of Chancellor rep. I would very much like to know what they actually do (as opposed to silence, avoidance, rants, and hollow promises).
Cannot really blame them. The Bar seniors have aged considerably. They also have the futures of their own to consider, which can be troubled by TMC despite the saffron surge. They are doing what we do. We too abandon SJA to pursue our personal priorities. We too, including many in the SJA itself, worry about being victimized by Faulty. And so many other selfish reasons. I am only suggesting that we need to face ground realities.
What will we tell Didi that she doesn't already know? Does she not know what KB really is? Do you think she does not know what KD, Lord Arrey and others have been doing here. At least now she is not sending her personal astrologer and some bearded crook who also paints.
Balidan dena hoga! But will we?
I find something more worrying here - the sort of absurd arguments made here about challenging the constitutionality of the Law. I wonder whether they are even lawyers or law students who are making these comments - anyone with some basic idea about constitutional law should not be coming up with such propositions. It's the sort of fundamental mistake that one would not expect good law students/lawyers to make.
On the other hand, if Sudhir refuses to accept the demand fo the students, then questions will be asked why he is not implementing the quota at NLSIU. Thus, I think there is a fair chance that Sudhir may ask that it be referred.
why would a legislature require the approval from a VC (acting or real) to enact a law? Is the legal force of an enactment dependent on the approval from a VC? Yes the legislature of a state can pass a law without consulting the chancellor - there is nothing in any law that requires the state government to consult the chancellor before making a law. The Chancellor/ the EC need not be consulted before the legislature makes any law - please remember that the office of the chancellor and the body of EC is nothing more than a creation of that statute which made them and it is well within the powers of a legislature to change it.
Yes the students can write to the chancellor/ Sudheer or any other person. This is a free country and we are all free to write letters to anyone we like - its just that legally there is nothing that these people can do. Sudhir (or the clat consortium) has nothing to do with any of this. The quotas are provided for by the concerned legislations/ executive orders and the allotments are made accordingly. NUJS cannot say that they will not implement the quota - it is a legislation and they are bound to do it. A lot of comments above kept talking about the need for consultations before a legislature makes a law. I support this requirement - but let us be clear that there is no legal obligation to do that. It is right now at best a moral obligation. For any constitutional court to say that there exists such a legal obligation would be quite a big step in constitutional adjudication. As of now, our constitutional law does not require the legislatures (parliament/ state) to consult anyone (except in some narrow situations like altering boundaries - which again is not a consultation proper) before they enact a law.
PS: I am not sure whether 40.1.1 is a troll or was he/she being serious. I wish that it was only a troll - if this were serious, then we all should be worried about the sort of faculty/students/lawyers NUJS is making (assuming that it was someone from NUJS who wrote that comment. If its someone from some other place - then lets worry about whats happening in that place). I see a fundamental lack of understanding about constitutional law (or should I bring it down to simple common sense).
Repeating numerous times that an acting VC cannot approve it or that consultations are required, without explaining the basis of these statements are not helpful. If you really think that there is some merit in your argument please do elaborate on the basis of your arguments. I would love to learn something new that I am not aware of. To the best of my knowledge your argument about approval from/consultations with anyone before a legislation is made lacks substance. If you can substantiate these arguments, i think it would be the next kesavananda scale proposition.
I believe that you are someone connected to NUJS. Kindly do your institution a favour by not making such silly statements in public. NUJS is a premier institution with a good name - the graduates from that place are largely respected. With such silly propositions you are denting it.
NLS gets a good VC. A problematic Registrar gets the writing on the wall and slinks away. A good Registrar is expected. It certainly helped that NLS students didn't have to contest an extremely interfering AG, serving and retired HC judges (who happily toed the state line). Also to note is the crucial role played by the SC judges on EC. It wasn't the most helpful but it concluded well. Compare this what we have in the EC.
This Mishran along with AG, Lord Arrey, Lord of the World and their minions have not only imposed NKC on us (initial favourite was SSC) but continue to extend the impasse over Registrar selection. AG wants his good friend SCM to return. Others want SG to get an upgrade, SH issue be damned.
Our university has a rich history of rewarding corruption and the corrupt. And that band will play on.
https://www.deccanherald.com/city/bengaluru-infrastructure/venugopal-s-posting-as-vc-quashed-763770.html
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/bar-council-of-india-chairman-urges-nlsiu-students-to-limit-protests/article29549457.ece
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/national-law-school-varsity-registrar-resigns-from-post/article29546269.ece
I will not blame SJA. It gets brickbats anyway. What about us? Do we really need SJA for everything?
AG has ensured the SCM matter remains on slow burn till a return can be plotted. SAK realized Paradise Lost as soon as Top God left Eden. And recently Supreme God who was also a Top God handpicked Registrar (with very questionable record) scooted when he saw SG finally getting the boot recently.
Unfortunately for SJA and us, we haven't been able to get a permanent Registrar. Anecdotal evidence at NUJS and elsewhere suggests that all VCs prefer to have loyalists in Registrar positions. If there is a stand-in Registrar (and we have had many) then a coterie of Faulty etc typically perform the support function.
AG realizes that SCM may not be able to return. Some Faulty had pushed (and still hope) that SG would return as part of some deal. But that's a difficult climb as well. SAK was actually working out great for everyone till SJA oblivious to the equations had him evicted and thus making enemies on both sides of the Faulty divide.
We now know that Registrar appointments have not been straightforward at NUJS, including that of Shikha Sen wherein Lord Taluk showed himself to be quite a player. SJA should have realized then. Maybe they did but it was too late.
It is now clear that AG and his friends in the EC want to let Shikha Sen continue. They realize that she is becoming a liability. I think we are going to get blindsided again. If and when the SJA were to push hard, the EC will remove Sen as they did with SAK (or Top God) but then quickly have their "own" in that position.
Here is a simple test. Check if the drawn-out Registrar selection has finally got a name. Demand the actual, written document from NKC. If the AG and his friends (including NKC) have rigged the process then we will have a name and the process wouldn't drag out.
However, if the AG and Co. and NKC aren't comfortable with the names i.e. the process couldn't be rigged due to continuous SJA intervention, then the following things will happen -
1. The Registrar process will be derailed and the process started anew.
2. Shikha Sen will continue and if the SJA protests, yet another AG-friendly retired judicial officer or bureaucrat will be imposed on us.
3. Such an arrangement will continue till NKC gets someone who is approved by AG and Co. to serve their interests.
4. Once such an AG-approved person is brought in (whether in interim or permanent capacity) things will go back to the usual.
This is not idle speculation in conspiracies. Why not wait to see things unfold in the coming days?
Remember also that the TMC govt's days are numbered, if you are following local news. A wave of arrests in the Narada and Sarada scam will happen after the Pujas. FFS the top cop of the state is absconding!! Imagine that!!
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/i-resigned-to-keep-my-spine-firm-says-bengals-former-advocate-general/articleshow/57213834.cms
Mr Mitra should be invited to mediate if a protest against the existing AG is carried out. Although he is an ex AG he is still serving as Cal HC bar library club president. The club is influential and its input is sought by the collegium in Cal HC judge appointments.
The current AG is has no respect in the higher echelons of the bar, unlike Mr Mitra, who is highly respected.
KD has had the longest stint as AG under TMC. While wins in the courts do matter, toeing the party line means even more. That's why despite some shameful litigation losses, KD thrives as AG for being the most political AG ever in recent times.
Compared to CU, JU and others, NUJS does not really figure in the 'political radar' of TMC leadership although individual apparatchiks may have designs to trade in student seats, faculty and admin staff positions, tenders and contracts etc. The party leadership has given AG a blank cheque in "managing" NUJS. Unfortunately the AG is getting timely help from regime friendly HC judges (retired and serving).
PIB got an extension despite Jayanta Mitra as AG then. The personal astrologer of CM and a scam-tainted painter nearly made it to NUJS' governing councils despite the presence of another "respectable" AG. As far I know these "seniors" know the limits of their already waning influence. And they wouldn't risk an insult against this particular MP and his friends who are giving the political blank cheque to AG.
If we come to retired SC judges such as Ruma Pal, be assured that she is in the same boat. She couldn't and didn't do a thing while we rotted under PIB and later Lord Taluk. Despite the insults by Lord Taluk (and ably backed by AG), neither Justice Tarun Chatterjee nor Justice Ruma Pal could do a thing regarding the Ford Chair impasse.
NKC understands that real source of power is the AG and his patrons upstream. As long this group gets their goodies, NKC doesn't have to worry. PIB and Lord Taluk left because they couldn't entirely deliver on what AG wanted.
The only way we "win" is to frustrate the targets of AG.
BJP can't even get a famous Puja pandal to be inaugurated by their all-powerful AS. And to think that they can hep us without demanding their pound of flesh....dream on.
https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/mamatas-aide-stung-tmcs-dirtiest-secrets-poll-violence-tumble-out.html
Unlikely. We will not stake our precious exams. NKC knows us better. We are so beholden to what the "authorities" such as VC and EC will do that we forget what we can and must do. We mostly request and petition and in rare instances make demands. At the end of the day the balance of power stays with them, when we are the reason they exist.
NLS has been running deficits and yet they have been able to largely keep the lead. We have been running budget surpluses for years, and yet we are getting wasted. Have we really scrutinized how our fees and so many other things done in our name are getting expended? What is the point of getting "more funds" if the pilferage continues and increases? It is like mopping the floor with the tap open.
If we can be easily lulled by trinkets such as hollow sprucing up of mess furniture, and a whitewash here and showers/taps fixed there, or some wine-and-dine conclave (that mostly profits the powers that be), then we deserve to be in this black hole.
Many of us believe, why bother? Just get the degree. I guess that's what many in CU, Presidency etc thought while those institutions were being hollowed out. It takes time to bring down such sprawling and illustrious institutions. But successive regimes (despite change in political colours) have ensured terminal decline and the saffron upstart cannot and will not change that trajectory. That should have a sobering lesson for us - a fluffed up " national law university" created under a state Act on less than 5 acres of land with less than 1000 students.
I am not going to make appeals to "student unity" and other such fables. However, consider the following. Why do we feel bad, infuriated being called Tier Two? Why does it given us a certain joy not to be "Tier 4"? Why did so many of us feel that NUJS is truly over when we got NKC who was twice rejected as a Professor here and declined by NLUs in Lucknow, Mumbai and even Ranchi as VC? While NLS finances are in mess and the old guard is strong, why do we feel that NLS has pretty much achieved greatness (again) after the recent turn of events? Why do we have to keep falling back on "student quality" to justify our Tier 1 position?
This list can go on. Sure one can say there is a degree of vulgar elitism, snobbery etc. But what is truer is that we all understand the value of a "brand". And that brand is suffering severe erosion and is now in real danger of being tipped into terminal decline. While "student quality" and the available (but rapidly waning) brand value may help a few more batches, we are assured of talent flight in the near future. Anecdotal data suggests that we lost talent in increasing numbers under PIB and the pace increased even more under Lord Taluk and now NKC.
In any case the last two think and especially with domicile quota that the number of "outsiders" will shrink. Domicile is also construed as more "docile". That's how many others feel. Some with quiet pleasure and others a little less quietly that attracts a Twitter.
Talent flight is nothing new to this state (or NUJS). The leadership may lament, write poems and paint pictures of nostalgia, hold fast to cultural icons, think and argue a ton over "adda" but when it comes to doing - did nothing and will do nothing (with aplomb).
Both Lord Taluk and NKC are masters in doing nothing (useful) or doing fluff just like the folks to whom they have pledged political fealty. That's not going to change with things supposedly becoming saffron.
Maybe it is not selfish, just practical to prioritize being teachers' pets, fake activity, pad up CVs, internships etc. That's what many of us do. But for some (or many others) who did not and then to see an aspiring (secretly or not) SJA presidential candidate do all that it is then you know that NUJS is truly doomed.
Not because what others like AG, some MP, Faulty etc did. But what we did (not).
Yes, the library is great compared to many others. But commensurate with the expenditure? Have you even checked the databases that are quite "basic" elsewhere but unavailable here, especially with the kind of budget the library gets? Have you checked how much goes into admin flab?
Do we even know what the librarian actually did for Rs 2.5 lacs a month? And why he scooted soon after a dear friend finally got the boot after happily "subsisting" on a little over Rs 50 lacs since mid-2013? Or was it the threat that library purchases across several years may get scrutinized? It will be very interesting to dig a little deeper and parse the interconnections of the vendors and the powers that be; the books (and the number of copies) that got recommended certain worthies for purchase etc.
Things are now coming full circle again with NKC.
As for the books, almost every single request from both students and faculty to purchase any book is entertained round the year according to usual practice. So take your personal enmity and grudges to the people you have them against and spare the institution.
1. Lakhs spent on Justice PN Sinha Inquiry Report (apparently Rs 30k/day for nearly two months). But the report is buried.
2. Crores lost in embezzlement by a former Registrar, Dr Surajit C Mukhopadhyay, including dodgy purchase of more 100 ACs and 200 chairs etc. And more on construction stuff. No money recovered. SCM was allowed 100% subsistence allowance till termination (which took forever) and was even handed over his PF dues. This man was last known to have been happily employed by Amity Raipur. And yes, we are currently defending against an appeal. Goodness knows how much the litigation has cost us till now. No one bothers instructing our lawyers who simply go through the motions and keep billing.
AG and successive VCs since PIB have ensured that PN Sinha Report and SCM issue remains off the EC agenda. KD was SCM lawyer before becoming AG. KD is deeply resistant to any full-time Registrar, especially anyone who is not going to be beholden to him. KD is particularly interested in retired judicial officers (because he can tinker with their pensions and post retirement sinecures) and someone who scooted to Hyd via Mumbai. I am sure he has other rabbits in his bag.
3. SCM imbroglio and the usual financial chicanery ensured that NUJS refunded Rs 2.85 crores to UGC. The utilization certificates were repeatedly declined by UGC which recently threatened blacklisting.
4. Costly refunds due to the distance education mess created by certain Faulty.
5. Delays in and dilution of several inquiries mean that the leaky structures and the corrupt will continue.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/guv-may-suggest-names-for-ju-dsc-dlitt-awardees/articleshow/71560870.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/new-bcci-boss-sourav-ganguly-to-take-guard-on-october-23/articleshow/71590328.cms
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/has-ganguly-entered-bengal-politics-through-bcci/article29684862.ece
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2529768647091255&id=482057701862370
https://fincomindia.nic.in/writereaddata/html_en_files/fincom15/StudyReports/Cleaning%20constitutional%20cobwebs_Reforming%20the%20Seventh%20schedule.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3E8vcE0zqiKPFHQ0IUzMDSdK4s6kAzgUE8FMWbZXYapq8vLDMT_f1Kqg4
The eyewash was to appoint some decent people into the smaller posts while the big top posts are eaten up by the governments coteries. there were NLU alumnus who had applied - but they all were overlooked to appoint people from calcutta university, NBU and KIIT. This is going to be the future of NUJS - when five appointments are made, one will be from a decent background and when questions are asked this one god appointment will be highlighted in reply.
https://theprint.in/india/education/iim-calcutta-mba-course-best-india-top-20-in-the-world/312480/
It is unfortunate that NUJS is not reaching out to IIMC for joint courses. The present director of IIMC is an IIMC grad who was a prof in the US and is one of the reasons why the institute is doing well.
[img]https://epaper.telegraphindia.com//epaperimages/13112019/13112019-md-hr-10/155832314.jpg[/img]
https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/university-vice-chancellors-in-bengal-face-pressure-from-the-government-says-governor-dhankhar/story-bkEbgfY4QdhNzxZEiwXAKN.html
From today's Telegraph:
[img] https://epaper.telegraphindia.com//epaperimages/12122019/12122019-md-hr-9/172728917.jpg[/img]
[img]https://www.legallyindia.com/images/uploads/20200118-001407.jpg[/img]
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/tweak-in-law-course/cid/1741774
https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/calcutta-hc-division-bench-stays-2016-dismissal-of-ex-nujs-registrar-surajit-chandra-mukhopadhyay
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/psychology-part-of-national-university-of-juridical-sciences-curriculum/cid/1745869