The controversy involving Anil Kakodkar and Smriti Irani has surfaced once again with the Union Human Resource Development minister alleging that the former tried to push his own candidate as director of a new IIT in contravention of rules. The issue dates back to March this year when Kakodkar put down his papers as chairman, board of governors of IIT Bombay, over a disagreement on the choice of IIT Ropar director.
Kakodkar has said he did not break any rules, adding that one of the search-cum-selection committee members suggested the name of another candidate to be included in the list to be interviewed. According to him, there is no impropriety as the idea was ‘to get the best person for the job’. The notification issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for the appointment of director, IIT, invited applications as well as nominations from eminent persons. Applicants were required to send a vision statement for the institution.
Nominations are usually made by the ‘eminent’ persons at the behest of those who want to buttress their candidature to display their reflected eminence. Propriety demands that members of the committee don’t propose a candidate, as such an action is likely to influence the selection. So, there is impropriety as Irani rightly pointed out in this case.
Technically, one could argue that the committee has every right to propose the names, as Kakodkar has said, taking refuge in a preposterous view that it also consists of ‘eminent’ persons. Ethically and morally, however, this argument would be considered untenable.
Furthermore, the committee is required to examine the vision document to judge and satisfy itself as to whether the candidate has the vision for transforming the institution. In fact, much of the personal discussions should revolve around the candidate’s vision since the rest of the eligibility criteria could easily be quantified from the candidate’s CV. A nomination from an ‘eminent’ person is never a substitute for this document.
According to documents received from the MHRD against an RTI request, Kakodkar had nominated a candidate who didn’t meet the eligibility criteria for the post of director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, at the fag end of UPA II. Besides Kakodkar, three other ‘eminent’ persons who held positions as directors of national institutes also nominated the candidate. Can Kakodkar and the three others say they were not part of the wrongdoing?
The diligent bureaucracy in MHRD did not short-list this candidate for not satisfying the eligibility criteria, and the candidate ‘was not considered suitable for appearing for personal discussion’ by the selection committee, revealed the RTI reply. Interestingly, the selection panel found the rest of the interviewed candidates not suitable for the job.
Paradoxically, the same committee called for further nominations in flagrant violation of the law without resorting to notifying the vacancy in public domain, and made a selection. Would Irani now retract this appointment if it is found to be not in accordance with the law?
This is not the first time that the selection of an IIT director has generated a flutter in the academic community. Chairman, board of governors of IIT Kanpur, M Anandakrishnan’s choice of a relatively junior Indranil Manna as the institute’s director, allegedly overlooking the claims of senior professors and deans, generated much heat recently.
He also courted controversy over the appointment of Chandra Krishnamurthy as Vice Chancellor of the Pondicherry Central University, sent on leave by the MHRD after prolonged agitation by the faculty and students demanding her removal for various irregularities.
Academic and scientific communities in India are generally squeamish in exposing wrongdoings at the highest administrative levels for fear of reprisals. The cardinal character of the scientific enterprise is that it is rational, logical, objective and free from parochialism. But, all is not transparent, objective, rational and lawful in the Indian scientific establishment. It badly needs Socrates in the boardrooms.
drjk.sct@gmail.com
Jayakrishnan is a professor at IIT Madras and former VC of the University of Kerala