Suggestions on the Subject Issues Relating to Functioning of University Grants Commission (UGC)

Wrote this as mail to rsc_hrd@sansad.nic.in and committeehrd@gmail.com.

Dear committee members, I read the advertisement and understood as “UGC wants some suggestions to improve its functions for the welfare of the public” and writing the following. If the theme is not this please ignore.

I want to point mainly two things.

I.                I am from Tamilnadu. Like all other states, we do have a high court in our capital city, Chennai. We also have a branch of the high court in Madurai, separated from more than 450 kilometers. I don’t know whether any other state has a branch of the high court in two different cities.

It can be interpreted in another way like this: Madras high court functions in northern as well as in southern Tamilnadu for organizational reasons like too much workflow which results in the delay in judgments and verdicts.

One more very important advantage is a person from southern part no need to travel much for the high court, he can go to Madurai instead of Chennai. In this way, the people of the entire state have equal opportunity in approaching the high court.

Coming to UGC, whether it is giving equal opportunities for a south Indian and north Indian in access?     NO.

      Let’s consider one issue, where exists for decades in UGC governance. I am working in a CSIR lab where many of the UGC- Junior Research Fellows and Senior Research Fellows are working. I personally know people who are not getting their fellowships for 3 months, 6 months, one year and more than one year.

If they want to clarify their issue, they cannot get it done by writing instead they need to travel to Delhi from the southern end. Even UGC website holds a notation which directs visiting hours for this issue.

This occurs because of two reasons:

1.      UGC doesn’t have enough manpower/resources to deal with these issues.

2.      UGC doesn’t want to increase manpower/resources to deal with these issues.

What can be done?

1.      UGC can set up a branch below the equator. Because, a north Indian, let’s take he/she is from Delhi can take a half day break from his/her routine and get things done.

But, a south Indian need to book a flight, ask 3-4 days leave just to solve this scholarship issue in a condition where he is not getting money for nearly a year.

2.      If UGC finds the above difficult, they can increase the manpower who can solve this only through e-communication or they can make a change in advertisement for JRF examination as, “UGC will issue Quarterly, Half-yearly and annual fellowships only” so that somebody from poor background will not suffer by believing the current notation: monthly stipend.

Being independent and being democratic means giving equal opportunities to all. Because seeing the Thiruvalluvar statue in kanniyakumari from Delhi is difficult and vice versa. UGC should do any of this and should be an example for other funding agencies like CSIR, DBT and DST etc. in the future.

II.              This has been a long time debate.

The resources are given access to a college student and a university student doing the same course is not the same.

I understand the fee structure, competition, and limited funding are the reasons. But with time UGC should reduce this distance starting from libraries, sports, and laboratory facilities.

I am not willing to appear before the committee for oral evidence because I am living in Thiruvananthapuram and committee assembles only in Delhi.

S.vijayakumar

25-06-2018

09.33 am

Two Advertisements and One Message

Wrote this as mail to Chief Electoral Office, Kerala.  contactus@ceo.kerala.gov.in dated. 20/10/2018.

Dear Madam/Sir,

            Greetings! I wish to introduce myself only as vijayakumar from Thiruvananthapuram. But the reason why I am writing this mail may require different kind of introduction: I’m vijayakumar from Thiruvananthapuram, completed post-graduation from Tamilnadu. I can communicate in three languages viz., Tamil, English and Malayalam. I don’t know Hindi.

            Yesterday I went to watch a Tamil movie- vadachennai. Since, it’s a Tamil film I don’t need to explain who were the audience are. I’ve seen few advertisements before the film starts and during interval. I felt I need to write about the two advertisements from government side and the information I am getting. I also need to clarify something about it.

            First, an advertisement from Police Department, related to traffic. The entire advertisement is shooted in North India. The traffic inspector character is well played by actor Akshay Kumar. Not surprisingly, the advertisement is in this region’s language, Malayalam. I enjoyed it very much for its humor sense.

            Second one is from Election Commission of India. Where some people sitting in sofa and talking in some language, which majority of us don’t speak and understand here, Hindi I think. Finally I understood that, the advertisement from your side only by some text shown in English in the ending seconds.

I have some questions and requests based on these two advertisements.

1.      I hope both the advertisements for the welfare of the public. But, one department knows we should serve people in their language and other don’t. Is it that much harder for our Election Commission of India to dub this 1-2 min video in regional language?

2.      I think the Constitution of India also directs the Union government offices to communicate with people in category C states in their language, we have seen the other department obeys. But why not in the Election Commission’s advertisement? – which is an autonomous body? Or its primary motto is Hindi imposition and serving the people is secondary?

3.      I won’t be writing this if I went to a Hindi film and saw the same. But telecasting in between a Tamil film, where the majority of the audience is less likely to know Hindi is a bit surprising!

The election commission may claim/predicted majority of the audience may know Hindi. But I request the same commission to consider minorities like me. Without that how the Election Commission can achieve its goal- which was shown in English in the same advertisement - no Indian should be left unvoted – something like that?

4. I have a huge respect on our Election Commission. Because of their tireless work and inventions only Indian union stands as the largest and oldest democratic country in the world, which is well known for treating its citizens equally – only one vote for every citizen.

But in this issue, I don’t feel I was treated as an equal citizen as Hindi speaking citizen. Hence, I request the Election Commission of India to serve in my language.

There are possibilities for mistakes from my side as a misunderstanding or from the theater side. I request you to correct if I’m wrong.

thank you...

சேராத காதலின் துயர்

நிறைய விமர்சனங்களைக் கண்டதால் எதிர்பார்ப்புகள் அதிகமாகவே இருந்தன. இடைவேளைக்குப் பின்னான காட்சிகள் அதைக் கொஞ்சம் பூர்த்தி செய்தன எனலாம்.

காதலின் பிரத்யேக குணங்களான அணுகுதல்-விலகுதல், தயக்கம், அருகிருத்தல், இயலாமை, சமூக நிர்பந்தத்திற்கும் ஆழ்மன விழைவிற்கும் இடையேயான மனக்குழப்பம், காத்திருப்பு எனப் பல நுண்ணிய தளங்களைத் தொட்டுச்சென்ற படங்களின் வரிசையை இவ்வாறு அமைப்பேன்.

1. இன் த மூட் ஃபார் லவ்
2. மயக்கம் என்ன
3. 96
4. என்னு நிண்டெ மொய்தீன் (மலையாளம்)
5. சார்லி (மலையாளம்) - முதியவரின் காதல் காட்சிகள்.

மௌனத்தை இட்டு நிரப்பும் இடங்கள், காட்சி அமைப்பு, பின்னணி இசை, எனப் பல அம்சங்கள் மேற்கண்ட படங்களுடன் இதை ஒப்பிடத் தோன்றுகிறது. குறிப்பாக, ஜானுவிடம் தட்டை வாங்கி உணவருந்தும் காட்சியின் பின்னணி இசையும், ஹோட்டல் காரிடோரில் நடக்கும் காட்சியும் 'இன் த மூட் ஃபார் லவ்' படத்தை நினைவிலிருந்து எழுப்பின.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7019842/

சேராத காதல் கொணரும் துயரம் அசாதாரணமானது. அது உண்டாக்கும் வெற்றிடத்தை எதைக்கொண்டும் நிரப்ப இயலாது என்பதை ராமச்சந்திரன்கள் நன்கு அறிவார்கள். அதனால்தான் அதற்குத் தன் வாழ்வையே விலையாய்த் தருகிறார்கள்.

ராமச்சந்திரன்கள் அழியா நினைவுகளைக் கொடுப்பதாலேயே காதலில் வெல்கிறார்கள்; ராமச்சந்திரன்கள் குற்ற உணர்வைக் கொடுத்துக் காதலில் வெல்கிறார்கள். ராமின் காதலுக்கு நிவர்த்தியாவது ஜானுவின் உடலோ, சேர்த்து வாழ்தலோ அல்ல; அவளின் கண்ணீரே. ஆம், நம் ஆழ்மனம் வேண்டுவது அதைத்தான். பிரியத்திற்குள்ளோரின் சிநேகத்தைவிட கண்ணீரின் அடர்த்தி அதிகமானதில்லயா?!

சேராத காதலுக்குப்பின், ஒரு காதலின் தோல்விக்குப் பின், தன் வாழ்வையே பணயமாய் வைத்து எல்லாப் பொறுப்புகளிலிருந்தும் எல்லா இடங்களிலிருந்தும் விடுவித்துக்கொள்வதும், மறைத்துக்கொள்வதும், மறைந்தே போவதும் அந்த ஒரு துளி கண்ணீருக்குத்தனா? அதன் தித்திப்பிற்குத்தானா?!

காதலின் மதுரமும், உவர்ப்பும் ஒன்றுக்கொன்று சளைத்தவை அல்ல.