Yoda-esque Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Good old Xaviers principal. Always been attention seeker. I don't mind him expressing his views. It is his right. But to send mails to students. Something fundamentally wrong there. Although' date=' I very well know what students think of him. Chances are there are more likely to vote for Modi today.[/quote'] Xavierite?
urbestfriend Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 So it it ok if students start expressing their views in class rooms? Absolutely OK for a student to express his views in college..Students and teachers are zombies without any political views..If you see the history, universities have been the ground of many successful agitations..The farmers, the dalit and the socialist movements are born in universities.
urbestfriend Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Yep..here a College priniciple trying to influence young voters by saying only one side of story. Also there is news about he is having involved in some committe appointed by Con party. But some people only find fault with BJP. :cantstop: Influence the voters by sending an email.? So what next? Airing anti-modi views in twitter is also wrong as it may influence voters? Baba Ramdev should be stopped influencing his shishyas to vote for BJP by saying only one side of story?
FischerTal Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Influence the voters by sending an email.? So what next? Airing anti-modi views in twitter is also wrong as it may influence voters? Baba Ramdev should be stopped influencing his shishyas to vote for BJP by saying only one side of story? In his own personal capacity, he can send email to anyone. Here, he is head of an institution, that too which is funded by government.
bulbul Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Influence the voters by sending an email.? So what next? Airing anti-modi views in twitter is also wrong as it may influence voters? Baba Ramdev should be stopped influencing his shishyas to vote for BJP by saying only one side of story? Baba ramdev not running school...here School/Collges are there for particular reason & Parents send kids to study,not getting politically motivated theories from Principal,who is asociated with particular party agenda.
bulbul Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Absolutely OK for a student to express his views in college..Students and teachers are zombies without any political views..If you see the history' date=' universities have been the ground of many successful agitations..The farmers, the dalit and the socialist movements are born in universities.[/quote'] So in every class room students should start fighting over politics? or fight for secularism as principal did. Here Principal is misusing his position of head of college to preach his agenda.This is not a impartial call to educate students.
diga Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Influence the voters by sending an email.? So what next? Airing anti-modi views in twitter is also wrong as it may influence voters? Baba Ramdev should be stopped influencing his shishyas to vote for BJP by saying only one side of story? he can very well air his views in his personal blog with full disclosure about his associations with the govt.. but on an email id as the head of the institution, thats something to think about
urbestfriend Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 he Principal of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai has landed himself in the eye of a storm. The letter, as the media has already told you, sharply criticizes the Gujarat model of development. It also takes a positive stand on the Food Security Act and the Rojgar Yojana, schemes implemented under the decade-long rule of the Congress-led UPA. It should be noted that the email also speaks against the UPA government for its role in not tackling environmental degradation. But I am no expert on politics and I will leave the pros and cons of political schemes as matters best judged by you, the voter. My fundamental grouse today is the intense criticism my Principal has drawn, including a complaint against him by the BJP to the Election Commission, and the intolerance to free speech that such behaviour is an indicator of. The college is a partly government-funded educational institution. Thus, one might argue that the principal should have refrained from making such "politically coloured" statements. In response, I'd request you to ponder over the following train of thought. Father Frazer Mascarenhas has questioned the paradigms of development that political parties are highlighting in their election campaigns. Anyone with a reading list that goes beyond niticentral.com will tell you that Gujarat hasn't been the best performer on social indicators. Similarly, anyone who hasn't been living under a rock over the past year or two will tell you that the questionable change of guard at the Environment Ministry resulted in a slew of clearances in favour of industrial development in decisions that are likely to harm our ecology. Without getting into either of the debates, I will ask you one question instead. As an educator, does Father Frazer have the authority to ask his students to keep these factors in mind as he encourages them to go out to vote? Tomorrow, if a party has a clear policy against the safety or interests of women and is basing its poll plank on the same, will Father be within his rights to question that? Superficial neutrality is a major drawback of our education system. We graduate from the best schools and colleges without reading a single word about the anti-Sikh riots of '84 or about Gujarat in 2002 in our textbooks. Or about the realities of Dalit discrimination across our country. Most of us are ignorant of the religious violence that engulfed Kandhamal in 2007/08. Why? Because, we are told, these are political matters that are best kept away from our minds. But here is why Xavierites are defending a Principal who they have had differences with over a dress code and other issues of autonomy. The college has always provided space for debate and discussion. Opposing viewpoints have clashed in the canteen in as much measure as they did in the classroom. Analytical reasoning and critical thinking have been encouraged. As the Economics students who have been taught by a particularly left-leaning professor would testify, neither have they been reprimanded nor marked down for having and expressing viewpoints which contradict the professor's at right angles. Instead, those arguments have been the starting points of many a riveting conversation about the state of our economy and our politics. We haven't been indoctrinated against the establishment or any political party; our faculty has encouraged us to view different perspectives before coming to reasoned conclusions. In the age of media bombardment, are we really "influenced" as much as they claim? If you disagree, I'd suggest you find out yourself by signing up to Facebook or Twitter. Though Father Frazer might consider starting a blogspot instead of using the official college website next time. http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-news/blog-by-st-xavier-s-student-on-anti-modi-email-controversy-512775?curl=1398328453 A really good blog by a Xavier student..
bulbul Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Though Father Frazer might consider starting a blogspot instead of using the official college website next time. this is the best part of the blog :two_thumbs_up:
urbestfriend Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Baba ramdev not running school...here School/Collges are there for particular reason & Parents send kids to study' date='not getting politically motivated theories from Principal,who is asociated with particular party agenda.[/quote'] Since when teachers have to be neutral? Is it a new rule in Modi state? Either you are with me or you are wrong? As long as debates and discussions are allowed for different views, where is the issue? A principal has not asked for vote to X,Y,Z party , he merely criticized the media hype on Gujarat model. Is he forcing students to vote against a party? It is his personal views he has shared with his students..Why is this a big deal?
bulbul Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 If we apply same case to every politician there shouldnt be any outrage over any controversial comments..simply because no one will get influenced by them.
bulbul Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Since when teachers have to be neutral? Is it a new rule in Modi state? Either you are with me or you are wrong? As long as debates and discussions are allowed for different views' date=' where is the issue? A principal has not asked for vote to X,Y,Z party , he merely criticized the media hype on Gujarat model. Is he forcing students to vote against a party? It is his personal views he has shared with his students..Why is this a big deal?[/quote'] What next , Army chief's saying Kejri is a drama artist in Army meeting? Navy chief saying UPA is failed miserably & condemn Con party. Somewhere we ahve to draw the line right. Can't imagine teh reactions if some principal said Modi is teh best candidate to lead India and sent email to students :haha:
bulbul Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 "The prospect of an alliance of corporate capital and communal forces coming to power constitutes a real threat to the future of our secular democracy. Support people who pledge to work to take Human Development Indicators higher and who commit themselves to a pluralistic culture in diverse India. " What does this mean? why can't a esteemed prinicpal make it clear what is his intention...
urbestfriend Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 What next , Army chief's saying Kejri is a drama artist in Army meeting? Navy chief saying UPA is failed miserably & condemn Con party. Somewhere we ahve to draw the line right. Can't imagine teh reactions if some principal said Modi is teh best candidate to lead India and sent email to students :haha: Wov, I dont want to debate with you when you can make a distinction between an educational institution and a military organization..For your info: Xaviers is not govt college, it is managed by a trust which is private. Just because they have got some funds from government , doesnt mean they have lost the right to own their views..
urbestfriend Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 What does this mean? why can't a esteemed prinicpal make it clear what is his intention... It means he thinks some parties are communal and pro-corporate. Too tough to understand?
FischerTal Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Why the email now? Modi has been CM for 10 years. Interesting that email sent before elections
diga Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Wov' date=' I dont want to debate with you when you can make a distinction between an educational institution and a military organization..For your info: Xaviers is not govt college, it is managed by a trust which is private. Just because they have got some funds from government ,[b'] doesnt mean they have lost the right to own their views.. but atleast makes them accountable .. A Guru should open his disciples to myriad possibilities,not suppress some of them
urbestfriend Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 but atleast makes them accountable .. A Guru should open his disciples to myriad possibilities' date='not suppress some of them[/quote'] Yes, doesnt mean one should stop airing his views..As long as debates and discussions of different view points of the students and other teachers are not suppressed, dont see anything wrong..
diga Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 Yes' date=' doesnt mean one should stop airing his views..As long as debates and discussions of different view points of the students and other teachers are not suppressed, [b']dont see anything wrong.. whats wrong is that he used the official email as the principal of the college & he wrote it just before elections and probably failed to disclose his association with the UPA govt
bulbul Posted April 24, 2014 Posted April 24, 2014 It means he thinks some parties are communal and pro-corporate. Too tough to understand? But don't he have a personal opinion which is communal which is not? otherwise isn't it wrong information to provide?
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