Education and Corruption

The Indian education sector is in distress. How does one explain the lack of outrage among the population at something which affects them so forcefully? Could it be because they are not aware of how dysfunctional the system is? That must at least partly explain the apathy. Perhaps they know but accept it with the fatalistic resignation of the type that accepts corruption among public officials? Perhaps they mistakenly consider pervasive corruption as normal. But how can they not see that government control of education, the rampant corruption, and the crippled education system are all of a piece?

Here’s a news item which reports that medical post graduate studies involve bribes of up to Rs 2 crores (around $ 400,000.)
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BBC and the Attack of the ASSes

Attack of the Advanced Self-propelled Screwdrivers

BBC News reports that, “In one of the recent attacks in Melbourne, a student was critically injured by a screwdriver.” Wonders of this modern world, don’t you know. Automatic self-willed screwdrivers on a rampage. The student was injured by a screwdriver, and not “A student was attacked by someone with a screwdriver.”
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New Commenting System

Today I installed a new commenting system — IntenseDebate. Therefore now you really don’t have to register to comment; you can just comment as “guest.” Also it allows you to get email updates of followup comments to the post or even the entire blog. But there are some things that need to be ironed out. For instance, I notice that some genuine comments are ending up in the spam queue even though before they would have gotten through. In any case, do give me feedback on this change. Also, if you comment and you see that the comment is not showing up, please drop me a note atanudey at gmail. Cheers!

Update: (1 PM IST)

There were problems with the intensedebate commenting. Some comments were not getting through. So for now we are back to square one and the commenting system will be as before. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Lynching is too good for them

There are some topics that make me see red. In that state, I cannot even think rationally, leave alone write coherently. I am so angry that this is not going to read well for sure. But this has to be said. Those who are ultimately responsible for the violence against the Indian students in Australia should not be lynched. Lynching would be too good for them. I am not talking about the red-necks and skinheads (or whatever their Australian equivalents are) who attack foreign students. I am talking of the Indian politicians and bureaucrats that have brought about the conditions that force Indians to go abroad looking for a decent education to places where they are viciously and mercilessly attacked.
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The Flipbook Reader (test)

So much great stuff on the web, so little time. Here’s a handy little reader which I found on in the US Internet Archive. I checked out H L Menken’s “A Little Book in C Major“. See below for an embedded flipbook reader.
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Rajeev Mantri on India’s Technological Potential

Rajeev Mantri, executive director of Navam Capital, a Kolkata-based venture capital firm, writes in his piece in today’s Wall Street Journal on “Harnessing India’s Technological Potential” that “VCs typically consider India to be just a technology deployment market. That view is too narrow: India has not just the entrepreneurial competence but also the scientific talent to invent and lead in science-driven innovation.”
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Missing Friedman, Missing Markets

Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal has an article today, “Missing Milton: Who Will Speak for Free Markets“, which makes me despair for India. Milton Friedman was arguably one of the greatest proponents of freedom, and naturally therefore, an advocate of free markets. Trading is a uniquely human activity and humans engage in trade spontaneously and therefore human freedom must necessarily imply the freedom to trade. Human freedom without free markets is a fairly vacuous and meaningless idea. Prohibiting free markets is a necessary and often sufficient for guaranteeing poverty. That’s what all oppressors do — whether they are colonial powers or homegrown communists or socialists.
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“Defeating Political Islam”

In yesterday’s Washington Times, Diana West has a review of Moothy Muthuswamy’s book, “Defeating Political Islam: The New Cold War.”

A few bits of the review below the fold.
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