Women are excelling in academics: Tharoor
Academic excellences are becoming more and more about female pursuits and boys must buckle up, according to Dr Shashi Tharoor, a member of Parliament from Thiruvanthapuram in the south Indian city of Kerala.
In his lecture to a packed audience at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bausher on Monday, Dr Tharoor spoke on ‘The Role of Universities in Building Global Citizens’.
The lecture was held under the patronage of H E Dr Suad bint Mohammed bin Ali al Lawatia, Minister of Arts Affairs.
Women take the lead
“An Omani woman educationist was telling me how impressive women have been in schools and universities. Here, there are even universities where 80 per cent of the graduates are women. That is remarkable and I congratulate the Government of Oman,” Dr Tharoor said.
He added that the National University of Science and Technology has over 4,000 students who represent 33 countries and that is itself a global community.
“The future of higher education is global. It is just not based on the mere fact that universities themselves are keen to attract foreign students and develop curriculum that is in line with the global practices.
“These are reflections of the changing nature of the world order itself.”
Continued on
Globalisation the buzzword
Citing examples about globalisation that has become widespread, Dr Tharoor said, “What does it mean to be a young a student in National University in Oman. Waking up to an alarm clock made in China, having a cup of tea from leaves first planted by the British, donning jeans designed in America and taking a motorbike or a Japanese car to reach a campus in Muscat where your notes might be written on a Taiwanese laptop assembled in Malaysia, text books are printed with German technology on paper first pulped in Sweden.”
Education should be top priority
He said that education should and has always remained the first priority in every part of the world. “We successfully deployed an orbiter around the planet Mars in the first attempt. Europe did after many failures and many have not succeeded yet. We did it on a budget less than the budget of the special effects of the space movie Gravity. That’s what India has achieved through education.”
However, he emphasised that students and children be allowed to select their future careers. “A lot of parents tend to impose their vision on their children to fulfil their unfulfilled dreams. And I am telling parents not to do so. This phenomenon we see in India. I am giving a small story where a jumbo elephant talks to baby elephant saying that I want you to accomplish everything I failed in. For instance, I could never learn to fly. Can you imagine the pressure on the poor baby elephant?”
It’s all about politics
Speaking to Muscat Daily on the sidelines of the lecture, Dr Tharoor said that India’s image has suffered greatly because of the narrow-minded politics and today it is difficult to go abroad with heads held high.
His reply came when asked about global perceptions about India post the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill and revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Tharoor said, “The steps taken especially after the re-election of the BJP government this year have caused us immense damage in terms of our moral standing around the world. There are negative stories about India when you pick up a newspaper in any country particularly in the western democracies.”
He said that those in power are setting bad examples. “Those who are ruling us today always had a certain agenda which goes back a long way and they are trying to carry it forward bolstered by the mandate they got. I am sure many of us who voted for them did not vote for this, something that we have to see when it comes to next elections.”
Regarding the citizenship act, Dr Tharoor said it is a fundamental assault on the civilisational values and the foundation of India. “Those who said that religion should determine the nationhood like Pakistan made a separate country and they went their way. Those who remained in India like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad all knew that religion should not determine our nationhood. Our freedom struggle is for everyone and we will create a free India for everyone.”
He said that Dr [Bhimrao]
Ambedkar wrote a constitution, that reflects the role of people of every race, gives them the freedom to worship their own way and propagate their own faith and at the same time keeps the country united.
“I am deeply shocked that 72 years after independence anybody would challenge the basis of our independence. Actually people like me and the entire Congress party will fight this tooth and nail and we can never accept this.”
India-Oman ties
Dr Tharoor said, “As far as IndiaOman ties are concerned, they are in excellent shape. The ties exist for the past 5,000 years.
“An article said the DNA of Indians and Omanis is indistinguishable. There has been so many millenia of trade and travel between both countries, obviously lot of that was with Kerala. People from Kerala are here in large numbers. They have contributed positively to the development and prosperity of this country. Founder of this university is from Kerala itself. We will continue to have good ties in future too.”