While there’s considerable substance in the argument that an uncaring and amoral urban bourgeoisie has hijacked the national development effort and converted it to its own use, ignorant rural leaders are no less to blame for the slow destruction of the country’s once great institutions of governance and learning.
A case in point is Bangalore University (BU), once upon a time routinely ranked among the best in the country. But during the past three decades, when peasant leaders typified by former accidental prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his avaricious sons became a force in Karnataka politics, academic and administrative standards in Bangalore University, which claims 400 affiliated colleges and an aggregate enrollment of 500,000 students, have plunged precipitously.
Academics attribute the steep decline and imminent fall of BU to constant and unremitting political interference in admissions, faculty appointments, and institutional management by the state’s rustic politicians who tend to regard the university as a cash cow for routine, village-style cuts and commissions. Therefore the appointment of registrars, faculty, and vice-chancellors has become highly politicised, with politicians of all hues and stripes desperate to appoint compliant favourites to key positions.
Currently the vice-chancellor’s post in BU has been vacant for four months following the retirement of Dr. H.A. Ranganath, and neighbouring Mysore University has been without a vice-chancellor for almost two years. To this list add the apex level vacancy in the Karnataka State Women’s University, Bijapur whose vice-chancellor Syeda Akhtar was ousted from office on corruption and personal enrichment charges. Little wonder that the reputation of BU — and of all universities in Karnataka — has plunged to an all-time low.