Is S.M. Krishna a Minister or Mentor?
Talking to reporters in New Delhi India’s Minister for External Affairs said that “one can understand students going there [Australia] at the university level, at the IIT level or at the level of some other institution of excellence. When I went there, I was shocked to see so many students in courses they don’t need to go to Australia for — such as learning hair styling or doing facials”. He was responding to questions from reporters about the spate of attacks on Indian students in Australia in the last twelve months.
He then gave some advice to Indian parents whose children are planning to study abroad: “In India, such courses are available in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai. So parents should be more discriminating in choosing educational institutions for their children to pursue higher studies”. I am glad that Krishna did not make these statements a few decades ago. Maybe that would have prevented my parents from sending me to the United States for higher studies :)
One of the duties of the External Affairs ministry is to protect the interests of India abroad. This includes issues concerning the safety and security of Indians who live in other countries including Australia. As far as I am concerned it is outside the scope of his ministry to advice the Indian public on where and what an Indian citizen can study or not study. The External Affairs ministry can of course issue travel warnings or ban travel to certain countries if they feel that the situation in that country is unstable.
Krishna’s comment about who can study abroad sounds very elitist and hypocritical (Krishna himself studied Law in America which he could have easily studied in India). According to him it is ok to study abroad at the university level and the IIT level but wrong to do so if you are interested in hair styling or doing facials. This theory favors the middle class and the upper middle class but not the lower income group who might have higher aspirations.
There is no reason why it should be ok for an individual who graduates from a university like the IIT to go abroad. Most of the major universities in India are vastly subsidized by the Indian government and the tuition fee collected from the student’s only cover a fraction of this cost. Doesn’t the government have the responsibility to recover this cost from the student or at least contribute to the Indian government or industry for a period of time before allowing the person to study and settle abroad?
I also want to point out the institutions like the IIT, IIM and other major engineering and medical institutions in India are some of the best there is in the world. So in reality there is very little incentive (from a learning stand point) for graduates to go abroad. But to the best of my knowledge I am not aware of a single institute in India that teaches cosmetology that is anywhere near the best available in the world. So in my opinion there is strong reason for an individual who is interested in cosmetology to study abroad.
The ministers comments offers a good window on how many people in India view individuals who work in the cosmetology industry (hair cutting, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures and electrology). For many Indians these jobs are somehow lesser jobs than an engineer or doctor and their aspirations are not that important. These fields are so neglected that there is no state in India that has licensing or certification requirements for individuals who want to practice these professions.
Many news agencies have reported that foreign student enrollment in Australia has dropped by about 20% this year (Indian students contribute about $1.5 billion to the Australian economy every year). According to Krishna this drop was due to the higher exchange rate of the Australian dollar, global economic crisis and the coverage of these events by the Indian media. Is this man India’s foreign minister or Australia’s foreign minister?
What the minister should understand is that we must treat each other as equal and respect each other before we can expect anybody else to treat us equally. By talking about IIT and hair stylists the minister is sending a clear message that what we do for living matters when it should not as long it is legal. The minister is also completely off base when talking about the media coverage of this issue.
It is clear that a very small minority of people in Australia are committing crimes against Indians. Whether these victims are studying engineering or hair cutting or working part-time illegally or late at night is completely beside the point. Crimes are being committed and there should justice for the victims and their families. It is the responsibility of S.M. Krishna and his ministry to make sure that enough pressure is applied on Australia to solve these crimes and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
We do not want to hear any excuses from S.M. Krishna or finger pointing. We want to see results. Can you image what would have happened if Australian citizens in India are targeted and attacked over a one year period? All hell would have broken loose.
Related posts:
- Foreign University in India is not the Solution
- Lord Krishna and Caste System in India
- Cheap Computer For Illiterate Indians
- Australia Wants in on India-US Military Exercise
- Mamata Banerjee is Unfit to be Cabinet Minister
Category: News & Government
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