To
Dr. Manmohan Singh, honourable Prime Minister of India
cc
Smt. Partibha Patil, honourable President of India
Smt. Sonia Gandhi, honourable UPA chairperson
Mr. L. K. Advani, honourable leader of opposition
Mr. Kapil Sibal, honourable union minister of Human Resource Development
Mr. Naveen Patnaik, honourable Chief Minister of Orissa
Members of Parliemant from Orissa
Dear honourable Prime Minister, Dr. Singh,
Recently central Government has proposed quality standard higher educational institutions like IIT, IIM and very newly National University (also known as World Class Central University) across India. All of them are being proposed/established in metro or Trier II cities across India and not a single one is being built in semi-urban rural region in India.
During ancient and medieval period, development used to focus in the capital region bringing large difference within a state, which ultimately was forcing division to smaller states or kingdom. The same policy is still followed in modern days democratic India (having a huge population, large geographical area, multi-language and multi-ethical society) by the modern policy makers. Any new major establishment is preferably focused in national capital, state capital or large urban region totally ignoring the rural mass though 70% of India lives in rural areas. This is another form of exploitation of rural mass, which is also triggering social problem in our society.
While establishing quality higher educational institution in India, there should be equal distribution not only based on geography or state but also based on rural and urban areas. IIT Kharagpur was the first IIT in India and was established in semi-urban rural area, many of the international rating still put this institution in higher rating compared to many other IITs located in large metro in our country. Thus, it is evident that quality can still be maintained while establishing such institution in semi-urban areas. Unfortunately, while establishing new IITs recently not a single semi-urban rural location was chosen.
Similarly, the same trend is being repeated while establishing 14 National University across India. Is there no chance of failure in Trier II or III cities of India while establishing such institution? The failure of many other Universities located in metro or Trier II or III cities was never pointed before putting restriction on establishing such institution in semi-urban rural region though the fact is institutions in semi-urban rural region have excelled in India such as IIT Khragapur, IIT Roorkee, BITS Pilani, etc.
Does not rural India need quality education and investment? Among 14 National Universities proposed across India why four to seven of them cannot be built in smaller town in rural India, indeed limiting developmental initiative in metro areas in India is encouraging rural migration largely to cities and affecting rural economy dramatically and making our metros/larger cities over populated, polluted and stressed.
Sir, as an economist you are well aware that investment while establishing such new and large institutions mainly goes to construction sectors which directly boost the local economy. Why such investment is always given to metro or large urban areas of the country by totally ignoring small towns or semi-urban rural India.
Same pattern is followed in Orissa state recently. The Orissa’s state capital is already having or is proposed to have NISER, IIT, AIIMS etc which are of the same stature of national university, apart from railway medical college and many national level research institutions. Among 14 states selected for National University, Bhubaneswar is the only location where IIT, NISER (similar to IISER/IISc) and National University are coming in one place. So keeping in view of development of other corner of Orissa state and rural India in mind, why such National University proposed in Orissa is not being built in a semi-urban rural cluster such as in Bhawanipatna, which has similar infrastructure like Kharagpur had then. In fact as per Yashpal committee, all the proposed IIT should be like National University, so there is no point keeping two national universities in one location rather encouraging it in other location.
Beside that private player like Anil Agrawal foundation is establishing a world class University with 15,000 crore investment in Puri which is located within 70 km from Orissa’s state capital, is there any point we build many world class institutions in one region and keep the other region in dark and backward?
Honorable minister of Human Resource development was recently encouraging National University through PPP mode. In that case it is very much possible to collaborate with Anil Agrawal Foundation and establish a National University in Kalahandi, the region Vedanta group is mining by affecting the environment and displacing tribal. It’s the moral duty of such company to establish a National University in a region where it is affecting people directly before establishing 15,000 crore world class University in some other place for the purpose of philanthropy.
Kalahandi has lost the opportunity to get a central University earlier. Keeping local demand Central Government has recently agreed to establish two central Universities, one in Jammu and other in Kashmir, , whereas local demand of Kalahandi to establish a Central University was undermined after choosing Koraput for the location of Central University of Orissa. When both Jammu region and Kashmir region could get Central Universities; then why not both Kalahandi and Koraput?
Local people, students, youths, intelligentsia, social organizations etc in Kalahandi have been demanding a central /national University in Kalahandi since 1988 and Orissa Chief Minister frustrated all such effort by not keeping his promise to establish Central University at Kalahandi at last moment, despite Orissa Government took first welcoming step like proposing Engineering & Agriculture Colleges in the region since independence, people are more displeased and frustrated over this development and are continuing their struggle for a Central or National University. This should be corrected by establishing a National University in Bhawanipatna.
In fact, Kalahandi has more appeal for such National University not only for its infamous backwardness, available infrastructure like Kharagpur had and rural mass migration in the nation but also due to its ideal location in Orissa. In Orissa distance between Bhawanipatna and Koraput (site for Central University of Orissa) is much more then between Bhubaneswar and Berhampur / Puri/ Cuttack /Balasore. Though regionally cities like Berhampur, Balasore etc are given preference on development as regional station, both Bhawanipatna and Koraput are put together when it comes to development. Equal development of both Bhawanipatna and Koraput is very much important as regional stations and to bring overall growth of KBK. In addition Bhawanipatna is the central place among the KBK districts. It is also a central point while including other tribal and backward region in Orissa such as Boudh, Kandhamal, Bargarh and Gajpati districts, Bhawanipatna could serve better to the whole region than any other location.
Therefore, we request you to kindly consider Bhawanipatna as one of the locations for the proposed National University across India.
Thank you and best regards
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