“Politics is defined as the negotiation among people with different views to promote social development and to resolve common problems. It is the collective activity of giving something positive to the society.” Surprised? I am sure you must have imagined politics to be something totally different. As per the original definition the word “politics” should be used for all the developmental activities but practically it has became a synonym for all our unethical activities. Even an institute like IIT Kharagpur has ignored its real meaning and has become a prey to its powerful-evil-force. Politics in IIT lingo is coined as “poltu” (a rather cute word for all the cunning things people do).
This institute will hold the student body election this week. All the self-appointed “poltu-Gods” (used for a very foxy and shrewd IIT Kgp student) and “funda gods”(other idiots how think they know anything and everything) are busy planning how candidates from their “pacts” get elected and more importantly how to make their opponents life miserable. Let me explain the pact system for those who are not acquainted with it. Different hostels enter into secret agreements with others as to form a group and get all the votes from one pact for their respective candidates (it is basically equivalent to a coalition party). In normal circumstances candidates belonging to majority pact generally get elected. But then there would have been no fun, no brain (mis)use for the poltu-gods. It has become a kind of tradition for one or other of the hostels to defect pacts just before the night of the elections (all credit goes to the deceiver and back stabbing poltu-gods). This ultimately changes all political equations and candidates belonging to more “kamina” pacts are elected. These poltu-gods would work very hard during the election period, defying all concepts of “nidra”(sleep) and “vishram”(rest) just to retain the no 1 position in who-have-fooled-more-people list. Now don’t get excited. These are the same lazy-asses who would do nothing to improve the quality of food in mess, to restore drinking water supply even if three out of four blocks have no water because of defunct aquaguards.
The candidates are no less cunning. They can read out their proposals at a very fast speed and with a remarkable accuracy (without any grammatical errors) and after the election is over they forget them at even faster rates. The elected members become an integral part of a very corrupt legacy (the amount of money they gulp down would even put a corrupt bureaucrat to shame) left behind by their “mast” seniors and work tirelessly to make it more corrupt. For them conducting their respective fests (which is their major source of black money) is the sole purpose and the original concept “to work for promotion of social development and resolution of common problem” means nothing. For instance no G.Sec Sports have been able to fix the audience- gallery in the volley ball court during the last five years!! Atleast a dozen people got injured due to the galleries which came down every time a hapless man tried to have a good look at the match. It is indeed a sorry state of affairs, when people who on the outside are referred as the cream of the nation acts here as perfect scums. They act exactly as any corrupt politician or bureaucrat would have acted during their college days. If you don’t believe me just look at the proposals of the last three Vice-Presidents of the Gymkhana (the G.Secs and other Secretaries are even worse), not even one of them have been able to implement any of the fool-making proposals.
I know it is easy to criticize from the outside. So, in this ongoing “proposal season” I will also propose something. I think there should be committee of professors under Gymkhana President which would ensure that these proposals are implemented in letter and spirit. This committee should ensure that the elected members of the student body don’t make a mockery of the people who have elected them. There should be system of periodic review and performance appraisal. If anyone implements less than half of the proposals at the end of their tenure then he must be made responsible for his actions and other appropriate actions (as recommended by the committee) should be taken against him/her. Let us teach them how to make realistic proposals and implement them. It is time to stand up and raise our voice otherwise not even the Gods will come to our rescue.
Disclaimer: The intention of the author is not to offend anyone. I just wanted to tell the truth. There are some people in the institute who really have tried hard to do some good. I fully appreciate their efforts and this article is not meant for them, its for the other poltu-eeestudds.
