In the right perspective - The DOW-IIT issue (Version 2)

This article aims to be a kind of ‘hearing aid for the impaired’ to make the uninitiated feel some urge to know about the recent hot debate going around in the institute. The campus has been witnessing a spirited campaign by a bunch of volunteers opposing the invitation for campus recruitment extended to Dow Chemicals by the placement office. They have suggested that some check be carried out on the antecedents of this corporation in particular and in general all companies invited to IIT as sponsors or for placement. On the other side are some students who have vehemently argued for Dow Chemicals to be allowed to participate in the recruitment process.

The main highlight of my article is the general apathy of the majority student community towards this issue and a few of my own views on various arguments on the issue.

When the campaign started, other than a few opinionated people on each side, the general opinion was mainly undecided. To facilitate an informed discussion about the issue, a Panel Discussion was organized as a part of Reflections on 26^th October, 2007. Now, those who attended this discussion would be fully aware that we could not ask for a more from that well moderated balanced discussion on this topic. That day I heard speakers who spoke so well that they took their listeners with them on their views every time they spoke. Each point that was raised was well backed up for without any kind of ambiguity. The student representatives raised very good questions, many of which were answered. Most of the developments of the discussion have been mentioned in the “Viewspaper”. What irked me was the poor attendance to the discussion from the student body and the conspicuous absence of many pro-DOW students.

The depressing fact of the matter, today, is that a majority of the people have uninformed views based on superficial facts. Many of these people remain fixated on their views forever, owing to the massive inertia in them and in some cases, due to their personal criticism of the members of the anti-DOW community. Also, there are a few of these people who want to look like they are fully informed and shout out their stands loud. My concern is that these people try to impose their ideas on the other gullible people around.

There have been many issues in the campus in the past where student opinion was asked and the response was NOT great. We people tend to be too self-oriented and lazy. The only time I remember some IITian students took a united stand on a public issue was the time reservations were introduced in the educational sector. Most students pursued this, only because it concerned them directly. If this is the attitude of IITians, I doubt if many other people outside would want to actively involve themselves with fighting against the injustice with the Bhopalis. If we are going to be unwilling to fight for justice for someone else, we are in no position to blame the government, for its mistakes in Bhopal. In fact, why should we get support for any pro or anti reservation protests?

On public issues like this some people tend to remain neutral and un-oriented to any side. But, on an issue like DOW, you cannot fail to have any opinion at all. Every individual’s stand counts. The mere act of not holding an opinion is a stand for inaction and is pro-DOW. So, it doesn’t remain ‘neutral’ any more.

The “Viewspaper” circulated in IITM hostels on 15^th November, 2007 argues that as students whose education has been subsidized to a large extent by tax-payers money, IITians have onerous social responsibility, when it comes to what the public-funded space provided by IIT is used for. This point is irrelevant. Whether or not our education is subsidized, as a part of humanity, and as a citizen of this country, we have a duty to respond.

Thus, the matter in front of us, in perspective, is not whether DOW is really criminal, or about who is to blame for it. I think everybody agrees that DOW’s acts were criminal. The more important issues are:

• Did DOW want to come to IITM to gain legitimacy in India? Does IITM’s stand send a message to the country? My personal response to these questions is undoubtedly positive. When a company comes to IIT for its recruitments, unfortunately, the message sent across is that IIT approves of the company. It is well known that companies use the tag line ‘we hire from IITs’ as a mode to improve their reputation. People in our country look up to other “learned” people for support, just like we look up to American universities so many times as examples for emulation. When that is the case, the official stand of an independent, respectable national institution like IITM matters. The common man is not going to care about who makes the decision about the placement screening process. To him, all that matters is the IITM Placement Cell’s views on the issue. The placement cell has no objection to any student approaching DOW off campus. In such a case, an official decision to implement this screening does no harm to anybody. If a company like DOW is so passionate about IITians, it will recruit them off campus anyway. Here, the students could exercise their own choice.

• What can WE do about it to make as best an impact as possible, whether or not we decide to act for or against DOW? A point to be noted here is that at the end, it is the student representatives like the branch councilors and the Academic Secretary who interact with the companies, and so, the students are the ones who wield the power.

• If we do decide to screen companies in placements, how exactly to go about it?

The argument that the pro-DOW students put up, that if DOW faces resistance in IITM, it will go to IITB and IITKgp, is absurd. As my friend puts it, “During the time of riots, if there is an open shop, robbing it saying someone else will do it anyway is not a justification for the wrong you are doing.“ There was also an issue of double standards that was raised in this context. A very good example that was indicated is the software piracy that is prevalent in our large student community. I feel that if the institute had the funds to start a clampdown on illegal software users, it would have done it (rather, it would have been forced to do it). I would be in full support for it. Of course, the decision whether to pursue software piracy or not, is entirely the student’s and I agree that self control is the best way to keep a check on it. I therefore actively encourage open source software over pirated ones. The point, however, is that all issues like these need to be put forward so that people become acquainted with them and start thinking about how to solve them. We should not come up with such examples, discover our hopeless situation because of our own double standards, and shun the topic away expressing our incompetence to solve the issues. In short, we must act whenever we do get the opportunity.

Again, why should our decisions be influenced so much by what the other IITs do? Also, are we really “beggars” hungry for jobs? I really doubt if the placement in IITM for chemical engineering is in dire straits, and we have been reduced to beggars for employment. Some argue that if restrictions on companies based on ethical grounds start being imposed from the placement cell, there would hardly be any companies who would qualify. This is a very valid crucial point. This is precisely why the demand from the anti-DOW students has been modified to “screening corporations that have been CAUGHT committing crimes and have pending cases against them”. In fact, they have suggested a four-point table of criteria, which in my opinion will debar only the most brazen offenders. One might comment that this is a nice diplomatic way to get around the issue, but it is the most practical approach I have come across to address the issue.

There are a few people who are against the HS department lobbying against DOW in the institute. I don’t understand their complaints. The HS department was instituted in IITM to instill humanitarian principles in the students. If some people feel the HS Department has been unsuccessful in fulfilling this objective through the courses it offers, it doesn’t mean that its members are incompetent to fight for this cause. After all, they too are a part of this institute, and they have a right to hold an opinion as a member of this democratic country just as anybody else is.

Thus, in a nutshell, I request all readers to form their own opinion about this issue, for or against (BUT NOT NEUTRAL). Please don’t add fuel to this hopeless scenario by blaming others about what has happened and what ought to happen. There is no point in being an idealist. We need to look at these issues practically and think about what WE can do positively about it. If you are unable to do anything about it, the least you can do is express your unambiguous, well informed opinions, when asked by concerned parties. I would also like to applaud the authors of “Viewspaper” for their valuable efforts in effecting the start of a healthy discussion on the issue. I hope both the sides sort out the issue now, logically, without any personal criticism of select individuals.

Thank you.

By,

Narayanan Ramanan (Godavari, 415)

With support from,

Kedar Prakash Mavinkurve (Godavari, 416)

Animesh Agarwal (Godavari, 417)