Finally Out. Our Chapter that examines the intersection of environmental degradation, state interventions, and indigenous resistance in Loktak Lake has been published by Springer Nature.
https://t.co/lFwMufbeAB
Concern Over Appointment of Vice-Chancellor of National Sports University , Manipur : RSS-BJP Bulldozing Academic Norms and Rule of Law
The recent appointment of Daljit Singh Chaudhary as the Vice-Chancellor of the National Sports University has deeply shocked and disappointed academicians, applicants, researchers, and aspiring scholars across Manipur and the country.
The National Sports University was established with the vision and support of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India as a premier institution of excellence in sports education, sports science, physical education, research, and academic leadership. Such an institution of national importance deserves leadership selected strictly in accordance with academic merit, statutory norms, and Recruitment Rules — not through arbitrary political decisions.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had initiated a long and rigorous selection process through an official advertisement issued in December 2024. Eminent academicians and professionals from across the country applied and waited patiently for more than two years. Applicants prepared extensive academic records, research credentials, publications, administrative experience, and institutional vision documents before appearing before the Search-cum-Selection Committee in New Delhi on 31 May 2025 at the National Dope Testing Laboratory, JLN Stadium Complex. Out of 15 shortlisted candidates, 14 reportedly appeared for the interaction.
The advertisement clearly prescribed that the Vice-Chancellor should possess an outstanding academic record along with a minimum of ten years’ experience as Professor or in an equivalent academic administrative position. However, the appointment of a person whose name reportedly did not appear in the shortlist and whose qualifications do not appear to satisfy the prescribed academic criteria has raised extremely serious concerns regarding transparency, legality, and adherence to Recruitment Rules.
Shri Daljit Singh Chaudhary is a distinguished retired IPS officer of the 1990 batch (Uttar Pradesh cadre) who served in several important positions including Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF), Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and senior leadership roles in CRPF and Uttar Pradesh Police. His public service and contributions to national security are respected. However, respect for administrative service cannot override statutory eligibility conditions meant for an academic office.
The fundamental question is simple: Can the RSS-BJP government bulldoze Recruitment Rules and academic norms merely to accommodate politically convenient appointments?
The office of Vice-Chancellor is not a ceremonial administrative post. It is fundamentally an academic position requiring scholarly leadership, teaching and research experience, academic vision, and deep understanding of university governance. Universities cannot be converted into rehabilitation centres for retired bureaucrats and police officers at the cost of deserving academicians.
This appointment creates a dangerous precedent where institutions of higher education may gradually lose their academic character under political interference. If Recruitment Rules can be bypassed in institutions of national importance, then what message is being sent to thousands of young scholars, professors, researchers, and students who dedicate their lives to academic excellence ?
@narendramodi@RahulGandhi
There is a form of liberal punditry about the BJP which goes “you have to hand it to them…” You don’t. When you tip your hat to a poisonous majoritarianism, you amplify its aura. When you give the devil his due, you join his baggage train.
#Opinion | Meiteis and Nagas suspect Central forces, particularly the Assam Rifles, of using Kukis as proxy fighters to undermine them, while the Kukis see state police as biased against them
Pradip Phanjoubam writes
#Manipur
https://t.co/qz71twPRiO
Why won't retired officials of Assam Rifles also talk of the dubious history and role of Assam Rifles in Manipur. We have not forgotten the protest by Meitei Ima who had to disrobe to shame the State to follow the Constitution at least in pretense. The illegal killings in hundreds that happened. The rape, torture and killings. Journalism should stop treating these retired officials as some dispensers of the holy grain of truth.
The irrigation channels, called kuhls colloquially, lay unused, covered by wild foliage. Built centuries ago and cared for by the village community, their control was encroached by the state in the 1970s, during the ‘high-developmentalism’ phase of the republic. The (1/4)
‘Now, in old age, I do regret not having a child...I don’t regret not having a formal husband. I do regret not having a child – I would love to have a sort of continuity.’
A warm and intense portrait of our finest historian by @rkarnad
https://t.co/bgap7wxF2A via @psyche_the_mag
Really wish we would think of ourselves as river / environment / wetland / water 'lovers' instead of calling ourselves 'warriors'.
Too many warriors everywhere, not enough lovers. Not enough love. And it unfortunately makes things about us, as opposed to that we want to protect.