Group of 10 from city college meet young Congress leader at his residence in New Delhi; many now considering politics as a career
Group of 10 from city college meet young Congress leader at his residence in New Delhi; many now considering politics as a career
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| Young turks: Ten students of Bhartiya Vidyapeeth's New Law College at the meeting with Congress general secretary and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi |
Ten law students from the city are on cloud nine these days. That's because the group recently had a date with none other than Congress General Secretary and MP Rahul Gandhi at his residence in New Delhi.
So impressed were the students with the young politician that some of them are seriously thinking of taking up politics as a career.
On January 24, 10 students handpicked by the principal of New Law College at Bhartiya Vidyapeeth Deemed University met Gandhi to discuss the problems that plague India's education system as well as the role of young people in politics.
Speaking to MiD DAY, Principal Dr Mukund Sarda, who had accompanied the students, said that Gandhi's focus was on bettering the quality of education in colleges, especially in rural areas as well as in improving methods of teaching.
"He compared Indian universities to foreign universities and said that rather than following a method of memorising, curriculum should follow a method of innovation. He wanted more resources to be invested in developing the intellectual capital in India," said Sarda.
A participant, Akshit Kapoor, who now aspires to be a politician, said he liked it that Gandhi was interested in addressing the issue of brain-drain of intellectuals from the country to the West.
"He asked us how migration of educated class to the West could be stopped. We said that they have to improve the job scenario and opportunities (in the country). We also discussed how rural areas have hardly any opportunity for higher education and five states were taking the load of providing for the rest of the country's youngsters. He wanted us to enlist reasons for rural areas being backward, solutions and also wanted us to tell him how we could help in nation-building rather than merely complain," said Kapoor.
However, some students also argued with Gandhi, as they did not agree with some of his views.
Pallavi, a first year LLM student, argued with him over what she thought were misconceptions he had about rural areas.
"He told us about development in rural areas and how they were being transformed into urban centres. But I pointed out that Bihar was backward, which he said was an exception and gave the example of Amethi. But I argued that Amethi is developed because it was his constituency and that was an exception. Most rural areas in the country are not that lucky," she said.
Kapoor added that Gandhi said Indian universities and teachers do not encourage students to ask questions but consider it an insult, which Kapoor argued was not true.
"He was comparing the experience he had in an Indian college and said that it was not considered nice to ask questions to professors, especially the tough ones . But I argued it was not true. Our professors encourage questions and make efforts to address our queries. Our experience was quite different from his," said Kapoor.
