It is much easier to swim with the tide than go against it. In a country where corruption is often seen as a rule rather than an exception it is extremely difficult to take an honest and principled stand as the whole system gangs up against you and tries to drown you like a tsunami. But there are some rare individuals, the mavericks who do not believe in short term compromises to achieve long term objectives . For them means are as important as their goals and they do not mind taking the whole system headlong even at the cost of severe hardships and sacrifices. Prof Varun Arya , the Director of Aravali Institute of Management, Rajasthan is one such rare individual.
Excerpts from the interview:
You left a cushy multinational job as General Manager before starting the institute. Tell us about your journey as to how you left a good salaried job and decided to take a plunge in an uncharted risky venture.
Though born and brought up in a small town of Abu Road in Rajasthan, in retrospect I felt that I was fortunate in having studied at IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, both institutions of national importance in India. I had a dream and I thought it appropriate to work towards making the dream come true. I also sincerely believe that people who have done well in their career and life should go back to their roots at a suitable time to do something constructive and substantial for their home state. Having been away from my home state of Rajasthan for 24 years, I moved back to Rajasthan in April 2000 to establish Aravali Institute of Management.
While occupying senior positions in the corporate world for 16 years, apart from my usual responsibilities, I was also involved in recruitments to managerial positions. Being from Rajasthan, I was always keen to recruit candidates from the state. While there used to be quite a few applications from Rajasthan but I could never select any of them because while they had the qualifications, they did not have the competencies required by the companies where I worked. Therefore, I told myself that the God willing, some day I would establish an educational institution in Rajasthan which will focus not on the qualifications but rather on developing the corporate required competencies.
In the year 1999 when I was President of IIT Delhi Alumni Association (IITDAA), with the Director and Dean and some senior alumni of IIT Delhi, I had come to Jaipur for inauguration of Rajasthan Regional Chapter of IITDAA. During this visit when we met the Governor and Chief Minister of Rajasthan, we were exhorted by them to do something significant for Rajasthan also. Based on their assurance of state government’s support orally as well as in writing, with an earnest desire to establish a truly top quality educational complex in an out of the way place like Jodhpur in Rajasthan as a model of no compromise, I left my senior position with leading American multinational DuPont to return to Rajasthan.
When you resorted to an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar with 60 supporters to protest against the Rajasthan government did you have the confidence that the government will blink?
I am a firm believer in “no choice” paradigm. Before we started out for Jantar Mantar, I had told myself that I had no choice but to succeed. The failure as a choice was just not available to me. Failure would have meant greater onslaught on us from the various government departments, since our failure would have been construed as a weakness, which would have emboldened the vested interests.
I also sincerely believed that the truth was with us and it was of utmost importance to ensure that the truth won.
How difficult it is for a good visionary to fight against a system which is full of corruption? At times did you feel like giving up and greasing up their palms rather than fighting against them?
India, as a nation, is surviving and continuing to do reasonably well because there are still some good people, though their number is diminishing. It is so easy to fall prey to the corruption in the system and be an unfortunate part of an increasing majority who do so. These are the people who justify means for an end. Only those who have the strength of character, strength of commitment, strength of confidence, strength of conviction, strength of courage and strength of cooperation can stand out of this crowd to fight the system. Therefore, there are times when one may find himself all alone in this fight!
Yes, at times the severity of hardships, sacrifices and struggle became so much that I did feel whether this all was really worth. However, my sheer conviction in the truth and my willpower ultimately ensured that I did not deviate from the ethical path.
Who do you think are responsible for corrupting the system more. The politicians or the bureaucrats?
It is the nexus of politicians-bureaucrats-bribe givers which is responsible for the corruption. The demand side exists simply because the supply side exists. The day the supply side is not there anymore, the demand side would have no choice but to slowly but surely vanish. There is just no other way to remove the corruption.
Ability not to succumb to the corruption necessitates many prerequisites. One of the foremost is that you should not have any skeletons in your cupboard. This is because the moment you do not pay the demanded or expected bribe, you are perceived to be actually confronting the system and the system retaliates by pouncing on you. The system searches for skeletons in your cupboards and the moment it finds even a trace of one, it is magnified many times to put you on the defensive.
The government also slapped criminal cases against you. How did you deal with the mental trauma? How was the response of your family?
By continuing to exist and progressing without paying any bribe, I was actually disturbing the status quo. In fact, to quote one of the leading politicians, I was creating a wrong precedent. Therefore, to counter it and make me surrender, there have been a number of false cases and enquiries instituted against me by the government.
When I began, on the one hand I was struggling to establish the institution with meager resources and borrowed finances, on the other hand I to fight the onslaught from the system in view of my refusal to compromise. It was certainly extremely tough and trying mentally as well as physically on both personal and professional fronts. I was convinced that the choice to give up was somehow just not available to me. Of course, my wife and children supported me fully, which was a significant strength for me as well as for the purpose.
Tell us about your dream of building the Aravali Institute of Management at par with IIT or IIM in Jodhpur.
Though it is sheer wishful thinking but still if the government had supported me then by now I would have ensured that Rajasthan indeed had a truly top-ranking management institute, perhaps better than the best of IIMs and IITs – a real asset and a matter of pride for everyone in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and in fact India.
Having studied at IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, later having been an alumni representative on the Senate of IIT Delhi for five years and now for three years as a member of IIM Ahmedabad Society, I understand how these institutions of national importance were established and shaped up. Of course, while the world at large knows the positive aspects of these institutions but those who have been associated with these closely, also know the negative aspects. By incorporating the positive aspects and avoiding the negative aspects, I had envisioned the development of Aravali as an institution on par with IITs and IIMs, if not better than them. I sincerely hope and wish that I still succeed in this noble cause.
Do you think Lokpal Bill could be the panacea for all these evils?
Lokpal Bill would be a law – a document. It would be a panacea if and only if it was implemented in letter and spirit as mandated.
India as a nation perhaps has the largest number of laws in this world. However, there is serious deficiency in the presence of rule of law. India has the courts and judges but there is serious drawback in the justice delivery system.
If the existing laws themselves were truly implemented then these would be adequate to tackle the corruption. Unfortunately, implementation of laws in our country is an exception rather than a rule. Those with power and authority – whether of position or of money or of influence, often get away and others get punished even though at times innocent.
Tell us about the role of All India Council of Technical Education. You are quoted to have once said that even they are corrupt. Could you elaborate?
If you read the AICTE Act carefully, you will find that its legislative mandate is to ensure the qualitative and quantitative growth of technical education in our country. Just look at what it has achieved in its 24 years history – thousands of “AICTE approved” institutions most of which offer everything except quality technical education.
As per Ishwar Dayal Committee report, shockingly around 75% of AICTE approved institutions are sub-standard, playing with the careers of students and the future of our nation.
It is high time that AICTE is closed before it is found to have done irreparable damage to technical education, students, parents and the nation.
You have been a part of the advisory committee in leading educational institutions and NGO’s. As an educationist what do you think ails our educational system.
Few years back at Rashtrapati Bhawan I had met Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam when he was President of India and at Raj Bhawan in Jaipur I had met Mrs. Pratibha Patil when she was Governor of Rajasthan. During my long discussions with both of them separately, I had told them that in a large majority of educational institutions in our country today, there is everything except education. When they asked me what I had meant by this, I had then explained this with many examples.
The promoters as well as seekers of education have forgotten the fundamental meaning and purpose of education.
A large majority of educational institutions in our country today neither have the quality faculty nor quality courses & syllabi, nor quality pedagogy and nor quality supporting network of organizations.
As somebody who has been head of the alumni associations of both IIT-Delhi and IIM-Ahmedabad, tell us about your experience there.
Both IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad are really wonderful institutions of higher education and truly assets of our nation. The credit for this should certainly go to their promoters and supporters – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prof. R. N. Dogra, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Prof. Ravi J. Mathai. It has taken painstakingly strict adherence to certain core values and many years of organic growth to make these institutions what these are today.
