Living Diagonally In My Parallel World!

Another excellent article on Quota system for IIT admissions in Times of India dated 18th April 2008 On quota, IIT cutoffs may go negative If subject-wise cutoff marks for general candidates in the just-held IIT-JEE are, as in last year’s examination, likely to be in single digits, how will the system have scope to relax the qualifying marks, as announced, by 10% for OBCs and 40% for SCs and STs? Chairman of IIT-Jee 2008, Prof N.M. Bhandari, admitted to TOI that the subject-wise cutoffs for reserved candidates may turn out to be less than one mark which was the level to which the bar was lowered last year in one of the subjects for general candidates. Speaking from IIT Roorkee, Bhandari hastened to clarify that since subject-wise cutoffs for even general candidates have become so low, a further reduction for reserved candidates would be of “little significance”. The ridiculous cutoffs are thanks to a rather liberal ranking procedure adopted last year by the IIT system, stung as it was ...

An excellent article from the Times of India of 13th April 2008 by Dhananjay Mahapatra. Will Parliament ever put an expiry date on quota law? Everything under the sun is supposed to have a shelf life. Childhood, youth, middle-age and old-age, all have a time limit attached to them. In one-day cricket too, field restrictions last only for a few overs. Quota laws — be it for SCs/STs or OBCs — are an exception, with no “sell by” limit. In the cases where they have, Parliament secures extensions before the deadline. The perpetuation of quotas “to achieve a casteless and classless society” — engaged the attention of each of the five judges on the Supreme Court’s constitution bench which last week okayed the 27% OBC quota in central educational institutions. The framers of the Constitution did not intend the quotas to last in perpetuity. Article 334 of the Constitution originally mandated that reservations for SCs/STs and Anglo-Indians in Lok Sabha and assemblies would be for 10 years, which...

I miss a lot of things over here Its far too lonely over here Like walking through an empty fair Returning to strangers the blank stare I have learnt new words Alone, Lost and Anxious Then I close my eyes and think Of all the happiness that came my way And made me feel good for a day 'cos I hold so many things close to my heart I seemed to have mastered this art Some expressed but most unsaid I am afraid or am I scared? Tried really hard to put to word But miserably I failed So to my thoughts I taught To stay in my heart But they too rebel at times And find their way out through my eyes Yeah I am missing a lot Cause it ain't here And nothing really matters Without you being near.