Not a VC Leak: NLU row

My Alma mater, NLU Jodhpur has been in news for the "past couple of days" not for its achievements in prestigious moots or academic excellence of its students, which more often than not is the case, but for a little miscommunication between the staff members and administration which is being hyped so much that even Kanhaiya Kumar would be surprised about how words can be so open to interpretation.

I reacted like any other student when I first read the news that :-

"NLU Jodhpur Asks Faculty to Contribute Rs. 500 to VC’s Son’s Wedding"

My first reaction was Disbelief. 

Followed by Anger that state machinery is being used for personal affairs.

Then I read some comments of students from NLU and other law schools  who seemed to be having just one emotion - Pleasure. Except few responsible ones.

Then I discovered the whole story and how it is being projected in media.

Before any more negative publicity and mud slinging, let us take a deep breath and try to find out what actually happened and who is to blame. More importantly let us appreciate how jobless we are, including myself.

First of all, The Hindu's report says “The circular was issued by the Faculty Secretary [Rosmy Jain]" and I can totally imagine Rosmy Mam's reaction to this - " It's not Rosmy Jain!!! It's Rosmy JOAN". Lol ! She hated it every time we misspelled her name in our project submissions but I don't think she will sue Kasturi and Sons Ltd. for publishing it this time. I pity those who don't know Rosmy Ma'am personally. She is the sweetest living soul one can come across in life. Too sweet to even say NO.

From what I have gathered after talking to my friends in NLU and deducing from newspaper reports, she apparently suggested the registrar that faculty members willingly and voluntarily wish to contribute to the wedding. She did however commit a mistake of allegedly using the "letter head" to spread this suggestion and request for contribution as it was a convenient mode to reach everyone. Little did she know that this internal arrangement among faculty members will be projected as a war crime in media.

To give you an idea of how effective such circulars are, let me confess that we used to get "official notice" by order registrar for compulsorily attending the conferences every other day especially on Sundays when some dignitaries or the other visited our campus and trust me only Mess wale bhaiya Ji used to attend it. You can imagine the Non-coercive nature of this informal request which is being projected in media as Fatwa.

We ourselves have collected funds from students to organize mini farewells etc for our beloved professors from time to time and I am sure such minuscule informal collections is an acceptable way to show good gesture towards someone in every organisation.

Moreover how ridiculously funny it is that Vice chancellor of such a stature and Administration of one of the most premier Institute in the country would expect its 50 odd faculty members to contribute Rs 500 for a wedding. Trust me that the 25K thus received wouldn't do any good or harm to anybody's well being who is associated with NLU.

I agree that whole controversy could've been avoided had it not been a "circular" but a request proposal on an A4 sheet circulated to all faculty members. let us accept the human error of attempting to do the same conveniently and professionally out of over enthusiasm but also let us stop making it such a big deal and stop portraying it in such a cheap manner to get cheap thrills.

I myself have been a huge critic of NLU administration in general and VC ma'am in particular but only in a lighter vein to highlight the student issues which exist in every college campus of the world. Any law student would know that Prof. Poonam Pradhan Saxena is one of the most respected authority on TOPA and Family laws. Millions have read her books and few lucky ones like me were fortunate enough to attend some of her lectures. Also whole legal fraternity is indebted to the contributions of Prof I.P Massey and it will be an insult to the intelligentsia to associate such legendary names with such trivial things. There's no denying the fact that VC was out of campus busy with her son's wedding when the "circular" was issued and we can safely assume that she had no knowledge of such a voluntary contribution from faculty members out of pure affection.

Those who are in Jodhpur would know that local journalists, for some reason, are very vindictive towards NLU. I respect responsible journalism but I am using the word " vindictive" due to the their deliberate use of derogatory language and over hyping some trivial issues including NLU's party culture. Some how they got the information of this "circular" and it was presented in a way that it doesn't deserve.

With great power comes great responsibility. It is unfortunate to see mainstream media like Indian Express, The Hindu and all the major law student portals carrying it in a fashion that doesn't show it in a good light and definitely not what NLU deserves.

Since this false and trivial news is being hyped during peak CLAT season; Not only do I smell politics but  I also feel bad about ignorant CLAT aspirants who would see such things on mainstream and social media and will form opinion that is far different from the awesome reality of the Sweet Dream Land i.e National Law University, Jodhpur. 

I am the last person who would defend something which is wrong with administration. But I am also the last person who would sit back to see the truth being "twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools." Also it is the responsibility of the present batches studying in NLU to understand that our personal grudges with the administration, if any, should not be vented out by promoting false propaganda and we should strive to bring the true picture in front of everyone. It's not even about defending your college or its reputation but it's about Responsible Journalism, Truth, Defeating the vindictive forces and Discouraging false public perception.

I really feel sad that VC ma'am had to deal with all this non sense at a time when her son is getting married. Faculty members who wanted to make the occasion special by gifting her something for the wedding are shocked and scandalized by how NLU family matters are being portrayed in public. Let us grow up and support them instead of spreading gossips and rumors and let us stop making a complete fool of ourselves in front of everyone for no reason at all.