Update (IIT/IIM: National Shame)

A big thanks to everyone for responding so passionately. Let me reiterate once again - the post was not meant to provoke but highlight the fact that we are celebrating something that we shouldn’t be proud of. The reason why its a lot tougher to get into IIT/IIM than Harvard or MIT is because people there have a wider choice of top schools.

I don’t intend to be prescriptive in any of my posts. I got a lot of responses from people who argued about everything from public policy to pedagogy and legislation. Some of the responses were completely off the mark and argued against current legislations like reservation and other affirmative actions. My personal opinion about this subject (though it may only be tangentially related to the current post) is that no nation can progress without taking the entire nation along - even if it means a couple of generations have to make sacrifices for a greater future, so be it. After all, we’ve been independent for less than 62 years - Americans were hunting each other down 60 years after their declaration of independence. Once again, this is a very contentious subject and I would rather leave it alone.

I request everyone who has sent me mails to post their views on the blog - the comments section is not moderated - so feel free to candidly comment.