The Scholars' Avenue

I had never dreamt I would set foot into IIT Kharagpur’s classrooms one day. Being a student there was out of the question—I had struggled with subjects like physics, chemistry and mathematics in school. As for being a teacher there, what would I teach India’s budding scientists? IIT was another world and it did not intersect mine in any way. Further, as I was born and bred in Kolkata, my activities had tended to revolve around this city. When I came back to India after obtaining higher education in the West, it seemed natural that I settle into my known world. Yet, the unthinkable happened because I was looking for a challenging career and this meant I would need to look beyond my comfort zone. I had studied Humanities, and luckily for me, like all other IITs, IIT Kharagpur had a Humanities and Social Sciences department. Thus, one fine morning, I found myself walking along the corridors of IIT Kharagpur towards room, F-116, my heart beating gently at the prospect of addressing a class of undergraduate engineers. One glance at the audience and another first screamed at me—there were hardly any girls in the class. On the flip side, about forty five young men had gathered in a classroom to learn French as a foreign language and that challenged a stereotype many Indians have about scientific education—scientists do not study languages. 

While I was happy to have students from a wide range of science backgrounds in my class, there were many eager students whom I couldn’t accommodate, entry being determined by CGPA, a grade system about which my colleagues and students educated me by turn. I had learnt from colleagues that I was to give preference to students who took French as their ‘credit’, ‘depth’ or ‘breadth’ options; as a result, those opting for French as their ‘additional subject’ often did not find a place on my course no matter how keen they were to study the subject. Then there was a host of postgraduate students from the Humanities department, the Law department and M.Tech. students who wanted to be auditors, but whom I had to disappoint because of the practical difficulties of organizing a language class that exceeded sixty. Even though I eventually offered a postgraduate course in French for students across the institute, I felt a little sad because, according to institute guidelines, I could welcome only doctoral students. French was one of the most popular courses offered by the Humanities department; I still remember the utter disappointment written on the faces of the autumn 2008 semester undergraduate students when I broke the news of my impending departure to them. I also taught a beginner’s course inFrench to postgraduate students in Business Administration at the Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSOM). This experience was another first for me. I had never taught business major students before. There were about sixty five students in my class, a good number of them being women, most of them prominently seated on the front benches. The energy of the class was infectious. The students loved the course and made repeated requests that intermediate and advanced courses in French be introduced so that they could master the language.

IIT Kharagpur was, and still is a pioneer in many ways. Quite apart from being the first and the largest IIT in India, it is also singular in that it offers foreign languages such as German and French (the latter, as far as I know, is not being offered since my exit). Acquiring a foreign language has indisputable advantages—not only in terms of adapting to foreign cultures when one is overseas (during internships, while studying or working abroad), but even when one is at home (for example, negotiating and conducting business with partners abroad). Even though business interests world over are now looking at collaborations with the East, namely China and India, the emergence of transnational units like the European Union means that languages such as German and French will continue to retain their global importance. While globalization has shrunk the world into one big community, it has also foregrounded the advantages of acquiring local knowledge. Languages are gateways to local information, both scientific and cultural. India has had historical connections with the West and is lucky to have exposure to English, the dominant language of the West. However, it would be a little naive to equate the West with the United States and United Kingdom, traditional destinations for most engineering and pure science students. Scientific stalwarts such as Germany and France usually announce scholarships and research programmes which require a fair command of their native languages. Students who do not know a second foreign language can miss out on the wonderful learning opportunities that are offered outside the United States and United Kingdom. Carefully-chosen foreign language courses offered at the beginner’s, intermediate and advanced levels can go a long to way to enhance the communication skills and career opportunities of science graduates.

One thought that often crossed my mind when I taught at IIT Kharagpur was: why did the founding fathers of the IIT think of including a Humanities and Social Sciences department within a technological institute? Was it merely because they foresaw a day when scientists would need soft skills to survive in an increasingly competitive world? Or was it because they dreamt that Indian scientists would be world leaders one day, combining cutting-edge training in scientific methods with an emotionally intelligent awareness of their human environment? Though the Humanities department at IIT Kharagpur offers a wide range of courses in a range of disciplines, there is need, perhaps, to revamp some of the courses in the light of recent developments in gender and cultural studies as well as those in development studies, including ethics and economics? During my tenure at IIT Kharagpur, in addition to French, I also taught English language skills at various levels. It surprised me that a majority of undergraduate students did not feel studying literature was important. I feel somewhat alarmed at the idea of a purely utilitarian education. A scientist who has no notion about indigenous or world cultures or who has not tempered his/her scientific knowledge with insight into and empathy for his/her human environment is as handicapped as an arts student who does not know the use of computers or is not aware of the amazing ways in which science is transforming our lives. Despite their extraordinary scientific progress, one of the main ills plaguing developed societies are societal and cultural problems arising out of lack of significant exchanges between the scientific and humane spheres.

Teaching at IIT Kharagpur has been a hugely rewarding experience for me. The opportunities that the institute offers to a teacher are many—students who are a joy to teach, infrastructure such as a well-equipped language laboratory that is still rare in many higher education institutions in India, the privilege of being in an institute where academic standards are very high. On the negative side, there are problems one usually associates with large, centralized institutions, more specifically, a bureaucratic, and sometimes rigid and conservative attitude to innovation. However, no problem, no matter how complex, is irresolvable. Students, teachers and administrators can, with some effort, create a joint forum where they can periodically discuss ways of addressing these issues. Vouloir, c’est pouvoir! Where there is a will, there is a way!