Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Decline in system

The death of Professor H.S. Sabharwal after being assaulted by his own students in Ujjain reveals more than what it conceals about the education system and the decline in values. While student unions have become political platforms, the culture of violence, well taught by our political class, has permeated the college campuses.

N. Divakar,
Mysore

Student unions are the breeding ground for politicians. The death of the professor has highlighted the desirability of divorcing the student unions from political parties. Let us hope good sense will prevail on politicians and parties will voluntarily do the needful.

C.V.K. Moorthy,
Bangalore

The incident has come as a shock to the entire nation. Student organisations' ties with political parties have led to the criminalisation of politics in campuses. It is better to ban elections and political organisations in colleges.

P.A. Chandra Sekhar,
Nellore, A.P.

It is disgraceful that our nation, known for its rich gurukul heritage, has witnessed a murderous attack on a teacher by students. Our politicians have encouraged purposeless politics in campuses as it helps to build cadres of ideology-bereft hysteric zombies. They have thus ensured that a group will always remain marginalised but provide the critical mass for political manoeuvring. It is pathetic.

T.V. Lakshminarayanan,
Bangalore

It is believed that anger and violence are self-defeating. Politicians exemplify this belief. Now students seem to be following suit. A student's aim should be to improve his knowledge and seek a good career. Universities are supposed to enlighten the dark areas of a student's mind, not mould him into an unscrupulous politician.

Roopa Polavaram,
Tirupathi, A.P.

Those who are calling for a ban on college elections in the wake of the deplorable Ujjain incident are being highly pessimistic. If anything, it reinforces the need to popularise and proliferate elections in more institutes of higher learning.

Shanky Kothari,
Indore, M.P.

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