The problem of size

No one understands the problem of space better than an Indian, that too living in Mumbai. In a country where 75% of it's population live below $2 per day, lack of space is just a small issue. Somehow people manage to survive in this land of great opportinities (for plundering) and thrive defying all the odds against them. Like the people of this country, the Government institutions also manage to operate despite rife inefficiencies and blatant complacency. These institutions use the fancy concepts of "critical mass" and "too big too fail" in their favour. Take for an example, India's national airline Air India which works "smoothly", floating over it's shit of debt worth 15,000 crore. The organization is one big sham but the Government is reluctant to tackle the issue and come up with a pragmatic solution which will not only help the employees of the tattered company but also stop throwing taxpayer's money down the drain.

Fortunately enough, I happen to be a part of another Government institution but which is also frivolous in it's existence and equally rash in it's mode of operation. I'm currently a graduate student at an education institute which works under the purview of Department of Atomic Energy. The institute boasts of a staggering 3:1 ratio of administrative/support staff to academic staff. This doesn't generalize to all the academic institutes of India as Indian Institute of Technology have less tthan 2:1 ratio of admin/support to academic staff. Another mind-boggling statistic which catches attention is the faculty to student ratio of 3:1 which is unheard of at any place which boasts of indulgence in "cutting-edge research". I have written before, in another post, that good students are equally necessary for an institution to be recognized just like good faculty. But with this unsustainable ratio of student to faculty, the institute should never dream to be considered among the premier in the field.

The institute's neglect of students is to such an appalling extent that there is not even sufficient hostel accommodation to keep so very few students they select each year. Amidst the many faculty residence buildings stands a puny student hostel building which is crammed with underpriveleged souls who can always be seen crying out for help...ok not literally. But the fact remains that in the face of unabated hiring of new faculty, there has been no realistic solution to the student housing or the lack of it. The Indian habit of turning fine organizations into flabby, complacent and inefficient shitholes is something Homi Bhabha will never be proud of.