For Those of Us in Institutes of National Importance

These are the times of "fastest fingers first" and "sms voting". These are the times of Oscar Pistoriuses pitted against their technically trained counterparts. These are the times of social networking from living rooms and bedrooms. We are a fortuante generation. Fortunate, because we are "able-bodied" you see! And we, are firm believers in "merit" and "meritorious" people. We are a self-declared "meritocracy".

It is not surprising that the 21st century brings forth tidings of better education, better technology, better openings and deeper predicaments. And so, it is not a coincidence that the products of thic century are few of the favourite ones to whom this meritocracy belongs. We gorge on the tax-payer's money, and take pleasure on being part of institutions of "national importance" because we are the preferred ones in the Market. The government sponsors us, and the market endures us. We belong to nobody. Nobody belongs to us. We are "global citizens" on whose intellectual superiority the world thrives, transactions take place. It does not matter what we are taransacting (it may be people's lives, hopes, or the interests of an entire generation) as long as we know we are delivering profits to the selected few who will continue to feed us the "nuts" that is so much necessary to make hay when the sun shines.

The importance of institutes of national importance lives on, doubles, and trebles due to the transnational nature of its research and researchers. The research publications, the increasing grants, the declining student-teacher ratio, all adds up to a crowning glory. The forces of the market sing-song through the "wall" streets and "dalal" streets, corporate profits hang on to their "Laffer" curves while Lakshman's "common man" keeps wondering to himself about his falling health, falling ethos and falling morale.