Think. Think Independently.

(Note: As you read this article, please know that I have absolutely nothing against the Marathis as a people :)! Our family has spent four decades in Maharashtra, we have studied here, worked here, and have been made to feel very welcome throughout. But if you look at history, every community has been through phases that bring them pride as well as phases that they ought to shun themselves. This post brings forth an example of the latter.)

Have you heard of Raghoji Bhosle, the Maratha king who attacked Bengal six times in the period 1741 - 1751 and looted, plundered and killed Bengalis in a manner that defies all humanity: 400,000 Dead Bodies!

If anyone tries to tell you that this was simply a Marathas vs Mughals affair, pay attention to the following excerpts from this article: Forgotten Indian history: The brutal Maratha invasions of Bengal (scroll.in)

" ... most of the time, the Maratha cavalry would simply skirt the Khan’s slow-moving infantry, being interested only in looting."

"This time none escaped,
Brahmanas, and Vaisnavas, Sannyasis, and householders,
all had the same fate, and cows were massacred along with men."

"...even sack the house of one of the richest Indians at the time, the Marwari banker, Jagat Seth."

"...pillaging bands of Marathas attacking a predominantly "Hindu" West Bengal even as a "Muslim" Nawab struggles to push them out."

Think. Think independently. We are being fed rubbish history through every propaganda channel that you can conceive of. And the aim is only one: That we the common citizens stay divided and become a set of vote banks for politicians to milk every time an election comes. Some of us will get milked in the name of religion, some in the name of language, some caste, some gender. Meanwhile, the real deal, the progress of our country in things that really matter - Education, Healthcare, Employment, Law & Order - takes a back stage. That, in 2024 when the entire world is marching forward rapidly, is damage that will be almost impossible to fix beyond a certain point.

(Note: As you reflect on the post above, bear in mind that I have supported the present government every time they acted to cancel minority appeasement freebies (Haj Allowance, PM Iftar Parties, Triple Talaaq, Article 370 - Kashmir lost the moral right to ever demand anything in January 1990). But from 2019 to 2024 their speeches and IT Cell actively spread hatred against ordinary Muslim citizens. Not only can this not be allowed, it is fundamentally nonsensical. To understand this better, I invite you to read: Strike a Pause: Why Push Away Muslims? (strike-a-pause.blogspot.com))

PhD Programs In Indian Private Universities: I'm Concerned!

Questions for colleagues and students across Indian academia:

1. Is it healthier to assure incoming PhD students that they will get their PhDs in 3 years? Or is it better to be honest that PhD is usually a 4-5 years affair, but can be sometimes completed a bit early or a bit later depending on the problem undertaken and circumstances one encounters while pursuing one's doctoral research?

2. Is it healthy to use tools such as ChatGPT for thesis writing to save time? How else does one develop the assimilate-question-research-analyze-write-conclude skill set that thesis writing imparts?

3. Should PhD students use their time to grow intellectually, deepen their scholarship and solve challenging research problems or should they start chasing grants during their doctoral program itself?

The way I have seen some "private university leaders" in our country answer these questions in the recent past has me very very worried. Very very worried.

The Spread of Idiocy

Just read this article: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Quotes: Secularism fostering slave mentality in country (deccanherald.com)!

This is how idiocy spreads and the national IQ starts dropping! Not one word of common sense in the whole of it!

Who says devotion to God has ever been under-emphasized in this country? Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Muslims all have their own way of expressing their devotion and they have all freedom to do so! This is called "Freedom and Equality of Religion". And the government's mandate is to work for everyone's welfare without any discrimination based on religion. That's called "Secular Governance" - separation of church and state.

This guy (and his organization) is a multi multi billionaire. Better if he does something substantial to alleviate poverty instead of such mindless mumblings!

I've met him, I've taken his Art of Living Courses, I've participated in AOL activities for 11 years (1995 - 2006), and one of the most sensible things I've ever done with my life is to walk away from them about 18 years ago. Everything has been better since then, including my understanding and appreciation of the spiritual path.

Do as many pranayaams as you want, as many breathing exercises as you wish, but if your heart isn't open to serving the needy, this is how much "spiritual progress" you're going to make: Diddley Squat. Zero. Zilch. Shoonya. Zip.

Emperor Akbar's Pilgrimage To Vaishno Devi

To this day, there is a Bhajan (worship song) sung by many Punjabis that contains the following couplet:

Naange naange pair Akbar Aayo (Akbar came barefoot)

Mata ko sone ki chhatri Chadhaayo (And offered a golden umbrella to the Mother)

The reference is to Emperor Akbar who undertook the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishnodevi's shrine barefoot and offered a golden umbrella.

Remember that Akbar was a Mughal Emperor. He walked barefoot to a Hindu shrine and made an offering. Internalize this.

Now, read Pre-Mughal history and clearly understand the following: Even Hindu kings were busy fighting with each other and invading kingdoms. This land has seen the Gupta Dynasty, the Maurya Dynasty - how do dynasties form but with large scale wars and invasions? There were also religious angles to Hindu kings fighting with each other: Shaivite kings (worshippers of Shiva) often went to war with Vaishnavite kings (worshippers of Vishnu) - and yes, the deity in the temple of the vanquished was replaced with the deity of the victor. How is this any different from Muslim kings coming to fight with Hindu kings? It's exactly the same thing!

The plain truth is this: Earth has seen a lust for power and conquest for thousands of years - and it has never given anyone anything. The intelligent way forward is for all of this to simply stop and people live together peacefully with each in a spirit of equality and freedom of religion. That is the only intelligent way forward.

Stay alert! Very alert! Do not let politicians create nuisance and trouble between different religious faiths! No politician ever suffered for a day in religious violence - it's always the common man, you and me, who suffers. Always.

Insist on politicians talking about Education, Healthcare, Job Creation, Law & Order, National Defense and Foreign Policy. Make them commit to well thought out plans to make progress in these sectors. Else, don't give them your vote. That's it.

(Note: As you reflect on the post above, bear in mind that I have supported the present government every time they acted to cancel minority appeasement freebies (Haj Allowance, PM Iftar Parties, Triple Talaaq, Article 370 - Kashmir lost the moral right to ever demand anything in January 1990). But from 2019 to 2024 their speeches and IT Cell actively spread hatred against ordinary Muslim citizens. Not only can this not be allowed, it is fundamentally nonsensical. To understand this better, I invite you to read: Strike a Pause: Why Push Away Muslims? (strike-a-pause.blogspot.com))

10,000 Steps!

There are some medical situations in which walking for a certain amount of time every day is recommended by the doctor. For example: Hypertension. And sometimes age and/or physical conditions make walking the only pragmatic form of exercise one can engage in.

Then there is the "odds and ends" walking one ought to do through the day as one goes about daily tasks and chores in one's office, neighborhood, market. Far better to just walk short distances that takes 5-10 minutes than using a vehicle for every thing!

Then there is the walking one does for the sheer pleasure of it! In beautiful gardens, parks, by silent and gurgling streams. Bliss!

Then there are the "problem solving" walks - hold a problem in your mind that you've been trying to solve and just go for a walk as you think through it. Or sometimes there's an audio lecture I need to listen to and I'll do this as I'm walking (somewhere where it's safe to do so - not on roads!).

But then there's a kind of walking I just don't understand: I see people who are perfectly capable of putting on their running shoes and going for a jog, or playing a sport like badminton, football, kho kho, basketball, table tennis, that gives the body a good workout, make one sweat, stretch - but instead of doing this, being alive, enthusiastic, sporty, having fun - they'll tell you: Oh now it's my time to exercise so now I'll go walk so many rounds of a ground. And then they'll often even wear an expensive watch that counts how many steps they walk - and start going round and round around a ground like a robot! I don't get it! Why would you be so uncreative?

PS: The 10,000 steps of walking per day advice is to encourage you to take Paragraph 2 above seriously - not to make a "circular walking robot" out of you! I'm sure someone jogging or playing a sport is deriving as much benefit from it, if not more, as someone walking round and round around!

Is Infinite Forgiveness Really A Good Thing?

All of us have our little quirks, eccentricities and minor irritabilities, and if we know that the person is well meaning, well intentioned, all of us accommodate, all of us grin these off in the larger interest of friendships, relationships, professional associations.

At the same time, I tend to disagree with the notion of "infinite forgiveness" as being a positive trait to develop. Forgiveness is good, and important, but only to a reasonable extent. Here's my personal balance point on this:

If someone says/does something to hurt/offend me, and subsequently offers a sincere, heartfelt apology, I forgive easily - the first time 🙂. There are times I've made mistakes in my life and I understand that there is merit to realizing one's mistakes, apologizing for the same, and making an effort to correct oneself. If I see all this, forgiveness comes easily to me.

As I said: The first time 🙂. IF the other person has realized his/her mistake, apologizes for it, and makes efforts to correct himself/herself 🙂.

But if this person again says/does something to hurt/offend me, all forgiveness ends. It simply ends.

To forgive or not is a choice we are free to make, there is no moral obligation towards any external authority that we need to feel burdened with. And once I am clear that I'm choosing to not forgive, the very next step I take is to safeguard myself. I excuse myself from this person's company and create a distance. If I have been offended at my workplace, I'll keep my professional decorum but will no longer interact with this person unless absolutely necessary. If it's a friend who has offended, I make other friends - this time choosing more wisely 🙂, and spend time with them. I will distance myself from this person immediately. If it's a woman I'm in a relationship with, I will immediately break up and walk away.

It is important to realise that "not forgiving" does not mean to "continue in a state of anger or hatred" or to "do something foolish in revenge and get oneself into trouble". No. To choose to not forgive simply means to remove the burden of "being infinitely forgiving" from one's shoulders, step away from whoever has hurt us, ensure that our mind is at peace, and continue to live a happy fulfilling life.

When to forgive, when not, to what extent, these are our choices to make. Just like every other choice in life that's ours to make 🙂.

Stay sensible, stay happy 🙂!

Flexi Hours: The Right Culture In Academia & Research

If you're interested in understanding how academic/scientific/professorial minds work and how to actually get the best out of them, this is probably an important post to mull over:

Ask yourself: When you go to see a musician in concert, say Ustad Zakir Hussain or Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia or your favorite rock, blues or jazz band, all you are focused on and concerned about is the excellence on display on stage for the 2-3 hours you are there. That's it. You are not in the least interested in questions like: "Well, do the artists sit in office for eight hours every day at a stretch from 9-5? Is someone marking their attendance?". Why? Because you are well aware that for the artists to arrive at the level of excellence they are displaying, they must have certainly put in hours and hours of practice! And they put in these hours of practice at times that work best for them - some early morning, some late night, some in the afternoon, some in the evenings. An artist's entire focus is on attaining perfection in his or her art and he or she knows the best time to practice through self knowledge and experience! There is no need to police them as long as they perform excellently when on stage! In fact, if we start making artists "come to office" from 9-5 every day, five days a week, and insist that they practice as per schedules we are setting in place, their art will immediately suffer - you can sense the truth of this statement because you can intuitively feel how ridiculous the scene being depicted is!

The thing is: All creative and intellectual pursuits work on the same principle. Scientists are at their best when they work on problems engaging their attention at times that work best for them, academics and professors are at their best when they engage in research or preparing for class at times that work the best for them, and as long as the lectures being delivered, papers being published, and books being written are of the highest quality, it doesn't matter at all whether these folks busy themselves early mornings, or late nights, or during afternoons, or during evenings, or whenever works for them!

Each and every university and laboratory that insists on a 9-5 schedule for academics, professors and scientists, is actually working in a direction that *reduces* quality. Creative and intellectual pursuits thrive on open minds that are left free to work independently. And if the result is excellence, then it is only in our best interests to create these conditions instead of insisting on clamming down unnecessarily.

This post will likely take some thinking, but what I'm saying is absolutely on the money :), I assure you of that!

We have to create an atmosphere wherein we select excellent people, place our trust in them, and then, by all means, expect excellence. Right now all our systems are based on mistrust and policing. This road does not lead to excellence.

The Saga Of Indians Dissing Fellow Indians

The first time I went to an embassy was in 1995 when I was flying out to the US for graduate school. From then, till Summer 2006 when I came back, I consistently had the following experience at American, British and Canadian embassies, as well as on the various international airlines I flew:

The Indian staff disses Indian visa applicants and travellers while sucking up to foreigners, while the American, Canadian and British staff is polite with everyone. Even the Indian embassy at Chicago, which ought to be a place to turn to for Indians there if needed, was rude and off-handish the one time I visited them for a routine passport renewal.

Never understood it! Why should Indians diss their own? I don't think any other nationality in the whole world does this to its own.

PS: To give three examples of the above:

1. An Indian staff member of British Airways at Mumbai once disallowed me from carrying my guitar onboard while allowing foreigners to carry theirs 🙂! I was 21 years old and flying out on a student visa - when I asked her why I couldn't carry my guitar with me, she said it posed a "security risk", in that I might use it to beat someone up 😅! And when I switched to a domestic US carrier in the US, not only was there no problem, the Americans were surprised at my guitar having to come as checked in luggage 😅! This is self inflicted racism 😅!

2. Several years later when I finished my PhD and was to travel to the USA on a different Visa (J-1), another Indian staff member as the US Visa Facilitation Service Center in Mumbai left me utterly bemused with her behavior! Here's what happened: I reach the VFS Center and hand my duly filled out J-1 Visa application form to the lady at the desk. She taps her forefinger on the desk and, gesturing with her hand as she spoke, asked me for my J-1. I, a bit taken aback, said I was there to apply for a J-1 Visa. Impatient, shaking her head, she goes: This is the application form...your J-1, your J-1... It then flashed in my mind that she was asking for the DS-2019 document that University of Michigan had sent me. I of course had it in my hand already and gave it to her. Goodness gracious! The lady didn't even know the name of the document! But she certainly spoke like she lived at the White House!

3. I once made the mistake of flying Air India (then run by the government and by far the worst airline to fly with). As we were getting ready to land the cabin crew handed out immigration cards to everyone, one that was to be filled per person and would get attached to the individual's passport (I-94) and one that was to be filled per family (Customs Declaration). There was a family in the row right ahead of me that was going to the US for the first time. A bit confused after the announcement, the man simply asked an air hostess to tell him once again which color form was to be filled per person and which per family. Just an innocent question! And the air hostess snaps: "Weren't you paying attention to the announcement? The white one per person and the green one per family!" Then she speaks to the atmosphere so that the insult is driven home: "Oh! These so called smart IT people! Can't even understand basic instructions!" To this date I feel anger at that lady! I have never, never ever ever, experienced this level of discourtesy on any other international airline in all my flights outside the country!

A Truthful Life And Innocent Lies

Say a bunch of goons are chasing an innocent person down the street and you save him by hiding him in your house. And say the goons knock on your door and ask if you've seen someone running down the road. What are you going to do? Obviously: lie!

This is an extreme example of a situation when lying is acceptable. Even in softer circumstances, it can happen once in a while that you sense that an innocent lie will result in good for the world. In such situations, speaking that innocent lie is obviously the right thing to do!

When you hear saints exhorting you to live a truthful life, the above exceptions are obvious! The saints know that! They are not stupid 🙂! Neither are you 🙂!

But this is very different from all the lying all around us today! Students cheat in exams, people lie in their interviews, men and women lie to each other to get married, husbands and wives lie to each other in marriage (if a marriage is not working out, it's better to be truthful and end it than stay in it dishonestly), neighbors lie to each other to project themselves in ways that impress, businessmen lie to earn more money, politicians lie to get votes, religious preachers lie to increase their followers, public officers engage in corruption, many lie to get promoted faster!

Why? Why do all this? Dishonesty may seem to bring you some short term rewards, but it wrecks your conscience, it completely takes away your peace of mind! And nothing, absolutely nothing in this world, is even remotely comparable to a clean conscience and a peaceful mind!

Bear one thing in mind firmly: The people who really matter in your life, who really care about you, do not care a hoot about how wealthy you are, or what position you hold, or how many marks you score, or which colleges and universities you attend! They simply want to see you living a truthful life in which you work hard, do your best, and let the chips fall where they may! These are also the people who will stand by you when you go through your lows (which you will, which everyone does)!

Take it from me, live a decent, truthful life, and your external circumstances aside, you will know what it is to have self respect, a clear conscience, and an authentic smile that charms like nothing else! You will work hard through the day, give life your very best, and come night, you will sleep like a baby! These are the true rewards of life, and these simply cannot be yours if you are dishonest!

(And yes 🙂, it is possible to change, that choice is in front of everyone right now, and the right time to change for the better is also right now 🙂 - and this switch is not made slowly and steadily, not in percentages per day, it has to be immediate, just like switching on the lights 🙂!)

"Net Worth"

A Mother kills her four year old son:

Link to news report: Who is Suchana Seth, Bengaluru CEO who killed her 4-year-old son - Chilling details we know so far | Goa News - Times of India (ampproject.org)

Till just some 20-30 years ago there was a pride associated with being a good parent, a good sibling, a good friend. Human relations took precedence over "monetary worth", "position", "power", "career growth", vagairah vagairah...

What a rapid descent our country is seeing in the values we live by! Ugh!

Obesity Is Stupid!

This post is triggered by a conversation I had earlier today with an old friend that I believe is worth writing about for a wider audience. It might be a bit hurtful for some, but I think sometimes it's actually better to be honest and blunt rather than soft since it can spur people to correct action, to taking steps that are better for them. In that spirit, here goes:

There are some medical situations (eg. thyroid imbalance) which can lead to a weight gain that's difficult to control . But such situations aside:

If you are obese, you are being stupid. Not only is it a medical hazard (I explain below although you probably already know), it's unattractive. If you're obese, your boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife is probably not going to feel attracted to you - and it's not his or her fault. This responsibility of staying fit and attractive is all on you, and there's absolutely no merit in putting your partner on a guilt trip about it 😅! If your partner starts looking elsewhere for a relationship, it's on you, not on them 😅!

Now for the medical hazards of obesity that you already know about: Your heart is overloaded and you are at a higher risk of a heart attack, your back and knees are overloaded and will give you problems even in your 40s, you are at a higher risk of diabetes and hypertension, which in turn increases the risk of stroke.

Be wise 🙂! If you're overweight, join a gym, consult a good dietician, and start losing weight 🙂!

[Note: I also invite you to read: Strike a Pause: Fitness: Just The First Step! (strike-a-pause.blogspot.com)]

No One Higher Than A Teacher

No matter what role you are playing in society, someone, somewhere, taught you, guided you. You have to acknowledge this.

There is no one higher than a teacher in society. No politician, no bureaucrat, no officer, no manager, no scientist, no businessman, no one.

For Knowledge sustains everything and those capable of transmitting Knowledge sustain everyone.

The minute a society forgets this and starts undervaluing its teachers, degradation sets in - in skill as well as values. It will always be so.

We need the very best in every field - science, medicine, law, liberal arts, warfare - to also come forward and serve as teachers and professors (either part time alongside their primary practice or as full time academics). If our schools, colleges and universities thrive as centers of learning, as fields where students grow and mature to become knowledgeable, skilled and deeply humane, every other aspect of our national and global life will thrive as a natural consequence.

(Needless to say, we are only talking about committed and competent teachers and professors But that doesn't change the point being made.)

Note 1: Teaching includes research guidance! Even scientists and researchers have to acknowledge that someone guided them into developing their research acumen at some point in time.

Note 2: At least in this part of the world, the profession of teaching, all the way from teaching children to mature adults (teachers were called acharyas, rishis and gurus), always included a component of contemplation and inquiry. We call this component research in the present times. So at least as far as I am, and this post is, concerned, teaching means teaching + research - all the way from primary schools to universities. If teachers and professors spend some time every day in contemplation and inquiry, students pick up the spirit naturally. And it is important - for everyone - to pick up this spirit.

Banning Coaching In A Competitive World?

I invite you to read this article: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/no-intake-of-students-below-16-years-govt-guidelines-coaching-centres-9116076/

Sound intention, but incorrect approach to solving the problem.

As long as there is competition, there will be coaching. This holds true as much in education as in sports. You are banning one mode of coaching, other modes will arise to take its place.

What needs to be broken is this: Presently many many schools let their students bunk school for years at stretch so that they can be present full time at coaching centers. This needs to be, and can be, firmly stopped. Among other things, it takes away years of laboratory work - a critical component of science education. Laboratory marks are "adjusted", which is nothing but blatant cheating, corruption. And when students who have missed laboratory work for years at stretch come to IITs, NITs, IIITs, etc., what we have is students who are severely compromised on scientific intuition as well as the ability to analyze and explain observations independently.

Be firm with schools, insist on a certain attendance percentage in classes and labs to take Grade 10 and Grade 12 exams, and use monitoring committees to ensure that this is implemented honestly.

If this is done (and it can be) you would have solved more than one problem without banning anything.

Setting Mature Exams!

I'm going to keep this post short and come straight to the point:

There are two ways of setting exam papers:

1) Give questions/problems of different levels of difficulty (easy, medium, difficult) and differentiate between students obtaining different grades accordingly.

2) Give difficult problems only, look at how far students are able to progress in solving them, use step marking to assign a score, and differentiate between students obtaining different grades accordingly.

The second method is more sound because it prepares you for the real world - where everyone gets to face exactly the same challenges, everyone is required to solve difficult problems, and what's important is how far you are able to progress on those difficult problems. Absolutely no one comes to help you pass with easy problems 😊!

Students and teachers/professors both need to have the maturity to stick to difficult exams. Honest feedback on where one stands at any given time is the best strategy to prepare for success in the real world. It's far better to get low grades, even fail once in a while, in college and use the feedback to work harder, than get fluffy grades in college through easy exams and/or grade inflation and then struggle in the real world because you weren't prepared for the difficult stuff.

Humility

Humility, when practiced after having achieved something, or after having done something substantial for society (which is an achievement too!), is meaningful, beautiful.

But short of that, where's the choice to be anything but humble anyway?

Where's the merit in pretentiously showcasing humility as a virtue you possess if you aren't working hard at either accomplishing a personal objective or doing something for society (or, even better, both!)?

Are you getting what I'm saying?

PS: No, Just being monetarily rich does not qualify as achieving something 😅! That even the Mukesh Ambanis, Gautam Adanis and Lalit Modis of the world can do 😅. Monetary richness is impressive only if you also work on your intelligence and become someone like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. Otherwise not 😊.

The IITs and IITians

Note: The video posted below celebrates Grade 12 students who clear the IIT JEE in India. This celebration does not in any way imply a lack of potential in those students who do not clear this exam - or clear the exam but still choose to join some other college for a branch they like more than the one they are getting at an IIT based on their JEE rank. If you are a student at some other college and achieve excellence in life in your chosen profession, that will be celebrated too when the time comes. You have all my encouragement and support in your desire to prove your mettle! But till that time, it is important that you acknowledge, without any jealousy, that those students who cleared the IIT JEE have proven themselves in one of the toughest exams in the world. Congratulating others for their success without feeling jealous or belittled is a sign of maturity. And this maturity, along with a resolve to keep working hard till you achieve your milestones, increases the probability of you succeeding manifold!

On that note, here goes:

There's much in this video to ponder upon! I agree that for brain drain to reduce, we need to create better opportunities at fair compensation here.

60 Minutes - IIT - World Imports Indian Engineers

PS 1 😅: The observation about education at IITs not being well rounded is not quite correct 😏! We do have Humanities and Social Sciences courses as part of the curriculum. And there's a tremendous amount of cultural and artistic activity (including music) through clubs. I myself learnt how to play the guitar during my undergraduate years at IIT Bombay.

PS 2: The IITs don't just graduate engineers. They also have programs in the sciences and graduate physicists, mathematicians, chemists and economists.

PS 3: There is no claim being made that being an engineer or scientist is "higher" than being, say, an artist or a musician 😏. It is for each of us to find our calling, what we're passionate about, and try to do the best we can in that field. The intent in this video is simply to showcase institutes that have achieved excellence in STEM education in our country, not to pass a judgment on anyone else.

Make Something Of Yourselves First!

Its funny what globalization and absorbing from other cultures has started meaning to us:

The norm in western academia is that one refers to professors as "Dr. So and So..." or "Prof. So and So..." all the way till one becomes a colleague oneself. This means at least till one completes his/her PhD, and sometimes even while going through one's post-doctoral research fellowship. The reason is simple: While you are still in training, it has to be acknowledged in the way you address those training you. It is only when one earns the title of "Dr." and becomes a faculty member oneself, formalities are dropped and people start addressing each other just with their names.

But just look at the funk Indian students are getting into 😅! Even undergraduates who aren't even ready to earn their own bread yet are starting to have the temerity to address their professors using their first names 😅!

Cut the crap 😅! Make something of yourselves first before considering yourselves to be equals 😅!

PS: Of course, in other matters, such as regularly coming to class, doing one's assignments and projects oneself, doing 20 hours per week of teaching/research assistantship before claiming one's stipend, putting in 40 hour weeks honestly before collecting one's paycheck, in all such matters (which really matter and which is why the west is ahead in absolutely everything by at least a few decades) - well, here we firmly decide to not globalize, not absorb from other cultures, and "stay Indian" 😊!