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By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Street Circus

The NEET-UG paper leak was a genuine grievance. Millions of students who spent years preparing for one of India’s toughest examinations deserved answers, accountability and justice. But what unfolded at Jantar Mantar was no movement for educational reform. It was a spectacle of rage, abuse and performative rebellion that often appeared more interested in viral clips than viable solutions. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which claimed to represent the anger of students, ended up exposing...

Street Circus

The NEET-UG paper leak was a genuine grievance. Millions of students who spent years preparing for one of India’s toughest examinations deserved answers, accountability and justice. But what unfolded at Jantar Mantar was no movement for educational reform. It was a spectacle of rage, abuse and performative rebellion that often appeared more interested in viral clips than viable solutions. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which claimed to represent the anger of students, ended up exposing itself, revealing itself to promote a culture of outrage without responsibility and more troubling, have aspersions cast on its funding sources. Besides the fact that just how many of those gathered were afflicted NEET students, the ugliest part of the protest was the language. Videos from Jantar Mantar showed protesters hurling the most obscene and personal abuses at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One can dislike the PM or oppose his policies, reducing political disagreement to filthy personal abuse against an elected Prime Minister is gross cowardice and at the basic level, a sheer failure of basic civic etiquette. No entity cannot claim to be fighting for the dignity of students while abandoning all standards of dignity in public discourse. The irony was impossible to miss. A section of this self-proclaimed progressive generation speaks constantly about equality, feminism, tolerance and justice. Yet the very same voices displayed extraordinary intolerance towards anyone they decided was an enemy. Journalists were targeted, political opponents were dehumanised and anyone carrying a different opinion was casually branded with labels designed to silence rather than debate. Social media has created a dangerous illusion among many young activists that a viral video is a victory, and that shouting louder is the same as achieving something. A few Instagram reels, borrowed revolutionary imagery and slogans can create the appearance of rebellion. But governing a country and reforming institutions and fixing broken systems require far more than theatrical anger. The government, however, cannot escape responsibility either. The crisis was allowed to grow because of delayed communication and inadequate political management. A prompt response, transparent investigation and early intervention could have prevented a limited controversy from becoming a national embarrassment. Instead, the government was forced into damage control, and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a capable minister, became the political casualty. For the citizens, it was a colossal waste of time. After weeks of noise, confrontation and disruption, the students gained little. The examination system remains under scrutiny and larger problems remain unresolved. The only visible outcome is the removal of a minister. A protest that begins with a genuine grievance but ends as a contest of abuse and attention-seeking has not strengthened democracy. It has weakened the very standards it claims to defend.

High-flier who soared the skies, now among the stars

Legendary aviator, extreme sports lover, ex-Sheriff of Mumbai and industrialist, Dr. Vijaypat Kailashpat Singhania – former Chairman Emeritus of the Raymonds Group, passed away here late on Saturday.


He was 87 and is survived by his wife Ashadevi, sons Madhupati and Gautam, daughter Shephali Ruia and their respective spouses, and several grandchildren.


Taking the Raymond Group companies, especially the textiles businesses, to new heights and expanding to beyond clothing under his captaincy, Singhania lived life to the full in the skies pursuing his passion for flying. He set/shattered many records and was honoured with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan over the years.


On Sunday afternoon, Singhania’s funeral procession led by his sons and other kin, started from his home at Haveli on LD Ruparel Marg and wended its way to the Chandanwadi Crematorium where he was cremated with full state honours later.


Top business leaders and politicians including Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leaders, aviation enthusiasts and others paid rich tributes to Singhania.


Ease In Cockpit

At ease in cockpit or the chairman’s seat, the soft-spoken Singhania was truly ‘The Complete Man’ – the iconic branding of the apparels giant - when he helmed it for decades, besides wearing multiple hats including as a renowned business honcho photographer, professor and philanthropy, and Sheriff of Mumbai.


Born on October 4, 1938 into a wealthy Marwari business family running one of India’s oldest textile mills, Vijaypat Singhania inherited both, a growing enterprise and the legacy of nationalism with the likes of the Tatas, Birlas, Bajajs and many other business houses – but was a reluctant businessman.


After taking over the Raymond Group at Chairman in 1980 – after diversifying into areas like denim, synthetic, realty, engineering, cement, steel and more – Singhania continued rapid expansion of these ventures, modernizing the production and fortifying brand equity to tackle cut-throat competition in global markets, turning Raymonds, which was bought over by the family in 1944, into an enviable household name.


He stepped down as Chairman in 2000, handed over the baton to his son Gautam Singhania and even transferred his own full 37 pc stake in the group to him – a move which he later regretted, as per his own admission.


First Love

While skilfully handling the nitty-gritties of the corporate world, Singhania also tended to his first love of flying, idolizing American Howard Hughes, the legendary aerospace engineer, aviator, business tycoon, film producer, and Indian magnate, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, the Father of Indian Aviation, who launched the venerable Air India.


Briefly from 1987, he dabbled in the media by launching a daily, ‘The Indian Post’, but owing to multiple reasons, it was sold to a Gujarat-based publication group but later winded up in 1990.


In 1988, he completed a solo flight of 8,724-kms, in a microlight aircraft from London to New Delhi in 23 days, breaking the previous record of 34 days, and earned a permanent entry in Guinness World Records.


In May 1994, he flew with an American co-pilot Daniel Brown in a Cessna Conquest Aircraft in a "around-the-world-air race" to mark the golden jubilee of International Civil Aviation Organisation and bagged the gold medal. The winning aircraft was displayed for many years at the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai.


In 2005, he recounted the deadly thrills of his flying life in a book ‘An Angel in the Cockpit: The True Story of a Death Defying Flight Across 5000 miles of Land and Sea’ and later, ‘An Incomplete Life’, his autobiography.


Recognizing his contributions to aviation and high adrenaline sports, the Indian Air Force conferred the rank of Honorary Air Commodore on Singhania, then 67, plus he bagged many more international accolades and honours.


New Record

That year (Nov 2005), Singhania set a world record by ascending to 69,000 feet – or 21.03 kms, nearly three times the height of Mt. Everest - in a hot air balloon, which took off from Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse, wowing global aviation circles.


The giant balloon was as tall as a 22-storied building, had 18 burners and he travelled in a pressurised aluminium capsule below to protect him when temperatures plummeted to -93C at that staggering height, before descending from space after five hours, and landed in a Nashik village.


He was decorated with the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for Lifetime Achievement (2001), Padma Bhushan in (2006), and was appointed Sheriff of Mumbai in 2005.


In his later years, his one son became estranged while he was embroiled in several legal battles with the other son, yet he remained resilient, never compromising on the principles of his life and choosing freedom over dependency, till the end.

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