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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Credibility Crisis

For years, Faizal Khan, known across the country by his affectionate moniker of ‘Khan Sir,’ has cultivated the image of an educator fighting a noble battle against an exploitative coaching industry. To millions of students, he is not merely a teacher but a folk hero, someone who is an outsider challenging entrenched interests while offering affordable education to the masses. But the recent episode surrounding the attack on Khan Global Studies in Patna raise uncomfortable questions and casts...

Credibility Crisis

For years, Faizal Khan, known across the country by his affectionate moniker of ‘Khan Sir,’ has cultivated the image of an educator fighting a noble battle against an exploitative coaching industry. To millions of students, he is not merely a teacher but a folk hero, someone who is an outsider challenging entrenched interests while offering affordable education to the masses. But the recent episode surrounding the attack on Khan Global Studies in Patna raise uncomfortable questions and casts a shadow on the educator’s reputation. According to reports, a group of men allegedly vandalised the coaching institute, pelted stones and assaulted a security guard. But the controversy did not end there. Soon after the incident, Khan claimed that seven to ten rounds of firing had taken place outside his institute. The allegation dramatically escalated the seriousness of the episode. His claim generated headlines, social media outrage and a wave of sympathy. Yet police investigations reportedly found no evidence of firing by the attackers. CCTV footage and local inquiries also failed to substantiate the claim. Then came a more troubling development. A video surfaced allegedly showing two security guards associated with Khan Global Studies had fired shots into the air. The guards have since been arrested. While the investigation is still underway, the sequence of events is, at the very least, fishy. If police are ultimately correct that there was no firing by the attackers, then how did such a dramatic narrative emerge? Why were claims of multiple rounds being fired presented with such certainty? Why did the alleged gunfire become the centrepiece of public messaging immediately after the attack? Khan’s rivals have claiming that it was the educator himself who orchestrated the attack to gain sympathy as his fortunes were flagging. While the truth of these allegations have yet to be proved, it is worth noting that the modern coaching industry is not merely an educational enterprise but also a business of branding whose teachers are celebrities. Coaching centres compete for market share, social media attention and student enrolments. Success stories turn into marketing campaigns. And victimhood can sometimes become a marketing campaign too. Indeed, the most striking feature of the episode is not the vandalism itself but the rush to construct a story of persecution before the facts were known. The suggestion that shadowy rivals sought to silence a successful educator fit neatly into an existing public image. It generated precisely the sort of public sympathy that influential personalities often enjoy. Students deserve better. They look to educators not merely for knowledge but for intellectual honesty. A teacher’s first duty is respect for facts. The Patna incident should therefore serve as a reminder that celebrity status cannot become a substitute for credibility. The damage will extend beyond one coaching institute or Khan’s reputation. It will damage trust itself. And for a teacher, there is no greater loss.

Navy doc treat injured Pakistani crew

Mumbai: In a humanitarian gesture, the Indian Navy (IN) rendered lifesaving medical assistance to save the life of a Pakistani crewman on an Iranian fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea, officials said.


The operation took place on Friday/Saturday around 350 nautical miles in the high seas off Oman coast, with the help of the stealth frigate INS Trikand.


On April 4, the INS Trikand monitored a distress call from the Omani vessel 'Al Omeedi' seeking help for a crew member, who was seriously injured with multiple fractures and blood loss.


Further enquiry revealed that the distressed crewman was working on the vessel's engine when he sustained the grievous injuries and was transferred to another Iran-bound dhow, 'FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia', in the vicinity.

On getting the SOS, INS Trikand immediately altered her course to rush medical assistance to the injured crew.


The 'FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia' has a contingent of 11 Pakistanis and 5 Iranians manning the vessel.


The Indian warship's medical officer along with a team of Marine Commandos boarded the FV.


Ob board, the MO started the three hour long medical procedures, controlling the blood flow, suturing and splinting of the crew's injured fingers.

It was a timely response which prevented the patient's total loss of the injured fingers due to gangrene.


The IN stealth warship also provided crucial medical supplies, antibiotics to the FV to ensure the injured crew's wellbeing till the dhow reaches Iran.


The entire crew of the dhow expressed their gratitude to the IN for rendering assistance on time that helped saving their injured mate's life, said the IN officials.

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