Entrance Thrown Wide Open

Posted by Dr. Gopal Unnikrishna Kurup

Entrance Thrown Widely Open.



The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday 18 July 2013 quashed the validity of the common entrance exam both for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses in government and private institutions. .In a majority judgment, Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Vikramajit Sen held that it was beyond the powers of the Medical Council of India(MCI) to make such an arrangement of common entrance test both for government and private institutions. In the dissenting judgment, however, Justice Anil R Dave dismissed the petitions by private medical and dental colleges challenging the MCI notification providing for common NEET for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses.

The medical education standoff started with MCI's decision in July last  to conduct the first-ever common entrance examination, the NEET, for admission to MBBS and post-graduate courses in medicine as well as dental courses.MCI proposed the institution of NEET with the ostensible purpose of preventing shortcomings and lacunae for corruption, capitation extortion in crores of rupees and and widespread bribery now prevalent in the medical admission field. The proposal was, however, opposed by the private medical and dental colleges and also states like Andhra Pradesh,and Tamil Nadu who  moved the apex court. The Supreme Court then had ordered all the cases filed in this respect in other courts to be transferred to is three-bench court presided by the Chief Justice.

In an interim order, the SC had directed the MCI and all private colleges to start their admission process, as per the old guidelines where the MCI, state governments and private colleges conduct their separate exams.

A large section of aspiring medicos did back NEET, arguing that NEET will make the admission process simpler and more transparent.  It was amusing to see that on the same day in the immediate wake of above Judgement, another verdict by another bench of the Supreme Court came annulling the entrance examination conducted by the Kerala Private Medical Management Association, on grounds of  lack of transparency and manipulation, unduly enabling candidates of management's choice. Earlier, the contrived entrance exam conducted by the management was cancelled by the Supervisory Committee headed by retired High Court Justice J.M James, finding that the exam was a farce.

The court underlined the finding that the management had gone to the extent of even secretly supplying the students who had duly paid up the money demanded by the management, with the question papers of the exam and  conducting covert private coaching classes on the answers. On  the contention of the appellant management that there are no complainants, the  court caustically commented:  " it was like looking for a black cat in a dark room".

It is a mute but eloquent commentary on the telescopic way our judiciary functions with disparate  cylinder visions of even burning issues.

 

The Godly Treasure

Posted by Gopal Unnikrishna

The Sree Padmanabha Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India, traditionally regarded as the family temple of the erstwhile royal family of the State of Travancore and administered by the royalty, at once emerged as the wealthiest temple in the world when its long-closed vaults ,barring one that couldn't be opened , were accessed and the contents enlisted in compliance of a directive by the Supreme Court of India. The directive of the court was in pursuance of a suit filed by a member of a priestly family associated with the temple, praying for state take over of the temple from the royalty in the wake of  his dissatisfaction with the temple administration. This gargantuan wealth consisting of precious stones, gold, silver and also ornaments , statues and other exquisite artifacts in high-pristine gold studded with gems, have aroused sheer ecstasy among devotees, It is speculated, perhaps not widely off the mark, that this temple treasure is worth 1.5 to 2 lakh crores of rupees and that if the antique value of most of it is taken in to account the value might rise to mind boggling astronomical figures. Unfortunately and expectedly such hitherto unheard of wealth has aroused envious angst and greed among certain other sections of people. This section mainly consisting of atheists and leftists would rather have this incomparable temple heritage be confiscated and amalgamated to the state exchequer so that they can lay their hands on it with the help of the wily politicians among them.

                                                                    

The royal family of Travancore ( Thiruvithammcode) is believed to be the successors of famed Cheraman Perumals who were headquartered at Kodungalloor ( the ancient Mahodayapura).. Chera kingdom under the Perumals got dismembered in early 12th century which led to the formation of many feudatories and to their ascendency as local rulers. The southern section known as Venad together with nearby Aynad was soon constituted as the early Travancore principality by the Venad kings whose family deity it was, Lord Vishnu in the form of Sree Padmanabhaswami.

The history of the temple can be traced back as far down to 9th century as evidenced by Vaishnavaite saint Nammalvar"s devotional songs called "Malainattu Thiruppatikal" which eulogize the Vishnu temples of Kerala wherein Sree Padmanabhaswami temple is praised as one of the most sacred Vishnu temples of Kerala. The devotion of the royal family to the temple was extraordinary, amounting to almost total surrender. Maharaja Anizham Thirunal Marthandavarma the maker of modern Travancore, extended the small principlity he inherited that consisted of only areas from Kanyakumari in the south to Attingal in the north in to what is now known as the Travacore area or the erstwhile princely state of that name, by conquering and annexing all the feudatories beyond Attingal and up to Alangad and to the very borders of old Cochin kingdom, finally defeating even the great Samuthiri of Kozhikode. At the end of all his conquests and the consolidation of all the territories in to a viable new greater princely state, the Maharaja performed 'Thrippadidanam",the ultimate act of devotion to his deity by surrendering the whole state at the feet of Lord Padmnabhaswami and vowed to rule the state only as a trustee and servant of the lord, and then on assuming the title of Sree Padmanabhadasa ( servant of the Lord).

                                                                            

Though the state was symbolically surrendered to the deity, the administration of the state and the temple was maintained scrupulously separate . Even in earlier days the temple affairs were managed by a group called "Ettarayogam" ( group of eight and half) consisting of eight Brahmin houses and the Maharaja, latter being the half unit or vote. The treasury of the temple and the exchequer of the state were never allowed to be mixed up or overlapped. Management and revenue records of the temple were known as "Mathilakam Records" and have been published over the time ,one volume having been published by the famed Malayalam poet ,the great Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer when he was the Dewan Peshkar of the state.

It is quite clear that the wealth now uncovered in the vaults of the temple represents the offerings of the devotees , among them other rajas and dignatories, over the ages, and the conquest booties gifted to the deity by successive maharajas all of which accumulated in to great wealth  rightly belonging to the temple. It is in fact  the personal property of Lord Padmanabhaswami who according to Indian laws is to be deemed as a juristic person with all the rights and privileges of an individual. The latest and the most famous case where the argument based on juristic nature and attribute of divinity or diety is the Ayodhya Ramajanmabhoomi verdict accepted and relied in the verdict by the three men bench of the Allahabad High Court wherein that was the only argument accepted by the court (See: http://jeeyu.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post.html). There is no way the state can claim it or come in to the picture except as provider of adequate security, considering the wealth  as matter of great pride to the state. No amount of gratitude and praise for the royal family of Travancore is adequate, who most faithfully and zealously guarded this wealth over the ages. Their flag while in power, red with a silver, dextrally-coiled, sacred conch shell can now truly be imagined to be flying and fluttering in the high winds of grandeur and they deserve a 21 gun salute as the British Empire used to honor them with.