This is the mindset of the elite. When we were at IISc, we were to go on 'educational tours'. We were offended that it was not happening, and went to 'claim our rights'. The whole class went to the Director's bunglow, then Dr. CNR Rao. We celebrated that we had got it sanctioned.
On public money - IISc was totally subsidized those days - we went and hoidayed for a week in Goa. A public-funded holiday (the 'education tour' was a eyewash) ... paid for by the poorest in the country also.
This is the mindless, and unforgivable behavior, that was done. And what morality, and sense of social accountability, can come out of all this ... beyond a sense of being the 'cream', as we were told. As expected, most are abroad today ... far away from the land that nurtured them.
In later years, my respect for the IITs and IISc dropped, as I saw clearly all the superficialities I had also been part of, ... and I see far greater sensitivity in less 'creamy' settings. I see the greatest sensitivity in my village - poor, landless and rooted in an ethic they call dharamam.
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