Realpolitik in Student Democracy

According to a recent report, IITs account for graduating 12 out of 189 founders of billion-dollar startups across the world. They lag only behind Stanford, Harvard and (I suppose, the consortium of) the Universities of California to bag the fourth position in the list of institutions educating students who went on to create ‘unicorns’, as these startups are popularly called in entrepreneurial circles.

This article is not about that. This article is in all earnest, the ramblings of a graduating editor, in the throes of a final semester about to be completely spent in anguish over a college life arguably not well-lived. We could debate over what it means to have an education in one of the premier technology institutes in our country well-spent, but that would distract from all the other important points in the article.

So what is it about? Come March, elections are going to be hottest piece of gossip to be shared over a plate of Chotai at Aseem’s (or a different delicacy at a canteen of your choice, to clarify that this article is neither biased against political discussions by members of other halls, or even of the opposite gender). With all the fervent discussions of proposals, pacts and PORs that shall accompany the forcibly commercialised celebration of Hall Days in the coming month, it is hard not to ask: why are the Gymkhana elections so important?

It’s tough to argue that they are, but understandably, close to 5 years in any place will make you a skeptic. Election proposals have been proven to be farcical attempts at rehashes of unfulfilled promises made in the past. Candidates are propped up by major halls, based not only on what “position” the hall secured in the elections last year, but also the kind of alliances one could possibly make in the current cycle. Candidates are very likely to be some of the most industrious members of a major Fest, Core Team selection procedures of which are skewed heavily in favour of people with inherently good marketing (read social, if you’re an easily offended extrovert) skills. That the student government is led by someone who was primarily considered for the position because of how many sponsors he could get for his or her fest is a real concern, but I’ll admit that there are arguments that could be made for such a hiring practice. However, the clear lack of fundamental ideological differences between the chosen candidates takes all power away from the electorate and rests it in the hands of those Hall Presidents and Student Senate Members whose priorities toward the institute are dictated not by the well-being of the student body, but by an imagined sense of belonging to the hall they were allotted randomly at the start of their second year. Not many people bother to ask what their hall could possibly gain from having a boarder of their hall sit in the Students’ Senate. Yet, contempt for the boarders of an opposing hall soon becomes distinguishable in the conversations of indoctrinated second and third years and as predicted by the laws of statistics, sometimes results in violent conflict. Even so, it is not when we react viscerally to jeers and taunts after a loss that we are on our worst display, but it is in what has become customary practice to avoid such losses. You would expect that the smartest brains of the country with the resources and the time would judge candidates by the merits of their proposals (if any) and then make an informed decision in the election booth. History has shown, however, that all involved parties are unafraid to violate the accepted rules of the agreement and engage in foul play by multiple voting, chit-passing or whatever unconstitutional voting practice is trending at the moment. Hypocrisy reigns when those very students bemoan corruption in government bureaucracy.

So are the elections important? Yes, but to whom? That is the question. There is little doubt that students who climb the Gymkhana POR ladder end up doing well in internships and placements. That line in a student’s CV marks his/her ascension to the higher leagues wherein, the actual power you wield matters much lesser than the perception of the immense responsibility you handle. However, does the larger student body benefit or suffer from the consequences of an election? I’d venture not. Vice Presidents spend most of their waking time with fellow Placement Committee members, G. Secs of Sports and Games are busy preparing for the Inter IIT, Soc and Cult for Spring Fest, and Tech for KTJ. The only times that they are otherwise visible to the campus is during the General Championships, probably (as some claim) to repay some of the debt to their hall that has been incurred over the campaign. There is little reason to believe, then, that the respect that is afforded to the bearers of these posts is well-placed and fully deserved.

How does my criticism of the systemic belief in our elections tie in with the startup news? It could be fairly argued that I desperately wanted my readers to know how well-informed I am. Despite it seeming like my writer’s sense of self-worth depended on creating and sustaining the illusion of an armchair critic neck-deep in a pool of falsely-assumed intellectual superiority, it could also be argued (albeit more eloquently) that I wanted to discuss how callous disregard for the hallowed institution of a student democracy encourages the absence of a moral compass, and is perilous for incoming batches of future leaders and innovators. Our perverse system of student politics morphs being a participant or even a passive spectator into essentially being a survivalist, presenting us with the great reward of a lifetime passed celebrating our indifference. It’s fairly easy too, if you don’t ever take a step back to review the costs of these indulgences. There’s ample reason to believe then, that infecting the minds of naive freshmen with ignorance and apathy, who should otherwise be inspired to become tomorrow’s unicorn founders, is too high a price to pay for someone else’s placement in a top-tier company on December 1.

P.S. The writer also sincerely believes that Voldemort was the world’s first unicorn founder.