The Man Who Brought A Difference: Prof. RP Singh

Prof. RP Singh, the Vice Chancellor of Lucknow University, has been working on polymer science and engineering - a very important part of material sciences. A product of Allahabad University and having a research career spanning over four decades, several of Prof. Singh's contributions are supposed to be internationally accepted. He has been published almost in all top journals of physics, polymer science, polymer composites, and is one of the most renowned professors in these fields. He is recipient of the Flory Award 2005, which is supposed to be the highest honour in the field of polymer science and engineering. The Award is given by World Forum on Advance Material on Research and American Chemical Society. Renowned magazine Nature published reports on two of his works, one on water treatment and industrial affluent and the other on application of polymers in agriculture. One of his students received the highest ICAR award known as Best Thesis in Agriculture Engineering Award, more popularly the Jawaharlal Nehru Award. Applications of polymers in areas ranging from agriculture to aeronautics and Physics of Ultrasonics in polymers too are his pet fields. All praise to Prof. Singh for the talent and expertise that he has brought to the Lucknow University. In an exclusive chat with this physicist turned administrator, we talked to Prof. Singh regarding the changes that he has brought to Lucknow University and those that are going to take place in the near future. Read his views, in first person.

When I came to Lucknow University, I had this realization that standards of research and teaching, both have gone down in all universities of North India. They are beset with Employee Union, Student Union, Teacher's Union and various other problems. Moreover, they were not getting adequate financial support from State and Central governments.
This also reflected in the participation of professors and scientists from these universities in national and international meets. I myself used to organize several national level meets and participated in various important events in related fields in India and abroad, but I had found that there was nearly no participation from universities of UP. I used to wonder what could be the reasons for it.
When I came here, I found this university beset with all sort of problems, be they from academic, financial and disciplinary areas. Since then I have tried to improve it and I have been quite successful.
I have encouraged research work considerably; now there are more than 55 projects which have been granted from UGC, CSR and others. Various departments have got Centre of Excellences including Botany and Zoology departments. Some of our Arts & Humanities departments are doing very well. Department of Social Work has commenced lot of people friendly projects on adult education, teaching the school children from slum areas, etc. Recently we have adopted 7 villages for total development, which was done on advice given to us by the Hon'ble President of India.
In academics, I have encouraged research, I have introduced semester systems in post graduate studies and overall I encouraged participation of faculty in national and international conferences. Apart from that, I organize many big scientific and humanities conferences in LU. I have also tried to enforce lot of discipline among students. I did not allow them to enter academic premises in cars and on motorcycles. Now all around the University campus, there are car parks, where they have to park their vehicles. There were number of tea-stalls, which have been taken outside the building. I am also trying to improve the libraries; we have got grant of as 2.2 crores for improvement of teaching laboratories and departmental libraries, which we are doing vehemently.
Classrooms, water drinking and toilets were in shambles. I have built quite a few toilets for ladies and gents. Now water coolers are available all over the campus. In the classrooms also I got them repainted. Black boards have been replaced, electricity has been provided and fans are working. What we are doing is that we are strengthening the infrastructure. Similarly, these things are being strengthened in the new campus also.
For several decades, new courses had not been introduced in those areas where students have more job opportunity. I have introduced 25 to 30 courses this year. Next year, we are going to introduce another 25 courses. Some of the important courses include those in Institute of Material Sciences, another on Environment and Ecology, Institute of Rural Development, Institute of Buddhist Studies, Institute of Journalism, Mass Communication and E-Communication & Film Technology. Next year, we are going to introduce Bio-Technology in Under-Graduate level as well. Microbiology too is to be started. Bio-informatic centre is also being opened. Computer Science department is being expanded. This year a Masters Couse in IT has been introduced. Hopefully, MCA too will be added to the BCA we are providing now. Agricultural Marketing and Agricultural Product Processing courses will also be started as part of Agri Business courses. In Arts, Graduation in Police Science, Rural Development, Diploma in Buddhist Studies, Philosophy, Logic have already started. All this has given boost to our education level here. By next year all good courses which are hallmark of a good university will be available here.

How Breach Occurs in VIP Security?

What they need is just one mole inside

Media is abuzz with news that the PM's security has just been breached. Only sometime back, tow women and a man were found loitering about in their car inside the PM's residence. In this article, Aziz Haider recounts his own experience when he was personally witness to breeches in VIP security time and again, during his stint with the Union Home Ministry.

The year was 1995! Narasimha Rao's minority government had completed 4 years and was readying itself for the oncoming polls in 1996. Rajeev Gandhi had become an assassin to LTTE attack only in the last Lok Sabha elections. Babri Masji had been demolished and country had seen large scale rioting and the Bombay blasts. Though the Al-Qaeda threat had not started by then, violence in Kashmir was at its peak. JKLF and Khalistan militants were frequent visitors to the Home Ministry offices at New Delhi's North Block to broker 'peace deals'. Ideally, the security should have been at peak but that was not to be.
My role in the North Block was to do varied jobs like media handling, speech writing, tour preparation and public handling for the Minister. Being part of the VIP entourage of the Union Home Minister, I still recount how our baggage was never checked, even at the airports across the country or while entering North Block, having offices of the Home Minister, Finance Minister, Home Secretary and top officials of CBI, IB and RAW. Of course, none could dare touch the Minister's baggage.
I am not pointing an accusing finger at anybody. But politicians being politicians, the country has seen some of the most dubious characters at the top jobs. The country's political situation today is such that any mafioso, with certain degree of planning and luck, can become an MP and aim forth for the highest chairs, including the Home Ministry. The integrity of all the staff too could never be ascertained as several of the political appointees belong to the Minister's constituency. Who would have dared to perform a security check on this staff, if the Minister willed that such and such person is to be appointed for his tenure.
There are countless incidents of breach in security that can be highlighted. First and foremost, the convoys move at such breakneck speed that if anybody accidentally comes in the path, he would either break his neck or the neck of the occupants in the car. On an occasion, we were traveling from Delhi to Bhuj in Gujarat. Entire route from the Airport to the Circuit House in Bhuj was manned by policemen on both sides. DG-CISF was personally leading the convoy in his car as the cavalcade of about 15 cars, including the lower ranked army officers accompanied us. All of a sudden a cyclist turned right and came right in front of our car, carrying some leading journalists besides me. The driver screeched the car to a halt but by then the man had been thrown off his cycle, breaking his leg.
At times the overenthusiastic political supporters, who always followed the cavalcade of the minister to the various programmes that he had to attend, banged their cars from behind when our car, with power brakes, had to stop suddenly.
While in North Block, I was personally witness to times when the doors were not manned at all by the security staff. Particularly the tunnel-shaped corridor opening towards Central Secretariat bus stop was frequently without guards as we walked to and fro without checks.
An incident that I recount here is ample proof how security is compromised time and again, even in the high corridors of power. Due to hectic work, we often had to work late in the office. After office hours, the guests were made to enter through slips sent by us. One such guest was supposed to arrive late in the evening. The guard made him call on my landline asking for permission to allow him entry. Unmindful that the phone had come on the landline instead of intercom, I told the guard to send him in and dispatched the peon with the slip. The peon kept looking for the guest but in vain. About half-an-hour later, the guest phoned me again, asking me that he was unable to find my room. When asked where he was, he said that he was calling from a room close to the PM's office. Then it transpired that the guest had actually telephoned from the South Block, which houses the Defence Ministry and the PM's office, and when I asked the guard to send him in, he allowed him to enter the South Block instead of North Block where I sat. My dear guest idled all through the corridors of South Block, with a briefcase in hand, without a proper check or valid entry pass.