In what is bound to put the elitist left-liberals of India in a very tight spot, the government has announced that 19 more institutions have been recommended for the ‘Institute of Eminence’ status by an expert panel. However, what is bound to put the left-liberal ecosystem in an awkward position is the fact that Krea University having former RBI Governor and the liberals’ favourite Raghuram Rajan as its advisor has also been recommended for the Institute of Eminence status in the Greenfield or yet to be set up a category just like the Jio University. Along with Krea University, Bharti Airtel group-backed Satya Bharti Foundation has also been recommended for the Institute of Eminence status in the Greenfield category.
It is important to mention here that when the Jio University by Reliance Foundation was granted Institute of Eminence (IoE) status in the Greenfield category, the entire left-liberal ecosystem went up in arms. It was argued how a University which was not yet established is accorded such a status. At that time, the ecosystem consisting of biased journalists, self-acclaimed intellectuals, left-leaning political outfits, and digital pamphleteers claimed that the Jio University was being accorded such status only because of the proximity between Prime Minister Modi and the Ambanis. These elements did not stop here and in order to launch a tirade and malign the government, they went on to spread the fake news that the Modi government is giving Rs. 1,000 crore to Ambani’s Jio institute.
The fake news about the government giving Rs. 1,000 crore to Jio Institute was spread despite the HRD minister having already made it clear that only public institutes would receive the grant of Rs. 1,000 crore and the private institutes like Jio would not get even a single rupee from the government. In response to the misinformation campaign that had been launched, the government made it clear that the IoE status was granted to the Jio Institute because it came under the Greenfield category. Greenfield projects are new projects that are yet to be set up. A proper process of application and consideration has to be followed before granting IoE status under the Greenfield category based on the following parameters: 1) Availability of land for construction of the institution. 2) Putting in place a core team with very high qualification and wide experience. 3) Making available the funds for setting up the institution 4) A strategic vision plan with clear annual milestones.
Despite the government clearing the air around the concocted controversy pertaining to the process of granting of IoE status, the left-liberals continued their relentless tirade against the Modi government. It is very much clear that wherever a choice has to be made between logic and criticising the Modi government, the ecosystem invariably tends to prefer the latter over the former.
However, now the left-liberals must be finding themselves in an absurd position. They were unforgiving in mocking the IoE tag granted to the Jio University. But now that Krea University has been granted the same status in the Greenfield category, the liberal brigade are set to face tough questions as one of the favourites of the ecosystem happens to be the advisor to this university. If the ecosystem remains silent, it once again will expose its double standards and hypocrisy. However, mocking this tag or criticising the government is bound to backfire badly as the ecosystem would be indirectly targeting the former RBI Governor. The left-liberal ecosystem routinely deserts logic and reason in its obsession to criticise the Modi government. In such circumstances, this fallout was inevitable.