Requested a correspondent to never refer to me as Prof. even jokingly
I had sent the contents of my recent post, A quick intro of Puttaparthi to non Sai devotee ex software industry colleague who is now based in USA, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/1955750351308199, over mail to a correspondent who is an elderly Indian academic.
He responded by thanking me for the mail and referring to me as Prof. Iyer! Now, even in the past I had requested him to NOT refer to me as Prof. as I am NOT an academic. But I think he was using the word in a nice way to express his appreciation for my post.
But my problem is that .... I think what I wrote him next expresses my views quite well. I wrote:
Sairam sir!
Thanks.
But please, please do not refer to me as Prof., even jokingly. I have a very, very poor opinion of Indian academia and certainly do not consider Prof. to be a compliment (I actually consider it to be an insult).
Please do not be offended, sir. I think while you are an Indian academic, you are a nice person. I am afraid I cannot say that of many Indian academics and academic administrators today. I think it is the ***rotten*** Indian academic system that is to blame for this state of affairs and one hopes that HRD minister Javadekar's efforts to reform Indian academic system will bear fruit so that academics, including professors, do not neglect their teaching duties, and do not indulge in promoting fake research, giving fake PhDs and producing graduates with paper degrees but without appropriate knowledge thereby severely handicapping these young graduates in their quest to get a good job and lead a full life.
--- end my response---
Ravi: I was concerned about the elderly Indian academic getting upset by my having shared my frank and truthful views. Fortunately, his subsequent short response indicated that he did not get upset.
I responded by thanking him for his understanding and his Sai blessings.
I decided to put up this post as a way of letting other readers know that I become very, very uncomfortable if somebody refers to me, even jokingly, as (Indian UGC/AICTE academic) Professor. I earnestly request readers to please not refer to me, even jokingly, as Professor. I am NOT an (Indian) academic. I am a retired international software consultant who is now a social media writer on spirituality and religion.
He responded by thanking me for the mail and referring to me as Prof. Iyer! Now, even in the past I had requested him to NOT refer to me as Prof. as I am NOT an academic. But I think he was using the word in a nice way to express his appreciation for my post.
But my problem is that .... I think what I wrote him next expresses my views quite well. I wrote:
Sairam sir!
Thanks.
But please, please do not refer to me as Prof., even jokingly. I have a very, very poor opinion of Indian academia and certainly do not consider Prof. to be a compliment (I actually consider it to be an insult).
Please do not be offended, sir. I think while you are an Indian academic, you are a nice person. I am afraid I cannot say that of many Indian academics and academic administrators today. I think it is the ***rotten*** Indian academic system that is to blame for this state of affairs and one hopes that HRD minister Javadekar's efforts to reform Indian academic system will bear fruit so that academics, including professors, do not neglect their teaching duties, and do not indulge in promoting fake research, giving fake PhDs and producing graduates with paper degrees but without appropriate knowledge thereby severely handicapping these young graduates in their quest to get a good job and lead a full life.
--- end my response---
Ravi: I was concerned about the elderly Indian academic getting upset by my having shared my frank and truthful views. Fortunately, his subsequent short response indicated that he did not get upset.
I responded by thanking him for his understanding and his Sai blessings.
I decided to put up this post as a way of letting other readers know that I become very, very uncomfortable if somebody refers to me, even jokingly, as (Indian UGC/AICTE academic) Professor. I earnestly request readers to please not refer to me, even jokingly, as Professor. I am NOT an (Indian) academic. I am a retired international software consultant who is now a social media writer on spirituality and religion.
Comments
Post a Comment