Contemporary Academics in West Bengal: A Collection (Social Anthropology Of Academics)

Contemporary Academics in West Bengal: A Collection

This monograph is an edited collection of papers on the condition of academiocracy in West Bengal, India under the pseudo-communist regime of 34 years. The editor of this collection, in the prologue, from his subjective position of glocal subaltern research-activist (a) described the long colonial legacy of Scientific Imperialism by reiterating Galtung’s arguments; (b) criticized Model Theoretic Approach with the analogy of fashion models, who are suffering from anorexia nervosa or bulimia (c) in connection with that, he emphasized on the intellectual anorexia of the local academiocracy, the model followers in the ramp of academics; (d) pointed out the patron-client relationship among the then existing corporate-sponsored ruling party, academic mafias sponsored by the ruling party, so-called educated unemployed or party-cadres and the sponsored- ‘ scholars’; (e) depicted the embedded inferiority complex of the indigenous educators, who believed that the “West is best”; indigenous knowledge and mother tongue were (un)officially ignored due lack of self-confidence (f) the proliferation of technical intelligentsia/inorganic intellectuals that caused the endangerment of thinking person/philosopher with social engagement.
The collection consisted of excerpts from the writings of Isvarchandra Vidyasagar (on the homogenous molding within academic tribe under the Raj, which is still being observed as the governmentality leads to mediocrity –the top of the Gaussian bell is enhanced by marginalizing ‘other’!), Kalidas Bhattacharya (He also criticized Model Theoretic Approach and the hegemony of political parties in the realm of academics), Subhendu Dasgupta (who described the non-neutrality of institutionalized academics that carried the filthy politicalization), Sourin Bhattacharya (He explained the problem of institutionalized organized merchant-sponsored academics, problems of funded research, lack of knowledge in philosophy and history of science and Model Theoretic Approach), Tapan Roychoudhuri (He vehemently criticized the print capitalistic “publish or perish [and publish rubbish]” –policy of international academiocracy. ), Mihir Chakroborti ( He elaborated the role of imagination in case of Mathematics, which is disrupted by the power politics within the academic sphere), Partha Chatterji ( He pointed out the enhancement of mediocrity by the political society of West Bengal) and Ajit Choudhuri ( He found an apparent solution in many academic terrorist spaces that could be established as a symptom[in Lacanian sense of the term] against the existing local front politics).
In the epilogue, the collector of these excerpts, though he mentioned many collaborative and non-collaborative options, ultimately selected non-violent non-cooperation with the existing system of academics. Before that he discussed the lives of some thinking persons, viz., Socrates, Spinoza, Wittgenstein et al. so that one could learn the ‘art ‘of such resistance.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 21

Keywords: academiocracy, academic-mafia, academic-tribe, Scientific Imperialism, Model Theoretic Approach and Fashion Models, academic-ramp,patron-client relationship, technical intelligentsia/inorganic intellectuals, institutionalized organized merchant-sponsored academics, political society, academic