Honorary Doctorates - A Perspective

Honorary Doctorates - A Perspective

Mangalore Today News Network

By K.P.Vasudeva Rao

In the recent past it has become a fashion for many universities to award honorary doctorates (Ph.D., HONORIS CAUSA) at the drop of a hat. The Vice-Chancellors are mostly competing with one another in granting this title to politicians, film actors, builders, ministers and so on. 

There are three types of doctorates thus awarded: Honoris Causa, Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Science. In most cases, while choosing the awardees, there appears to be no criteria nor norms to decide their merit or suitability.

 

 

Earlier people with outstanding merit for their contribution in the field of human service, literature or art were given honorary doctorates. For example, Dr.Shivarama Karanth did not qualify for Graduation, Post-Graduation or M.Phil Degree. But his contribution in the field of Literature, as a Novelist, as a Promoter of Folk Art, environmentalist, is immense. He had also done yeoman service to humanity by bringing to light the deplorable things of human world in the guise of religion, blind beliefs etc.  Perhaps as the scholars pointed out it was right to say that in the exercise of granting honorary doctorate to late Shivarama Karanth, the University distinguished itself. Similarly, M. Govinda Pai’s contribution to all fields of human knowledge are immeasurable and was even given the title Rastrakavi. Mysore University wanted to confer on him the Doctrate of Literature and he refused to accept the same, for reasons best known to him.

Late N.A.Palkhiwala, the most famous lawyer who defended human rights against power hungry political establishment and upheld the honour of our country abroad, was awarded Doctor  Of Laws, by the Bangalore University followed by many other Universities including Harvard University at U.S.A.  In all humility he did not put that honorific “Dr.” preceding his name at any time. Nobody can match him, in scholarship, intense humanness as also his patriotic fervor.  

In last ten years many universities have awarded Honorary Doctorate degrees to film stars. An actor in the film, (though he is only a façade), his contribution to the art as such is negligible, compared to an author, Script Writer, Music Composer and finally the Director.  These people slog behind the screen to give a final shape to an idea or ideology that culminates into a film.  These people are long forgotten while the beautiful face of an actress or actor with handsome features, are remembered.  How far the University, which has to cater to, or recognize an intellectual development of a human being, is justified in awarding Ph.D., to a film actor, is a moot question.  This requires serious consideration or debate. Most of the times it is the Vice Chancellors to be blamed.

Next we come to award of Ph.D, as HONARIS CAUSA, to social workers. Late Baba Amte was given HONORIS CAUSA, for his service in the field of leprosy eradication.  Perhaps, nobody in the history of recent human memory has rendered dedicated service to the cause of leprosy eradication as Baba Amte has done. From providing shelter, cleaning the wounds, bathing them applying medicines and ultimately physically feeding the helpless leprosy patients, he has done so many things to so many of them, so many times without expecting anything in return. He was a Lawyer by Profession. It is difficult to imagine another individual similar to him. He is more versatile than many of our Matadhipathis and Priests who live in splendor.

Some of the Matadhipathis and Priests are given Ph.D., Degree by Universities under the classification as “Educationists” or “Philosophers”.  If a correct study is made, it will come to light that these men have converted education into profit oriented business.  Most of the institutions are money making business houses with no ethics at all.  In one of the public functions a religious person who was awarded Ph.D., recently objected to being introduced as just Mr So and So without the prefix Dr.  It looked very funny to the audience.

 

Similarly religious priests manage to get Ph.D honour on the basis of their knowledge of Theology. They earn this on the basis of close proximity with ruling politicians. It is never a justifiable conduct on the part of the particular university, to grant Ph.D to theologians, because theology is never based on Logic or Reason. A university has to recognize knowledge based on Reason. Theology has very limited contribution to human welfare, as it is based on unscientific dogmas. Often it is the cause of human conflicts based on blind beliefs. The celebrated scientist, Richard Dawkin, in his book “God Delusions” very clearly opined that theology cannot be considered as a sound branch of human knowledge. It unfortunately is played on human emotions. Our universities should consider these aspects. 

There is a now, a new category of Ph.D., qualification holders.  It appears a fixed sum will be paid to the University under the guise of donation to some cause or requirement of the concerned university. The donor will be awarded Ph.D.Degree.. It is difficult to understand as to how law is circumvented for this purpose.  There cannot be more dilution of education than this conduct of the so called educationists.  A scholar who was duly awarded Ph.D., after a long strenuous effort on poems of American poet, Robert Frost, remarked to me “It is better to return the Ph.D., Degree to the University as a mark of protest.”

The latest is a real estate builder getting Ph.D. from a University.  The reputation he has is quite questionable.  Some of the educationists did question the vice Chancellor about this controversial decision.  His cryptic answer is “direction from above”.  That explains autonomous nature of University Administration.

One of the oldest scandals that came to serious scrutiny of law courts is the Professors themselves as guides will write research papers and sell them to Ph .D aspirants.  Very rarely, it used to come to lime light. On the whole it looked as a great farce.

The next class of Ph.D aspirants are the I.A.S officers and administrators and public servants. This includes sales tax officers, forest officials also. In one instance, a Vice Chancellor was pressurized by a beaurocrat to award him Ph.D, on some cause. His argument is his contribution to Public Administration should be considered, forgetting for a moment that is his job and he earns salary for the same. The Vice Chancellor had very little option as the funds were released through the “Good Offices of that Officer”. That Vice Chancellor owed the particular officer, his post as a Vice Chancellor. It is a sort of Quid Pro Quo.  The qualification of Ph.D is very VALUABLE.

 

When all these unholy things take place in our India that is Bharath, how can a really merited scholar present his credentials is a big question.  The Vice Chancellors, Senate, Syndicate, Academic Councils are all to be held responsible.  The Human Resources Department, Ministry of Education should not be immune to this grave problem. Before our education system becomes a laughing stock, some corrective system should be thought of.

One of the earliest commissions of enquiry called Kothari Commission on University Education reported to the then Minister of Education Justice M.C.Chagla about the yardsticks needed for research education and the  strict norms to be followed to avoid downward slide in higher education.  If those yardsticks are adhered to then this type of unhealthy practice, could have been stopped.

It is hoped that the educationists will apply their minds and valuable time to uphold the sanctity of education by going through all the aforesaid ills. Hope we will see better days, for our progeny.

 

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K. P. Vasudeva Rao is an eminent city based advocate. Deeply interested in spiritual inquiry, he is a voracious reader and is also the President of Mangalore Sanskrit Sangh and Honorary President of Mangalore Adoptive Parents’ Association.

 

 

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