Mani
Shankar
Aiyar's sarcastic comment about Ajay Maken that 'a Hans Raj
BA Pass graduate' would not know what 'dichotomous' means or would
not be able to spell it, has again given rise to the debate on
intellectual snobbery. The argument put forward is whether such
snobbery has any real value in today's world, and more importantly
whether you are successful in business really depends on whether you
are an alumnus of St Stephens or not.
My
answer
is a resounding NO. Not only such opinions smack of a colonial
outdated mindset, it also shows utter disrespect towards not only
other educational institutions (which may have their own spheres of
excellence) but also people who have been successful in different
walks of life. In this context, I would like to bring up the example
of our channel partners, many of whom are today shining examples of
entrepreneurship in modern India. Unfortunately, many of the channels
partners like poor Maken are often victims of this intellectual
snobbery. They are often treated as semi-literates (often that
concept is misplaced) and not given due respect commensurate with
their achievements. I would like to recount the examples of this
mindset even amongst my peers and superiors. When I was taking over
as Editor of DQ Week and DQ Channels, my superior asked
whether I would be able to adjust with these 'channel types'. And
after I have moved in and started writing editorials, many of my
peers felt that whatever I write would not be understood by my target
audience (read, the partners) and would go beyond their heads.
Both
are
fallacies as I have realized after my interactions with partners
over more than an year. For one, I found most of them highly educated
and cultured people and with eclectic tastes in words. It would not
just be unfair but even completely wrong to assume that they do not
understand editorials or literature which is slightly verbose or
cannot enjoy the nuances of an intellectual discussion. Even more
importantly, my point is even if some people are not 100% verbose,
does it detract from what they have achieved in their businesses? So
what finally counts as a measure of success in life-whether they
have a extremely strong lexicon or whether they have applied their
knowledge to move up in the business value chain.
I
really
feel pity for these outdated morons still mired in an ancient
mindset (and I am sure not majority of Stephanians will be like them)
who themselves have achieved much less than those they make fun out
of their 'intellectual snobbishness'. Sometimes, I even feel there is
an inherent feeling of jealousy that drives them. I will always
salute the success of our partners and would always ignore the
minority who keep on harping about their intellectual quality. Is it
really so important to know what is 'dichotomous'? That is the
biggest dichotomy.
(rajneeshd@cybermedia.co.in)