The tyranny of IIT in Indian society

Can one institution hold the key to all innovation? Could it be that one very, very, very tiny minority is the brain trust of a whole nation and, by inference, the font of all knowledge, insight, wisdom, entrepreneurial energy, and superior practices? If this sounds silly to you, that is verily what we promote and practice in the country, obsessed as we are to wear the badge of such alma maters as the IIT and IIM on our sleeves. It becomes the yardstick by which we evaluate and weigh a person's worth - his or her personality, effectiveness, capabilities, capacity to achieve, and - hold it - integrity.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should acknowledge that I do not belong to that hoary club, that elite band of super men and women that has been annointed by the western media as capable of the most incredible feats. Where the American media goes, you can be sure our domestic scribes and Brylcreamed anchors on the idiot box are not far behind. Does it bother me? It used to, but not anymore when I find myself comfortable in my own skin. What it has prompted though, is quiet introspection on our middle class need to identify with and project an exclusive membership.

Until about two decades ago, a quasi-socialist India that preferred to look inward and put its beliefs in the infallibility of the state rather than the ingenuity of the individual engendered a mindset of success defined by a deterministic formula. The formula said, quite simply, that success was assured for those who graduated from elite institutions. Nothing wrong about this; opportunities were few, mostly in government, and what few jobs there were in the private sector clearly belonged to those who proved themselves in some measure. The measure was graduation, specifically where. For the professional class, the where was defined by the IITs, in later years also by IIMs when management came into vogue. For the political class, it included such places as St.Stephen's; and for the angry and the self-righteous, the idealists who were easily deluded, or the chattering classes, it was the Jawaharlal Nehru University. The hoi polloi went to the rest.

Times have changed now. Indians are now driven more in their professional pursuits by private enterprise than by the sinecure of a safe, government job. Competition in the market is the order of the day - be it in the product market or the labor market. Organizations now have to innovate constantly to be able to survive and grow. It begs the question if IITs are our bullwark in the face of relentless competition, our trojan horse in the quest for leadership. Or is that faith misplaced in the executive suite and the living rooms of our middle class homes?

I would argue the latter. Recent research from academia have consistently shown that there is no correlation between IQ and success in life. More importantly, it is not even clear if IQ correlates to entry into the IITs; all it proves is that the minority who got in either matured early, or were singleminded in their focus, or were favored in some small way by Dame Luck on the day they took their entrance exams. It does not negate the native intelligence of the larger masses or their ability to innovate in ways little and large. I know several brilliant folks who never made it to IIT. In the US, where I spent almost two decades, it would be laughable to argue that individual worth directly correlated with graduation from Ivy League institutions and others such as Stanford, Berkeley, and Chicago. Yes, assuredly, they are the top of the heap in academic research. But as anyone who has studied American enterprise would tell you, some of the most significant innovations and business success came from individuals who did not boast of a school diploma, let alone one from Harvard.

In our own backyard, the examples are many. In the sphere of entrepreneurship, more new ventures and great ideas in strategy and practice have come from individuals who never saw the insides of a IIT campus. Look around you - Nirma, Reliance, Suzlon, CavinCare, ColorPlus, Subiksha, Nilgiris, MTR, Matrix Labs, Biocon, Air Deccan, Odyssey, Pantaloon, Apollo, Airtel, Landmark, Kotak, Moser Baer...all from different sectors of the economy that have been hugely successful and employ hundreds, if not thousands. Which of these was promoted by an IIT-ian? This is not to belittle IIT, but to make the point that success is defined by hard work, persistence, and a will to achieve. Those qualities are not restricted to the products of elite institutions. As a country, we need to keep that in mind, to let young minds achieve in whatever ways they choose, and not prejudge the issue of intelligence or of later success. India needs creativity and innovation, and lots of it, for wealth creation - wherever they may come from.