The Universe Conspires-IV

“How many PhDs have you guided till date?” the chairman of the committee for the selection of Professors at Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad asked me.  

“Seven. Three as the sole and Principal Supervisor and four as Co-Supervisor”, I replied to the question.

“All from Assam University?” A lady member of the committee asked.

“Yes, Madam. It was all during my stay at Assam University”, I responded to her query.

An interview was going on for the selection of Professor and one of the essential qualifications was successful guidance of at least two PhDs as sole supervisor. I guided a total of seven PhDs, three as a sole supervisor and four as co-supervisor in my career.

I joined Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad as Associate Professor in May 2013. At that time, 4 PhD research scholars were working under my supervisor at Assam University. They were about to be delisted from my name but in the meantime, some disputes arise at IIITA and I joined back at Assam University and they were allowed to pursue PhD under me. One international scholar was also given to me to pursue his PhD under my guidance. I stayed back at Assam University for almost three years and during these years I guided 7 PhDs. 

Another criterion for the selection of Professors was to publish at least three papers in SCI or ABDC listed journals and needless to say that most of my publications in such journals is the result of my association with Assam University.

Professional Life at Assam University was very tough as I spent three years of my second innings running after the files and other official matters. My relationship with the then Dean was also at its lowest level. At the reception party of his son’s marriage, he has invited everyone in the University and not even a peon was left out other than me. I am mentioning this incident just to make the reader understand the kind of bad relation we had during that time. Basically, there was a trust deficit fuelled by some people and it was due to this reason, our relationship was never cordial. I remember, on the very first day of my joining back at Assam University he had given a long lecture criticizing me and putting some allegations on me which were not true and since then there were many occasions when he tried to stop me or deviate me from my research work. But all these things had boosted my confidence in myself that there is something good in me that the Dean cannot ignore. He might love me or hate me, it was his choice but he cannot ignore me. It was my moral victory and morale was very much needed for me during those days to continue my struggle and fight. Everybody in the Department was given some responsibility. This responsibility also makes them visible in the department. I was not given any responsibility. The idea was to make me irrelevant in the Department. I took advantage of that and made myself absolutely irrelevant. So much irrelevant that nobody should ask me about my whereabouts. Whether I am present in the department or not, none used to take note of that. It was an advantageous situation for me. I focused fully on my research work and the legal matters pending at that time.   

Now, when everybody is congratulating me for becoming ‘Professor’, I humbly feel that it was all made possible due to my stay at Assam University from 2014 to 2017 which had helped in shaping my bio-data and making it more attractive and remember, going back to Assam University was not my choice rather compulsion. in normal circumstances, I would not have gone back there. Which would have lead to not guiding an adequate number of PhDs considering the situations prevailing in the Institute at that time. Indeed the Universe had conspired for my success.