The Gujarat High Court on December 18, took suo motu cognisance of a survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and the UNICEF Gujarat, which revealed that among the households which had children enrolled in the Government schools, 85 percent of the parents reported that they were not able to access anything in lieu of the mid-day meals since March, when the schools were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bench of Justice J. B. Pardiwala and Justice Ilesh J. Vora said, “The Indian Express News Service, Ahmedabad, in its article dated December 18, 2020, has reported something very serious, which calls for the immediate attention of the State Government.”

The court also directed the registry to register a writ petition by giving a ‘pucca’ number and issue notice to the Principal Secretary, Education Department and the Commissioner, Mid-day Meal Schemes.

The study conducted by the KMIC-Knowledge Management and Innovations for Change, an IIMA and UNICEF initiative launched in 2015, to understand the accessibility to remote learning and challenges faced by the students and their parents, revealed that about 15 per cent of the parents received rice, wheat and/or pulses in lieu of the mid-day meals.

Further, around 30 percent of the children had not engaged in any formal learning activities since March 2020. This was highest for those attending the private schools (33 per cent), followed by the Government schools (26 per cent), and those attending the private schools through the RTE mandate (22 per cent). The average income of the sample was around Rs.1,190 per month and more than 95 per cent of the households had monthly income less than Rs.4,400.

The court also took note of the alarming rate of dropouts in the State. “The inability to pay the fees has led some parents to consider an alternate option of transfers to other schools or even dropping their children out of the school for the year. This is something very serious,” said the Bench.

Also, only 54 per cent of the families said that they have a functioning television with cable/DTH. Less than 2 per cent had access to a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection and email was used by less than 12 per cent of the families.

In this backdrop the court said, “The attention of the State Government should be immediately drawn to the aforesaid, and in such circumstances, we deem fit to take suo motu cognizance of the above in public interest.”

The matter will now be heard on January 5, 2021.

The order may be read here:

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The family of legendary American architect Louis Kahn has written to the Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A) in wake of a recent controversy surrounding the institute’s decision to demolish dormitories designed by Kahn.

Kahn, an important modern architect from post-World War II United States, was known for his monumental and brutalist style while highlighting the materials involved in a building’s construction. The dormitories at IIM (A) have natural light, ventilation and exposed brick facades. They are spacious and uncluttered.

The recent decision had already sparked wide outrage among architects and the design community, especially given how restoration work on the dormitories, the Vikram Sarabhai Library and other buildings on the property by Mumbai-based architectural firm Somaya and Kalappa Consultants was already drawing much praise. In fact, last year, the library restoration work won the firm a UNESCO Award.

Professor Errol D’Souza had justified the move to demolish the remaining dormitories instead of restoring them claiming it was necessary to accommodate 800 students instead of the current provision for only 500. Moreover, there have been complaints of leakages and even structural damage due to the 2001 earthquake.

Now Kahn’s children; Sue Ann Kahn, Alexandra Tyng and Nathaniel Kahn have written to D’ Souza saying, “The buildings in question are the heart of our father’s universally acknowledged masterpiece at IIMA. We urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider this decision.”

The letter further says, “The Kahn dormitory buildings are magnificent works of art in their own right. There could be many ways to reimagine their uses if you are open to exploring the possibilities. For example, they might not all have to remain as dormitories. The exterior walls are loadbearing, and interiors could be sensitively reworked to suit alternative needs and uses.”

The complete letter may be read here: 

Amir Rizvi, an alumnus of National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad feels that the move is hasty and completely unnecessary. He says, “I am dumbfounded! As design students, these monuments were a very important learning heritage for us. Students from across the globe travel to Ahmedabad just to study these architectures. Ahmedabad is probably the world’s only city which has diverse ancient architectural heritage along with the modern architecture monuments designed by Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Doshi and Charles Correa.”

Rizvi feels there are greater forces at play here. He says, “I see a clear systematic pattern to demolish all Nehruvian icons and heritage by the government. IIM’s architecture is not only the architectural masterpiece but it also promotes ‘meeting & socialising’. This government has already demolished Nehru Pavilion in Pragati Maidan which represented Nehru’s ideals of inclusive growth and democracy.”

A heartbroken Rizvi further laments, “Overall it reminds me of Mirza Ghalib’s anguish in his letters describing how the iconic heritage was being demolished by the triumphant East India Company.
This is a classic case of Iconoclasm, which is the social belief in the importance of the destruction of icons and other images or monuments for religious or political reasons.”

After much outrage, the bids to demolish and reconstruct the dormitories appear to have been temporarily placed on hold. 

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