The whole Degree row seems to be mocking the idea of how a country, a state is run and what the leaders invest their time in. (Source: Devendra Bhandari photo) The whole Degree row seems to be mocking the idea of how a country, a state is run and what the leaders invest their time in. (Source: Devendra Bhandari photo)

A few days ago, the Delhi Chief Minister asked the Prime Minister of the country Narendra Modi to reveal his educational qualification. As a citizen of this country, I felt utterly odd at the demand because it is a petty issue to be raising at a point when the country is dealing with bigger problems of drought-stricken states and scams unfolding by the day.

Nevertheless, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) obliged and showed the documents which included the Prime Minister’s degree and his marksheets. But I was appalled when I saw the AAP leaders taking the matter further and calling the documents fake.

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I read the reports in newspapers and watched them shout on Television news channels calling the documents fake. Did Delhi University have computers in 1975, they asked.

I would like to inform that I got admitted into the University of Delhi’s School of Correspondence, as it used to be called at that time, for BA (Pass) course in 1969 and would have ideally cleared and passed out of the university in 1972. But I failed an exam in my third year so was rewarded the degree in 1973.

Now AAP claims the documents are fake because the DU, at that time, awarded hand-written degrees and marksheets and Modi’s degree is computerised. Another issue that they have flagged is that, how the PM’s marksheet has mentioned the year 1977 and the degree states 1978.

I find the the two ‘issues’ they have with the documents absolutely baseless and ill-informed because I, who passed out in 1972, has an electro-typed/computerised degree and markesheets just like the one shown by the Prime Minister who, in fact, graduated in 1977. Now, unless the University changed it’s pattern for the ‘real students’ between 1973-1977, I don’t see a point here.

Secondly, the reason why his marksheet has mentioned the year 1977 and the degree 1978 is because he failed an exam in 1977 for which he must have had to re-appear in 1978. Hence, the degree states that year. Unfortunately, mine was a similar case. Hence, the proof.

The system in place was as such even in early ’70s when I had graduated. It’s difficult to reason how the AAP lead by a former civil servant can make such ignorant statements. The whole Degree row seems to be mocking the idea of how a country, a state is run and what the leaders invest there time in.

I am not a Modi fan or Bhakt as they term people nowadays and I am not suggesting the documents are real or otherwise, but the sheer ignorance exhibited by a political party was hard to turn a blind eye to.

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