Much of the Indian blogosphere is up in arms against the IIPM, a college offering mainly MBA degrees. I will not go into the details of the controversy here. Go to Desipundit if you want to read the details and for an excellent summation of the various viewpoints aired on this issue. But what irks me the most is an educational institution behaving in such a Hitlerarian manner, launching personal attacks and sending dubious legals notices.

Lots of people were wondering why bloggers were being targeted in particular. Would they have resorted to such cheap tactics if a major newspaper had come up with the expose? No, I think not. I think they are attacking bloggers because they think it is easier to browbeat individuals. Perhaps they feel sending legal notcies (of dubious value) will frighten bloggers, most of whom are young people barely out of their twenties. Perhaps, they thought they could limit the damage done to their name by bluntly supressing dissenting voices.

Hello, will you please wake up and smell the reality? The last time I checked India was still a democracy. And to beat a cliche to death democracy means dissenting voices. Instead of resorting to underhanded tactics more befitting a gangster IIPM should look at how false their many (exaggerated) claims turned out to be under the magnifying glass of a courageous reporter. Or, are they so scared that they have nothing to defend that they have to resort to such scare tactics?

It is also gratifying as a blogger to see so many different bloggers coming together for a just cause. The claim that blogging can change the world may not be too far from the mark when I look how this issue is being taken up. As far as I know this is the first time that the Indian blogosphere has banded together for a cause. Let us hope this leads to a change in the way IIPM has been dealing with the issue. At the same time let us bloggers also exercise considerable restraint in how we deal with this whole affair. Let us not run amock with our emotions and egos and crucify the institute. The fact that the future of innocent students at the institution is at stake should be a sobering thought for all.