Foreign Universities in India: An Analysis on the Criticisms

Is the arrival of foreign universities to India really a negative development? Of course there could be reasons both for and against. But ultimately, it wouldn’t be as harmful or alarming as it is portrayed, especially if the challenges are converted into opportunities. If handled carefully, both India and the world can benefit by making the discourse on knowledge more fruitful. At least, it could be said that it is too early to oppose the development. Nevertheless, the decision has received criticisms on different grounds, from various ideological standpoints. This brief doesn’t take any particular position on what the government should or shouldn’t have done but takes the criticisms of the government’s position seriously, while critiquing them at the same time. It attempts to expose the limits to these criticisms, and argues that they do not give cause for the government to reconsider their decision. This brief does not make predictions about the consequences of the decision. Rather it attempts to think about how to ‘transform’ some of the prevailing situations so that they could be made productive.