There’s an inherent paradox in best-selling author and newspaper columnist Chetan Bhagat. Although he writes thought-provoking and readable 1,000 word newspaper columns, he also writes puerile and lazy 60,000-80,000 word English language novels which no intelligent or discerning reader can stomach. If his novels are best-sellers as his publishers proclaim, it’s an indictment of the country’s sub-standard education system which certifies millions of barely literate youth as college and university graduates. The plain truth is that Bhagat’s simpleton novels are timepass fodder for unfortunates short-changed by the education system.

Although your correspondent would be classified as a member of India’s Intellectual and Discerning Elite (IIDE) lambasted by Bhagat in an op-ed essay in the Times of India (February 11), I have no prejudice against him. I have read two of his novels and reviewed one of them — Revolution 2020 in EducationWorld. This novel was of particular interest to me as its protagonist is an individual who becomes rich by promoting an engineering college on land inherited by him and selling seats at vastly inflated prices. Although the novel is centred around a juvenile love story set in Varanasi, it provided Bhagat an ideal opportunity to expose the sub rosa shenanigans through which colleges are awarded licences aka NOCs (no objection certificates) by corrupt regulatory organisations such as AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), University Grants Commission (UGC) and star ratings by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council).

The folklore is that when teams from these institutions visit colleges for inspection, they are royally wined and dined and then some, to award NOCs and star ratings. With a little research and investigation Bhagat could have blown the lid off this well-oiled racket which permits sub-standard institutions to obtain pristine NOCs and star rankings. The critically important story of bribery and corruption behind the success of the engineering college is dismissed in one paragraph and ascribed to Shuklaji, a crooked politician who “took care of it”. Little wonder IIDEs panned it.

In his column under reference, Bhagat advances the argument that anything the IIDEs like — English language book publishing, the Congress party and Netflix — suffer the “kiss of death”. If his juvenile novels are also a casualty, society is better off.

Also read: Chetan Bhagat tweets his CBSE Class 10 mark sheet