IIPM Blog Wars Redux
Last updated: Oct.16, 2005 1:11pm CST
This time it is personal. Rashmi Bansal, JAM editor and a popular blogger has been attacked by so-called IIPM graduates (see comments). [hat tip: Charu]
We at DesiPundit condemn IIPM and their chamcha blogs (no links offered here) for their despicable attitude. Gaurav Sabnis, a popular Indian blogger has been served a legal notice (via email) asking him to retract his statements against IIPM. Couple of days later, another blogger Varna got an idential legal notice from IIPM. More importantly, this attempted supression of freedom of speech shall not be tolerated. Kaps has issued a call to join the fight against IIPM. Bloggers all around the world have responded magnificiently. Click below for the list of bloggers and updates:
Harini 1, 2, & 3, Srini, Charu, Anshul, Amrit 1 & 2, Muthuvel, Thalassa Mikra, Jagan 1 & 2, Vijay Krishna 1, 2, & 3, Vatsan, Jo, Varna, Swaroop CH, Shivam 1 & 2, Ash 1 & 2, Abi, Jujitsu, Uma 1 & 2, Shub, Rajan, Havoc, Abhishek, Chandrachoodan 1 & 2, Kaushik, Alpha-Q, Mandar, Kaushal, Chenthil 1 & 2, Anthony, Bonatellis, Apurv, Scudie, Sriyansa, Miss J, Neha, Tablepost, Chitthacharcha, Saket, Dhananjay 1 & 2, Sriram 1 & 2, The Comic Project, Gawker, Nilu, Ian, Jabberwock, Niket, Ravikiran, Hitchiker, Vinaya, George, Ajay, Navin, Jinal, Rajkumar, Sudhish, Kitabkhana, Sunil, Falstaff, Arzan, Nitin, Sameer, Srikar, Mayank, Jitendra, Secular-Right India, Ranjan, BigBlogLog, Kamesh, Chernoff, Hitanshu, Almost Useless, Jaya Jha, TTG, Naveen, Sujatha, Veer, Nupur, Varnam, Soumyadip, Uma MD, Vishal Angry Grad Student, Pradyot, Amit Choudhary, Sandesh, MMK, Salman’s Shirt, Bharat, Nikhil K, Kaushik, Aditya, Icarus (Tamil), Infinite Circle, Ketan, Durga, Kamlesh, Pankaj, Harish, Ashish, Swarnasrikrishnan, Rahul, Kaushik-Bidisha, Srijith, Anand, I-sight, Logical Thinking, Sakshi J, Gururajan, Bhagya, Kunal, Sandeep 1 & 2, Ramanand, Satish V, Ashwin, Flying Death, Vayanasala (Malayalam), Shivangi, Govar, Shreyas, Prufrock, Unknown Indian, Prasoon, Killer Bunty, Suhail, Elne, Abhishek, Ravi, Aishwarya, Leela, The Bat, Aditya P, Rajesh B, Arnold, J.Alfred Prufrock, Kingsley, Saurabh, Ashutosh, Nilanjana 1 & 2, Shanti, Ram V, Wanderstruck, Vishwanathan, Scribbler, Vaibhav, Divya, Debashish, Sowmya 1 & 2, Shoefiend, Veena, Salwater Blues, India Blogs, DesiTrain 1, 2, & 3, Suds, Urmea, Senthil, Anshul, Lubu, Vikram, Nishi, Ravikumar, Buchu, Chandoo, Aditya A, Vatsan M, Vinayak, Manoj, aNTi, Bhaskar, Fursatiya (Hindi), Ramnish, Nirav, Tifoc, Hemanth, KM, Karthik, Aadisht, Gaurav B, Protea Spice, Transmogrifier 1, 2, & 3, Pablo Ares, Tushar, Raghunandan, Preetam P, Prabhu, Arbit Council 1, 2, & 3, Nikhil O, Emma, Desi Nole, Dinesh, Usha, Salil, Anat, Chetan, Anil, Neha M, Kuffir, Ze Rambler, Null Bit, Lakshmi, Hariprasad, @Jroller, EspiritNoir, Samy, Aekta, Gokula Krishnan, Kasthuri, Surya, Ankita, Hirak, Prithvi, Odyssey, Rithwik, Tanmay, Kirti, RK, Kiruba, MumbaiGirl Online, Mehul, Vishnupriya, Samit B, Laura, Hemangini, Sumeet, Kiran, Deepthi, Seshu, Chakra, Sandeep, Bharat, Drumster, Atanu, Invincible, Kanti, Parmanu, Freaks Inc, Arpit, Sib, Twilight Fairy, Megha, Rajesh A, Taz Snow, Rohan K, Pune Bloggers, Prakash, Nijas, Sharad, Achan, Manpreet, USC Trojan, ~J~, Jottingz, Ramses, Tushar B, Wise Donkey, Praveen, The Hissing Saint, Kanishka, Clorange, SV, Prasenjeet, Blog Mela Portal, Shrikanth, Sibyl, Technophobic, Nikhil K, Chamique, Annie, and counting…have heeded the call. Add URLs of your posts in the comments; I’ll be glad to add them to the list.
PressTalk exposes the false ranking claims by IIPM, The Arbit Council has a funny take on the exhorbitant consultancy fees demanded by IIPM director, Arindham C. I personally call upon IIPM to sue me for my words for them. Of course, the poor IIPM students aren’t to blame. PressTalk thinks that the Desi blogosphere is finally rising up to the challenge. Methinks, its still to premature but I am glad that many have taken interest in this issue. Varun, one of the earliest bloggers to take up this issue has an extended update.
Mridula does a fine job of aggregating the articles from MSM regards the mushrooming of management institutes and their tall claims. MSM isn’t actively investigating such claims when they clearly should be. Abhishek points out how the blogosphere can influence people more than traditional media.
People, please head over to their blogs and extend your full support to Rashmi, Gaurav, and other bloggers threatened by IIPM.
Update#1: It is confirmed! Gaurav Sabnis quit his job at IBM. Please note, he wasn’t fired or wasn’t compelled by his employer He quit on his own accord and I applaud him for standing up for his principles. Read his post here.
Update#2: The issue goes international. Neha has written about it on Global Voices. Amit’s post is linked by Instapundit. Ian heeds our call too. More international links appreciated. Om Malik, the broadband guru gives it a mention. Sepia Mutiny joins in. Rachel writes in from London. Shel Israel and Robert Scoble, author of business and management books do not think that Gaurav’s words were over the top and suggest that IBM should have sent a canister of gas to help IIPM burn their own laptops. Jon Lebkowsky makes a mention too. David Weinberger, co-author of the Cluetrain Manifesto and fellow at Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School picks up the thread.
Sepia Mutiny has more on the legality of boycott as a weapon. Jim Hoft aka Gateway Pundit joins in. J Angelo Racoma stumbles upon this controversy while running a search for “Thinkpad” on Google. Should IBM be worried about this? Douglas Hoffman spins a tale to include the IIPM tag. Sepia Mutiny fondly remembers their own “cease and desist” letter. The Mullers open Technorati as they do everyday and, are shocked by what they see.
Update#3: DesiPundit supporter and ace blogger, Amit Varma has summed it perfectly as why this is so important for the desi blogosphere. Michael wonders about the credibility of an institution by the quality of its supporters. Reputation is the biggest asset and IIPM seems to be losing it fast. Sulfury has a nice rhyme for them. Aparna’s limericks cannot be far behind. Michael Higgins follows up with another excellent post blasting traditional media’s excuse of losing a large advertiser.
Update#4: IIPM is already ranked 5th 2nd at the TOP on Technorati’s most-searched list. Too bad they messed with the blogosphere. Varun has a screenshot.
Update#5: PK writes in defense of IIPM. Although we disgree with it, we respect his viewpoint. PK seems to have reversed his stand and now supports Gaurav’s actions wholeheartedly. Arzan ponders on the status of the students at IIPM.
Update#6: Arzan calls up IIPM’s Toronto office and finds out that the number belongs to some Sanjeev who claims to have no affiliation with IIPM and adds, “”nothing is there because nothing worked out and its not like what they say on their website”. Bonatellis has more information on IIPM’s PR firm. Dilip D’Souza reads the fine print in IIPM ads that tells us a lot. Gawker has an excellent parody on IIPM’s facilities and placement claims. The IIPM fracas over a lassi? Dhabba has more details.
Update#7: IIPM has an entry on Wikipedia that anyone can edit? God help them now! Ravikiran has detailed instructions on how your little blog can make a difference. Vijay Krishna however is not in favor of using Wikipedia as a medium of protest.
Update#8: IIPM was suspended from Outlook’s B-school survey for allegedly fudging data provided to the survey firm Cfore. IIPM conveniently claims, “We have never believed in rankings”. Here is a screenshot. Deepak has more details, documents, and pictures on the rankings controversy.
Update#9: Varna has been served a legal notice identical to the notice sent to Gaurav Sabnis. She is requesting suggestions on how to deal with it and of course, DesiPundit and other bloggers extend their support in all forms. TechMag blows holes in IIPM’s legal notices.
Update#10: Inspite of all the ensuing melee, Abi succinctly brings our attention back to where JAM Mag and Gaurav started - false and exaggerated claims in advertising. Instead of suing bloggers, shouldn’t IIPM address these concerns first? In fact, the students at IIPM should be asking these. I try to explain what this fight against IIPM is all about.
Update#11: Why do Indian bloggers living outside India or otherwise totally unaffected by IIPM’s education standard have a problem with the current happenings. Neha’s reply is right on the dot.
Update#12: Ravi Handa has assembled a list of MSM editors contact information if at any time we wish to use it.
Update#13: Quizman finds some non-bloggers for IIPM to take legal action against. By the dates of the posts, these people have been calling IIPM’s bluff long before bloggers got into the act. Why are bloggers being singled out?
Update#14: This may be too early but Mridula goes one step further and investigates Amity Business School’s reputation. The big-picture implications of this issue of course are education business accountability. Madhukar compares the B-school rankings by different publications. No IIPM mention in any of them! As we now look beyond the IIPM issue, Pradyot has an interesting idea for creating an open source medium for aggregating and exchanging breaking news, feedback, and most importantly, freedom of speech; kinda like a mini-wiki. He also has a “Freedom of Speech” tag for us to display on our blogs.
Update#15: Charu finds Arindham Chaudhari’s bestseller in the Humorous Section at FabMall. The $24.95 question is, will he send them a legal notice too?
Update#16: Instapundit has another extended mention to the IIPM fracas. He also thinks that IIPM made a huge mistake by trying to tangle with the blogosphere. He also wishes IBM had displayed more backbone to support Gaurav’s cause.
Update#17: Naveen urges us to take a long term perspective of the IIPM event and ponders on the effect of unfettered education institutes that have sprung up in India propped up largely by the print media’s advertising.
Update#18: Jose Castillo over at Think Jose explains why supressing free speech on the Internet especially the blogosphere is not only difficult but impossible. IIPM only seems to add more fuel into the fire with each legal threat.
Update#19: Traditional media’s first mention of the IIPM fracas - Hindustan Times carries it on Page 3 in today’s Mumbai edition (Wednesday, Oct.12, 2005) [may require free registration for epaper version]. Mumbai Mirror’s Blogger’s Park column (link expired; check PDF link) features our issue prominently. Daily Pioneer, Delhi also carries the story (accessed through Google cache). Indian Express’s Mumbai Newsline has the story in today’s (October 13th 2005) edition. DNA India has an extensive article and covers all aspects admirably.
Update#20: Jeff Ooi’s ‘Freedom blog Asia’, Screenshots extensively covers the issue. The IIPM fracas now has top billing in the Malaysian blogosphere too. Madhukar Shukla adds his thoughts on Gandhi, grassroots democracy, and the blogosphere.
Update#21: Dr. Amit Kapoor aka ‘Kautilya’, Gaurav Sabnis’s professor at IIML speaks out against IIPM and Arindham Chaudhari. He has more to share regarding the defamation suit as alleged by IIPM.
Update#22: Arnab aka Great Bong is setting up I3D - Indian Institute of International Dreamers. Gawker tells us about another fight - fine-print vs. large-print. Hilarious stuff!
Update#23: Varna, the second blogger to be issued a legal notice by IIPM is not fazed and stands by her words. However, she is disillusioned by IIPM’s attitude, high-handed ways, and misplaced priorities of its students. She has our complete support.
Update#24: Arka Mukhopadhyay wants to initiate a more pro-active approach by involving Bangalore Bloggers in a protest march to the IIPM campus. Varun wonder why no legal notices today. Ah-ha! its Dusshera.
Update#25: Chandrachoodan narrates a personal incident relating to IIPM, Chennai.
Update#26: Indian Express’s Mumbai Newsline has the story in today’s (October 13th 2005) edition.
Update#27: Committee to Protect Bloggers, an international online organization is keenly following our campaign and will be alerting its members via email. Rashmi, Gaurav, and Varna may be added on their list of threatened bloggers.
Update#28: Dan Gillmor, citizen journalist advocate mentions the “clumsy corporate attack on bloggers“.
Update#29: Gaurav Sabnis’ post is #20 on Bloglines’ Most Popular Links [as of Oct.13, 2005].
Update#30: NDTV calls it “fascinating story, which has not just raised questions about claims made by private educational institutions but also about laws governing internet privacy. ” They may soon have it on TV as well. If anyone can record the show and upload it as a digital file, please send me the link.
Update#31: Kamla Bhatt has the controversy in podcast format.
Update#32: Mandar has started off excellently by trying to rein in legal help for ‘threatened bloggers’. Sudish also contacted legal expert Naavi to get an idea of the email legal notices. However, I don’t think the notices were a hoax. Shivam has the roundup on the legal terms and issues in this case. A good ready-reckoner! Metlin looks at what constitutes libel. The threats to “burn laptops” and other indicators points to IIPM. If you know anyone who can help us legally (for free), please contact us.
Update#33: Arzan does excellent investigative work and digs up information on IIPM’s ‘international’ connections. Gawker follows it up with his own investigation.
Update#34: Kiruba has designed some nice buttons for your blog to show support for Rashmi and Gaurav. Kiruba, don’t forget our dear Varna.
Update#35: Rashmi Bansal is back! She posts evidence to IIPM’s bogus claims of high ranking for their business school.
Update#36: Puneet has irrefutable proof that IIPM is spamming Google, MSN and Yahoo search engines.
Update#37: Varna intends to stop posting about IIPM and has her last post up on the subject.
Update#38: Mridula prefers Yahoo over Google to search for news regards IIPM. But she forgets Google’s latest offering - Blogsearch.
Update#39: IIPM is back as Technorati’s top search after being briefly pushed down by Apple’s Video iPod. The momentum seems to be relentless.
Update#40: Arzan has a online petition up in support of Rashmi Bansal and Gaurav Sabnis. Go sign it!
Update#41: Taking a cue from Gawker, Sameer further investigates the duplicate universities that IIPM seems to have set up all over the world.
Update#42: Bloggers are now fisking IIPM’s website faster than ever. Mahesh discovers a wierd disclaimer on their website that might effectively absolve Rashmi, Gaurav, and Varna if they added it too.
Update#43: Kiruba sure does get flashes of brilliance in the middle of the night. Nice t-shirt!
Update#44: Nirav reminds us why nipping such IIPM-esque behavior in the bud is necessary.
Update #45: Varna gives a fitting reply to A Saxena’s latest comment.
Update #46: Amit Varma points to an article, which raises questions about the credentials of IIPM’s founder.
Update#47: PressTalk has a official statement from IIPM regarding the controversy. They plan on continuing to sue people.
Update#48: Joichi Jho, Creative Commons Board Member considers this issue extremely important because seemingly the USP of this country is its open democracy.
Update#49: Dr. Amit Kapoor, Gaurav’s professor from IIM-L shares an email sent by an IIPM student. Now, this seems closer to the truth.
Update#50: Varun has an excellent response to an anonymous IIPM student commenter. Incidentally, the arguments offered by this IIPM student seem much more balanced and rational as compared to the abusive ones elsewhere but Varun fisks his arguments quite admirably. Somu has a great find - Arindham Chaudhari advocating free speech and exposing “shameless creeps who occupy public space”.
Update#51: Thalassa Mikra has an excellent online investigative piece on Dr. Malay Chaudhari and his credentials. Bonatellis has some priceless quotes from IIPM’s research website.
Update#52: Ethan Zuckerman from Global Voices has an extensive post on his personal blog and actually is a good overview of the entire controversy that is now almost a week old. Global Voices “promises to continue following this issue toward resolution”. That is heartening to hear!
Update#53: Sunil has a nice post on “how NOT to run management institutes“.
Update#54: Satya, blogosphere resident education guru writes on the trends of education advertising in India. Although wee bit unrelated, Ujval Gandhi critics Arindham C’s movie reviews. It seems there were fake reviewers too.
Update#55: Mandar’s lawyer friend, Amod Paranjpe has excellently dissected the legal notices sent by IIPM. His conclusion - we don’t have to worry about them.
Update#56: Kitabkhana has a refreshingly different post - Six things IIPM could use. Are they listening yet?
Update#57: Codelust warns bloggers to take on their “freedom of speech” right a little bit more responsibly. We understand his point and concerns but we are trying to formulate our angry thoughts into coordinated action soon. Randoms rants on individual blogs are slowly replaced by seemingly intuitive investigation (check our upates) and we believe, that the blogosphere is maturing in that sense.
Update#58: Should the blogosphere be subject to the standards of accountability and reliability of the mainstream media? Shivam comments on Sajan Veniyoor’s article in The Hoot.
Update#59: Puneet has a second part to his earlier post on IIPM spamming Google, MSN and Yahoo search engines. He tells us how we can report their behavior.
Updates#60: Mridula writes on what makes bloggers dig up facts so quickly in a story that is somewhat ignored by the traditional media.
Update#61: Smiley argues that the freedom of speech card can be used by both sides of the debate. But he’s intrigue dby the way Desipundit displayed the power of the net.
Final Update: There will be no further updates to this post. Any significant posts related to this topic will be linked as an individual post on the main page. Thanks for your support. We are back to regular programming. Feel free to add your post URLs pertaining to this topic in the comments.
You can look independently at IIPM-related blog posts on Technorati, Google Blog Search, and Ice Rocket.
Last but not the least, this is the blog effect:
451 comments
Jagan
October 9th, 2005, 12:18 am | #
I am not in anyway affiliated with IIPM.
But I am interested in the concepts of FREE SPEECH as well as the misconception that free speech need not come with responsibilities.
IIPM’s full page advertisements irritate me with their nonsensical uncouth design and layout. It sucks. It is not representative of a top class institution IIPM claims itself to be. It is an example of the worst aesthetics, appeal, approach and typeset a advt. professional can come up with.
The Information contained in it is not comprehensive to read at a glance, understandable without effort nor coherent.
The Advertisement is cluttered with so much text with no clear topical organisation, sentences thrown hapazardly with no regard for context, no page layout or stylesheets to go with them, in short, it looks like a Kidnapper’s ransom note. I bet it was designed on Microsoft Word.
The Advertisement design tells me more about IIPM than the writing in it. The tone comes off as DESPERATE and its self-comparisions with IIMs childish.
All these only prove one point: That the IIPM are not media sawvy, have no sense of marketing and that they are not definetely India-class, let alone world class.
Their marketing campaign strategy seems to be simple: To bombard all newspapers with huge advertisements with lots of promises, oooph factors, jargons etc. Period. It is just like the sex and violence movies made for the front benchers.
Having said that, Serious Blogging is still in its infancy in India now.
‘Rather gate’ fiasco of Littlegreenfootballs kind of fantastic Blogosphere revolutions are still a long way to go. So at present, Bloggers must be extra careful not to take things egoistically and vengefully.
Before posting, give your thoughts a night’s sleep. And post very responsibly.
I urge that this IIPM issue not turn into a pissing competition. So may I propose a few ground rules?
1. Students who are studying AT PRESENT at IIPM depend solely on the reputation of the institute for ther placements. Your posts should be eloquent enough not to damage the reputation of the institute ipso facto. That is, don’t attack the reputation of the Institute, but rather the post should reflect the aim of placing well researched and supportable facts and facts alone without much explaination, similies and sarcasm to decorate it.
2. Facts in a straight forward way can enhance credibility. Don’t resort to ad-homi. Just because one is posting the truth does not automatically give him/her the right to call names. You may be right, but no need to attack the persona opposing your view.
3. If anybody affiliated with IIPM wishes to refute any of the points, a fair chance and equal coverage (frontpage or focuslight) be given to him/her/them. In fact, since the position of the blog writing on IIPM is known, the refutation points should be made still more prominent then the postings supportive of the blog.
4. Civility even if missing from the other side will point to who is automatically right.
5. Every side should endeavor to get the high moral gound. Gandhi and the non-violence movement won exactly and solely because of its total monopoly of the high moral gound.
6. When you are giving an opinion, make it clear that it is your opinion. No body can sue you for your opinions, however and whatever they might be.
But if you try to promote your opinions in the garb of gospel truth, that is liable for slander and libel.
Any facts if presented along with references would be welcome to the whole audience.
Lastly, please don’t screw this whole issue up that it appears skewed in the main-press/media. As such professional journalists are pretty worried about the pyjamas clad blogosphere enroaching their turf. Don’t give them a chance to malign us and make us look irresponsible, undependable and merry-go-blabbering/firing. This is serious for the future credibility of the Blogosphere to stand up to the fourth estate.
Disclaimer: Everything above is my opinion which may be facts. I do not claim them to be facts as such.
POV » Blog Archive » Blogging in Kafkaland
October 9th, 2005, 12:20 am | #
[...] seriously. other bloggers taking this up Sambhar Mafia, Walk with me, Press Talk, Charu, Desipundit, Anshul, Srini, Patrix , I will try and keep updating this lis [...]
A Time To Reflect » Blog Archive » Hatch your chickens and abuse bloggers
October 9th, 2005, 12:46 am | #
[...] gers who have already written about this : Harini, Kaps, Anshul, Press Talk, Walk with me, desipundit, The arbit council, Patrix
This ent [...]
Patrix
October 9th, 2005, 2:44 am | #
Jagan,
I get your drift. I hope better sense prevails. I just don’t want the blogosphere with its limitations to be intimidated by big business who are clearly misleading the public. Blogosphere in India neither has threatened journalism nor aspires to replace it. Blogging can be the purest form of voicing out personal opinions, which is exactly what is happening.
I am willing to post a link to a response from IIPM as long as it comes through authenticated channels and uses civil language.
Varna
October 9th, 2005, 7:38 am | #
I study in Delhi and am witness to their poor standard of education in adition to their exorbitant fees. Whole heartedly suppost Rashmi, Gaurav and others!
Swaroop C H, The Dreamer » Will the real IIPM please stand up?
October 9th, 2005, 1:15 pm | #
[...] o students when they themselves don’t know how to manage criticism? More details at DesiPundit. Leave a Rep [...]
shub
October 9th, 2005, 2:17 pm | #
ridiculous to say the least! with all the attempts at “defending” IIPM, the “bloggers” slinging mud at rashmi and co. are just doing us all a favor.
Its nice to know that of late,the blogging community’s image has been changing from one of being trivial, and a waste of time…to another voice of the masses..
Waiting to see if any of this hits the news…and how the bad publicity will affect IIPM…
good luck to Rashmi and co.
shub
October 9th, 2005, 2:51 pm | #
posted. http://makingpplsmile.blogspot.com/2005/10/cos-sometimes-you-simply-cant-bear-to.html
Rajan’s Rambling » Blog Archive » IIPM harassment
October 9th, 2005, 10:14 pm | #
[...] e been a long time reader of Rashmi & I standby for what Rashmi writes. Patrix & Desipundit has called for a blog war against IIPM & I am with them on [...]
Havoc
October 9th, 2005, 10:51 pm | #
This is the most ridiculous thing I have come across in a long time.. and that includes the US presidential elections.
IIPM calls itself a management instution !!! I think it needs some PR classes and not from IIPM.
Abhishek’s blog » Blog Archive » IIPM, the crap institute
October 9th, 2005, 11:10 pm | #
[...] and the pay packet is much less than jobs secured via the IIM’s. Via Tarun, Patrix, DesiPundit. Abhishek | 7:21 am | Howzzat, Education India [...]
Thalassa Mikra
October 9th, 2005, 11:11 pm | #
I don’t know if you guys have noticed this, but I thought it was an interesting phenomenon. Arindam Chaudhuri’s name has been spelt variously in different blog posts about IIPM, ranging from Chowdhury, Chaudhary, Chowdhary, etc. However, in every newbie blog set up to defend IIPM, his name has invariably been spelt correctly, i.e., Arindam Chaudhuri. Coincidence? I think not!! Obviously Arindam makes sure his minions get his name right when they write blog posts defending IIPM.
abhishek
October 9th, 2005, 11:14 pm | #
referenced to at:
http://abhishek.weblogs.us/archives/47/iipm-the-crap-institute/
Vijay Krishna
October 10th, 2005, 1:27 am | #
Nice observation, Thalassa. I mis-spelt his name myself.
Selective Amnesia » IIPM and its bunch of fake, lewd bloggers
October 10th, 2005, 2:05 am | #
[...] ol? The blog-o-sphere is rankled. And pretty bad. Understandably so! Bloggers Charu, Kaps, Patrix, Harini and others have taken up the cudgels. And we will fight. Fig [...]
Ravages
October 10th, 2005, 2:08 am | #
I’m in. IIPM’s behaviour suck big time. But that was to be expected from people who claim a purple building in a slum is a world-class campus with landscaped gardens.
http://www.selectiveamnesia.org/2005/10/10/iipm-and-its-bunch-of-fake-lewd-bloggers/
mandar
October 10th, 2005, 2:50 am | #
Going by the commnets on Rashmi’s blog by (alleged) IIPM students, IIPM stands to lose much more than Rashmi or Gaurav. IIPM’s credibility, morality, and ethics are in question here. The blogging community is firmly on their side.
There’s maybe not much we can all do, but we can definitely help spread the word about this institution’s claims and its uncouth students.
I have posted about this here: A Call to Arms.
Kaushal Karkhanis
October 10th, 2005, 3:19 am | #
Count me in too! I fully support Rashmi’s views and freedom of speech. If IIPM wants to clarify, they should do so publicly. JAM has been around for 10 years and there’s no doubt about their integrity and honesty. The 125 Crore lawsuit against Gaurav is a ridiculous joke!
Tony
October 10th, 2005, 4:09 am | #
many things have happened in the weekend i guess. Just learnt it today morning.. Lets all join the fight.
How dare they attack a blogger.
Tony
October 10th, 2005, 4:26 am | #
BTW anybody noticed the fact that in the so called comments left by IIPM students and alumni, none of them could ever pin point on a particular point in the article and give a genuine defense againts any of the Truths againts thier false claims. Their whole effort is self defeating I believe.
K
October 10th, 2005, 4:39 am | #
I have never doubted the fact that IIPM is like any of the other hundreds of MBA schools in the country. It might even be better than several of the crappier ones. However, what Rashmi has done is just ‘expose’ using some very basic journalism - AC’s tall claims. I don’t see how that is bad or wrong and why the blogs should be attacked by minions of this man. In fact, I find the comments on some posts (including a very funny threat to me) funny and should not be taken seriously. But I repeat, this is not against the students over at IIPM, in fact I positively pity those guys. But its got more to do with that ponytailed ‘guru’ of sorts.
As for personal attacks - the man named his son Che Kabir (really, I don’t make such things up) because he wanted his son to be a revolutionary like Che but peaceful like Kabir. What can one say about things like that?
I wish AC actually knew who many of these ‘insignificant’ bloggers were.
Bonatellis
October 10th, 2005, 6:01 am | #
Ref: http://daytimeruminations.blogspot.com/2005/10/paying-to-create-myths.html
TablePost.com » Blog Archive » Blogger served legal notice
October 10th, 2005, 8:58 am | #
[...] el criminal and civil actions are being notified further on. Read the whole thing here. More details at Desipundit.
[...]
Anon
October 10th, 2005, 11:08 am | #
Gaurav Sabnis lost his job at IBM today.
All of you who want to fight against IIPM, please put together a few hundred rupees each for him - he has to pay off his EMI on a car loan & house loan, and delay his marriage plans.
Will you join the fight please, and play for Gaurav?
IIPM Student
October 10th, 2005, 11:14 am | #
We think IIPM rocks - 3000 of us current students, and many thousand alumni, love the institute and are grateful for the enormous value add of the MBA program.
If anyone wants to discuss this, we’d love to meet with you. Maurya Sheraton, this Sunday? 10 AM ?
But don’t run about shooting your mouth off in blogspace with no idea of what you are saying. Your jealousy and envy is clear and evident in your words, which have no factual basis.
Those who choose to go ahead, we will respond with equally irresponsible posts and blogs… and we will win.
GAURAV SABNIS LOST HIS JOB AT IBM SALES TODAY, DUE TO THE LEGAL CASES AGAINST HIM BY IIPM.
IIPM Delhi Student Council
Ex-IIPM (2004)
October 10th, 2005, 11:32 am | #
I went to IIPM Delhi and my life was ruined. I worked with HLL as a SALES rep. And earned about 17,500 for the first one year!!! IIPM is one of the biggest fraud institutes!
And as for Gaurav Sabnis. He’s a brave chap. The inside story is that Gaurav was a guy of principles and chose to leave IBM.. Cause IBM had no guts to stand up to IIPM. (All bloody corporate politics!!!!)
Thanks God for chaps like Gaurav.. I don’t wnant others to suffer like I have.
Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » India: Defending Freedom of Speech
October 10th, 2005, 12:07 pm | #
[...] the receiving end of malicious anonymous comments. Many blogs including Sambhar Mafia and Desi Pundit have been following the developments closely. A lot of India [...]
Psychotic Rambings Of A Mad Man… » Blog Archive » Truth, Principles, Blackmail
October 10th, 2005, 12:36 pm | #
[...] ude in the face of legal blackmail Another Mediaah! in the making? Not at all. For today, the entire blogosphere stands united with Gaurav Sabnis and Rashmi Bansal. [...]
Vulturo
October 10th, 2005, 12:52 pm | #
Check this out. The right noises are definitely being made
KirkH
October 10th, 2005, 1:46 pm | #
For your info: Instapundit, one of the biggest and most respected blogs in America just linked to the IndiaUncut post.
Radhakrishnan C Nair
October 10th, 2005, 1:58 pm | #
I strongly support each and every blogger in this war against IIPM Vs. Blog Community…
By the way, does anyone has any information about the authenticity of ICFAI?? Can u pls tell me if this university is good?
plus ultra
October 10th, 2005, 2:07 pm | #
I salute Gaurav on his principled stand, but I have one nagging thought, though.
I am sure that IBM is not such a pussilanimous organisation to be cowed down by such juvenile threats, nor can their awesome reputation be marred by stray and imbecilic acts of some misguided and gullible students of an organisation of questionable credentials.
Did Guarav seriously believe that IIPM would have carried out their threat ? They wouldn’t have dared. It would have brought them unfavourable publicity and invited public curiosity and scrutiny. If he had not blinked first in the eyeball to eyeball encounter, and had simply called their bluff, IIPM would have beaten a hasty retreat. I am sure that a values-driven organisation like IBM would have supported him. IIPM would have been exposed further.
But Gaurav, I respect your decision.
Inoperable Terran » Blogswarm this
October 10th, 2005, 2:12 pm | #
[...] (Evidentally they’re a trade school similar to DeVry or ITT Tech in the US). More here. (Via the Puppy Blender, so you know these folks are getting way more [...]
Sakshi
October 10th, 2005, 2:18 pm | #
Gaurav Sabnis has done us proud. The man stand by his beliefs and keeps his faith. Good Luck to you man…and remember WE ARE ALL WITH YOU.
pkbhat
October 10th, 2005, 2:59 pm | #
My opinion: In defence of IIPM
gawker
October 10th, 2005, 3:00 pm | #
IIPM students to burn degree certificates to protest defamation of institute
ME..
October 10th, 2005, 3:38 pm | #
also just happened to read through gaurav’s blog..
what IIPM is doing is ridiculous and sooo anti democratic.. threatning IBM’s reputation for their employee exercising his right to freedom of expression..
maybe its time i switch my previous words back..
something beyond just publishing words on blogs needs to be done about it..!!
im soooo sorry for what lies in future for IIPM..
Jagan Mohan
October 10th, 2005, 4:01 pm | #
I think many IIPM don’t seem to grasp the crux of the matter.
It is NOT about IIPM. Not whether IIPM is really a good institute or nor.
But rather, it is a matter of FREE SPEECH.
IIPM tries to arm twist Gaurav into silence… and succeeds.
The online community will never forgive any monied huge organisation from censoring ordinary people and getting away with it.
If you want to help IIPM, just STFU. or suffer the consequences thereof.
Mridula
October 10th, 2005, 4:03 pm | #
Shreyas, please can you leave personalized comments? And not just cut and paste this comment on any blog?
~j~
October 10th, 2005, 4:12 pm | #
Gaurav Sabnis, i bow before you! by your action, you have shown that you’re a much bigger person than a so-called institution. keep up the good work. thanx for teaching us a thing or two!
i’ve been following links to this issue since reading Rashmi’s post. i’m surprised how its not all over the news yet…
kaisare.net » Blog Archive » Standing up for ones principles - Gaurav Sabnis vs IIPM
October 10th, 2005, 5:01 pm | #
[...] oth things. The only option was to resign from IBM voluntarily. (Read the entire account) Many Indian (and American) bloggers have picked up this story. Amit Varma p [...]
Arnav
October 10th, 2005, 5:20 pm | #
I had made a couple of posts earlier on my blog about IIPM. This is the latest (http://seainside.blogdrive.com/archive/74.html) that I have made after going through the series of posts on various blogs written in support of this issue. Gaurav’s resignation is unfortunate, but what is worse is that a ‘management institute’ doesn’t have any problems with behaving in the utterly shameless manner that it is behaving in.
One hardly needs proof to see that there’s something rotten in IIPM, it’s obvious from the immaturity with which they have responded.
Patrix
October 10th, 2005, 5:30 pm | #
Cross-posting comments, as Andy and Shreyas have done, will not be tolerated and will be deleted instantly. Commenting on any one blog is enough. If you want to comment here, write your original and personal thoughts.
Ajay
October 10th, 2005, 5:32 pm | #
I’d like to give my support to Gaurav. A sad incident, all of this. I didn’t post much, but here goes:
http://ajayvb.blogspot.com/2005/10/former-coep-and-electronics-department.html
Navin
October 10th, 2005, 5:36 pm | #
http://free-blog-site.com/navin/archive/2005/10/10/84546.aspx
Here goes my post on the same.
I am going to email few famous bloggers to create more awareness on the same.
Jinal Shah
October 10th, 2005, 5:54 pm | #
In f