The Doon School Weekly (DSW): Please give us a brief introduction to yourself and your academic career.
Dr. Kanti Bajpai (KB): After schooling at Doon I went to Canada, where my father was the Ambassador. My father persuaded me to stay in Canada and so I did a BA (Economics) and an MA (Political Science) from the University of British Columbia. Then I came back to Doon and taught here for a year (1981). However, I felt I was still not ready for the classroom and so, in 1982, I went to the US to do a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois. In 1989 I came back and taught in M.S. University of Baroda for three years, after which I went back to the US to teach. After that, in 1993 I came back to India to the Institute of Contemporary Studies of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. A year later I moved on to Jawaharlal Nehru University to teach disarmament, security and arms control.
I have always been interested in the study of the Indian democracy — how we’ve persisted with this system, becoming a prominent exception amongst the Third World countries, which have mostly fallen prey to dictatorships. I also studied the relationship around the world between militaries and civilians. I shifted focus towards international politics because I thought that too much had been studied, discussed and written about the fighting in South Asia and too little covered about co-operation and friendship between the various countries. That was the time when SAARC was a relatively new concept and the world waited anxiously to see how it would work out. My Ph.D. was focussed on how people demarcate regions.
DSW: How does it feel to be back in Doon?
KB: It feels fantastic to be back here. I always wished to come back here and teach. When I came to know that the post of the Headmaster was to become vacant this year, I threw my hat into the ring. The school is after all a great institution. I often semi-joke that the Headmaster of the Doon School is the fifth most important job in the country - the first being the PM’s, the second the President’s, the third being the Leader of the Opposition’s and the fourth, of course, that of the captain of the Indian cricket team!
DSW: What changes do you see in the campus?
KB: The physical condition of the campus is beautiful. In my time the campus was never so spruced up. I get the impression that somehow the boys, particularly the senior ones, seem more boyish than they used to in my time. This impression might be due to the fact that I’m getting older! However, change has to happen, and it will happen everywhere.
DSW: What changes do you see in The Doon School Weekly?
KB: It is a good thing that most of the production is computerised now. In my time the Weekly was ‘heavier’. The articles nowadays seem to be shorter and perkier. The whole magazine is more interactive now with crosswords, puzzles etc. I guess that is because you now cater to a different consumer, one that wants more ‘mirch-masala’. In my time there was a lot more Old Boys’ stuff since we did not have an Old Boys’ magazine like the Rosebowl. I do have one complaint. My father has always got the Weekly for the past fifty-five years. I’ve, however, never got one - although I’ve been more in touch with the school and batch mates.
DSW: What kind of impact do you think The Doon School has had on you?
KB: Doon tends to have a great impact on our lives. Spending six years of one’s life at a place does leave its influences on you. I was shy, self-conscious and awkward when I came to school. Doon got me over my shyness as my peers and masters pushed me into things I would never have done in my old school in Delhi. Activities like dramatics, public speaking helped a lot. I would say that quite a significant number of boys are benefited in this way. I do realise that some people do not get to shine in school the way they should since they are not heroes on the sports field or in extra-curricular activities. Although they have their own talents and contributions.
DSW: Did you dislike anything in school when you were here?
KB: I always hated PT. My romantic vision of consolidated houses was shattered when the houses were divided and the CDH became functional with house dining rooms being done away with. I objected to that but I guess now people would object to a reversal.
I was a pretty useful sportsman, especially in cricket (House XI- A and S Forms) . I thought I was a good soccer player but somehow most people had this image of me as the Scholar’s Blazer type!
DSW: Please tell us something about your family.
KB: I have a wife, Roberta, a son who will be joining in D-Form and a fifteen-year-old daughter. I was married when I was teaching at Doon.