Deserving Exit Being Prepared for Controversial Director of Central Hindi Institute

A deserving farewell appears to be in the works for the controversial Director of the Central Hindi Institute, Sunil Baburao Kulkarni, who has long remained at the centre of disputes within the institution functioning under the Department of Education, Government of India. The process to appoint a new Director has already begun, with an official advertisement being issued.

Recently, Illustrated Daily News and Kadwa Satya published detailed investigative reports on Mr. Kulkarni’s tenure. Additionally, the book Vishvabhasha Hindi – Anusandhanatmak Nibandh by Dr. Bapurao Desai contains a comprehensive critique of certain “distinguished traits” of a particular academic figure — traits that now appear to align strikingly with the outgoing Director of the Central Hindi Institute.

However, the fault lies not with individuals like Mr. Kulkarni who find their way into prestigious posts such as Director, Professor or Assistant Professor — rather, the fault lies within the system that empowers them, celebrates them and turns them into “honourable” authorities, while the entire academic fraternity looks on silently. Even when journalists document the truth, scholars write complete chapters exposing such personalities and affected individuals file dozens of complaints — the institutional machinery remains in a prolonged slumber. And when it wakes up, it is usually far too late.

As a result, highly qualified and deserving individuals have begun to fear the very mention of the Central Hindi Institute.

In his book, Dr. Desai notes:

“It is true that during his tenure in the department, I served this so-called disabled lecturer with 10–12 memos regarding his poor Hindi writing, improper teaching practices, disloyal behavior and consistent grammatical errors — all of which are still on record with the university administration.”

This raises a critical question:

How does someone who cannot write a single grammatically correct paragraph in Hindi and never attends classes on time ascend to positions like Assistant Professor, Professor or even Director?

The news regarding the search for a new Director has brought relief among the dedicated stakeholders of the Central Hindi Institute. Yet, a pressing concern remains — will the next Director be appointed strictly on merit, or will the selection once again follow the familiar path of manipulation and “setting”?

And what will happen to those who have suffered… should another such figure arrive and rewrite yet another chapter of institutional distress?

Special Report by Harendra Pratap