This post is about IIPM’s deplorable, misogynistic, retaliatory attacks on Rashmi Bansal, a female blogger who runs a magazine (JAM) which gave IIPM, a B-school in India, a less than stellar review. If you’d like, you can skip the Red Hot Chili Peppers lyrics and vignette below them; Rashmi’s story commences right before the jump.

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Twisting and turning
Your feelings are burning
You’re breaking the girl
She meant you no harm
Think you’re so clever
But now you must sever
You’re breaking the girl…{rhcp}

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After I finished my last degree, my next step—like every other desi who didn’t feel like going to medical school or being an engineer— was law school…or so I thought. I took Kaplan, took the LSAT and took obscene amounts of time filling out applications and writing essays, like everyone else who applied to be a 1L during the 2001-2002 school year.

My heart wasn’t in it.

I refused to go unless I was accepted at a school I loved because frankly, Mr. Shankly, I didn’t need to be a lawyer (and $100k in debt) that badly.

Out of the blue, I got a scholarship to a school I had no interest in…my Mom forced me to keep an open mind and at least visit it with her when she came east for my graduation.

“Fine, Mummy. For you, I will”, I said.

The materials made the campus sound fantastic; the truth was, ‘twas a hole. I didn’t really hold it against them though— we all bullshit a little bit to make reality seem more fabulous. I’ll accept that proclivity— within limits.

Exactly a year later, when I was tending to my interns, I told them all about my experience with the law school suitor I had rejected. I felt like it was the right thing to do; almost half of them were in the process of applying themselves and a guest speaker who had graciously enriched their time with a speech was an Alum of the school I had found so hole-y. As I tried not to wince, he talked it up ridiculously. If I had had the time to blog during the summer of 2002, when I was working 70+ hour weeks, I would’ve told the world my story, in an honest, unflinching way. Aside from potentially getting flamed via comment, I wouldn’t have had anything to worry about, after posting my opinion.

Lucky me.

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Rashmi Bansal, the blogger behind “Youth Curry” runs Just Another Magazine or JAM. JAM did brown youngsters in the Amma-land a favor by discussing B-schools, a topic which must be quite popular judging by my daily updates from Rediff.com, which inevitably include an article on the subject.

Here’s what JAM had to say about IIPM, a somewhat controversial school that reminds me of that sleazy guy at the bar who talks a good game— i.e. they’re full of shit. The bar-scum doesn’t have a porsche and IIPM isn’t a 10 ten school which is better than IIM, in fact IIPM has been removed from B-school rankings for misrepresenting itself. Though I’m a St. Thomas Christian, I don’t have to go to a sleazy garage to place my hands in the hole where the ultimate daily driver should be nor do I have to visit one of the “plush” IIPMs to tell you that they lied, too. Some things, you just know are true.

Check out the totally appropriate investigating JAM did regarding IIPM’s claims:

“The 8 Wi-Fi IIPM Towers in India which are modern architectural wonders equipped with air-conditioned classrooms, auditoriums huge state-of-the-art computer dromes and well stocked libraries. The IIPM campus gives students a completely international feel with its beautifully landscaped surroundings, an unique blend of old English architecture with modern exteriors and has facilities like swimming pool, mini golf, billiards, etc.”
We visited IIPM’s Mumbai campus in Bandra, posing as prospective students. The ‘campus’ is a four-storied building, with some parking area around it. There is a small ‘canteen’ section that can seat, at the most, around 10 students. We entered the air conditioned reception area that was bustling with activity in the limited space available. But you’re left wondering - where in this one tiny building can they be hiding that swimming pool they promised in the ads? We also checked out the campus in Delhi’s Qutab Institutional Area. There too we couldn’t find a swimming pool, mini golf course or billiards table. Again, there wasn’t any “old English architecture”. The building tower resembled any other office complex in Delhi. There was no Wi-Fi on campus, or in the library. The librarian didn’t even know what Wi-Fi was!
However, there is ONE campus for second year students in Delhi’s Chhatarpur area which has a swimming pool.

There’s more where that came from, but I doubt that any of our readers give two shits about the “free laptops” and Ivy-pedigreed Professors IIPM brags about shamelessly. I included that excerpt to make a point; if Sepia Mutiny had written it, we would’ve brought the pain. JAM was restrained and professional, which is why the next hairpin turn in this tale outrages me further.

IIPM, like the slimy asshole at the bar who couldn’t get a date with us, is bitter that we told our friends about their M.O. How does THAT guy get back at a girl like us? Why he probably spins the truth his way and tells anyone who’s clueless enough to listen a story. It goes a little something like this. “That bitch…was such a slut. She wanted me soooo badly, so I hooked up with her and then told her to Fuck off.”

Because that’s what you do when you want to eviscerate a woman who pissed you off, right? She’s a bitch, but wait, what insinuation is worse than THAT? Of course. She’s a whore. A walking cum-dumpster who is so controlled by her genitals, she needs to be fucked and she’ll take it any way she can. That’s how you tear down a woman, especially in our community where flawlessly pure Sita is Queen, where good girls are virgins until they are impregnated on their wedding nights and the only one who touches their shame-shame is the husband who legitimizes sexuality (but only in the context of procreation).

Bitch. Slut. Whore. That’s how you humiliate and denigrate a woman.

Here’s how they tried to do that to Rashmi:

At 1:58 PM, OracleCoder said…
Grow up Rashmi,
Let’s be clear about one thing. What you’ve written in your blog is total crap. Please don’t hurt the sensibilities of intellectual readers with your loadful of shit. Remember me, I’m Subby, your batchmate at IIM Ahmedabad. Does Junta know you got kicked out in the second year because you were caught with your pants down in the women’s loo (with another woman for god’s sake). Grow up Rashmi. Hope you are married to a man, and have learnt to pull your pants up. Stop claiming you are from IIM A. It’s a pity no one’s brought that issue up…
At 2:10 PM, RaghuveerSrinivas said…
Hey I don’t agree with that. My bro is from IIM A. He says she got kicked out because she fudged her graduation degree certificate. Rashmi, can u please post your degree on the net? Also please post the photo of your husband (or wife) so that we can be sure it’s a man (alongwith the sex certificate from JJ Hospital). Man, this is good. Rashmi, I’m open to any sex. If you are interested, let’s hit it big. I can do some good stuff on you, whatever you are… By the way, at least you’ve realized how pitiable a character you are; I should say your pretensions of being a blogger are finally being destroyed. Your shit stuff on IIPM and related things is so a-s-s-h-o-l-i-s-h (if you understand the word b-i-t-c-h) because almost all the points you’ve written are totally false. At least write some believable stuff. At least you lizard. By the way, I’ve heard that in your own jammag, you screw around with the fresh joinees (there are no experienced people in jammag because they leave after tasting you, I’ve heard). It would be nice if you can kindly post denials from all your employees that you don’t screw around with them. For the sake of information of readers, Guys, just go to jammag’s website and check out how this w-h-o-r-e recruits part time employees left and right. Wow!

I almost forgot— if you really want to go for the jugular, then use the alternative “Nympho” story— the one where she/the bitch/the slut craves carpet. Those damned lesbians…always in the bathroom getting it on when they should be writing nice, agreeable stories which don’t bother anyone.

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I’m not even telling you half of this story, because another blogger’s life has been complicated by this clusterfuck, too. The brown blogosphere has already howled in outrage, I’d expect no less about an issue so worrisome. To summarize what happened and why it’s appalling enough that Instapundit picked up on it: a principled blogger named Gaurav Sabnis is out of a job. How did poor Gaurav get involved when it was Rashmi they were burning at the virtual stake?

The always outstanding India Uncut tells you better than I could, picking up where I left off, after JAM posted their article questioning IIPM’s claims:

After that happened, some of the IIPM staff barged into the Jam office. In Rashmi’s words, they “did not offer any new or material facts, other than argument.” Then she got a legal notice from them. All fair so far. They have a right to go to court, and they need not have worried if the facts were on their side. But were they? See what happened next.
A number of blogs sprung up overnight defending IIPM and defaming Rashmi and Gaurav Sabnis, a popular Indian blogger who had linked to Rashmi’s article and added some facts of his own. Ludicrous rumours were spread about Aaj Tak, the news channel, having done a sting operation and having caught Amity, a rival of IIPM, giving money to Rashmi to do the story. Rashmi posted on the matter, and filthy comments were left on that post – you can read them for yourself and see the class of the people who left them. Also, Gaurav received a hilarious legal notice, which he reproduced on his blog – it was hilarious at the time, that is.
Then it got serious. IIPM happens to be a client of IBM, Gaurav’s employer, having purchased a huge bunch of laptops from them. (In fact, they are a company with serious money clout, and are one of the biggest advertisers in India.) So what would you expect them to do?

What would you expect the blogger caught in the middle of all this to do? Gaurav made the most astonishing and difficult choice— he left IBM. A blogger resigned. No, he wasn’t dooced, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some version of “Gaurav” is entered in the urban dictionary soon.

To Gaurav: (verb) to leave a job because of blog posts which you do not and should not regret.

This is insanity, people. We’re carving out how this wonderful method of communication exists, each day whether we acknowledge our roles as sculptors or not. I do not want a blogosphere where misogynist assholes threaten people they disagree with and resort to professional blackmail to achieve their ends. I am livid that I even need to write this post.

You do not tear down a woman by reducing her to a fuck-craving deviant and you do not punish a man for using his voice to disagree with you. You will not silence either of them; you will not hush the blogoshpere and you most definitely won’t shut me up, either. Rashimi and Gaurav aren’t afraid of desperate, craven assholes who foam at the comment box and neither am I. Shame on you, IIPM and shame on anyone who isn’t aghast at what this woman and man have been put through. Any of us could be next.