Ghost Lines (part III) ....

continued from Ghost Lines (part II) ....

I have already given an outline as to the Governance side solution to the problem to a certain extent in my blog Elixir to Governance Paralysis. Since my focus of this blog series is on the major solution of education, I won't deliberate further on the other one but conclude the series with the education angle today.

The love for the nation and a sense of duty towards its people, the society and its liberty can't be trained but has to be inculcated. It is not a feeling which comes by hammering it in and mugging it up - it is in the form of a burning passion from within; there is always a flame inside every child and keeping that flame burning irrespective of all adversities externally is what the education system must do - if we ensure this today, we can be rest assured that such a child will never forget his roots, his culture and his ultimate duty as he travels through life - becomes a teen, then a man - the pure flame keeps burning day and night - never giving up! This is the crux of the solution I have in mind - Amar Jyot, Amar Vichaar, Ek Amar Desh. So, by making conditions suitable for an eternal burning of this inner flame can we achieve a long term change in the attitude of our nation leading to a recovery from our current injuries. How to do this? Cleanse the system of education !

To begin the process of cleansing we have to start identifying the problems with our education system - I have listed a few in my last post. One of my distant acquaintance living in the US had shared a nice story about how field trips are conducted there. In this incident, he said that the trip was about a garbage cleaning exercise in connection with some biological subject these kids had. They were taken to a beach in Miami, Florida where they were asked to collect garbage and classify it according to what they have learnt. This garbage then was to be separated into different storages and their disposal methods were to be found and implemented. Each student then had to submit a report as to what he/she had learnt. Why can't our field trips be like that instead of a jibber-jabber round, some Antakshari and "time-pass"? Maths and Physics are such subjects which can totally float on core concepts, yet how many teachers today understand these concepts, leave alone explain it? And if they do, do our school managements permit them the greater time investment needed to ensure a concept base learning? or are they interested in marks? History and Geography are side appetizers of the school meal, are they so really? Do we understand the importance of History? We assume it to be something mugged up and spat out, is it so? History is like a beautiful story - the dates can be referred, what about the learning from History? Why did a certain revolutionary act in a certain way? What might he have thought at that time and how his actions impacted others around and the nation as a whole? Why does History to us never go beyond Gandhi-Nehru-Congress? They were not just the sole contributors to history; where are our forgotten heroes? Where are the stories of Veer Savarkar, of Bhagat Singh, of Netaji Bose, of Babasaheb Ambedkar and many many others before and after them? Our history starts from Chanakya, the Greek Invasion (its defeat and the Maurya Dynasty); the Rajputs, the Mughal Oppression, Shivaji Maharaj, the Peshwe Rule to the British and the independence movement; it goes beyond this to the events after independence right upto today - how many of these aspects are covered? Do our children know who Chanakya was and how brilliantly did he set up the first establishment of Bhaarat as a nation? Why can't we teach the wisdom imparted through the Bhagavad Geeta, Mahabharat and Ramayan? History tells us of our past mistakes and those of others; it offers us a chance to not repeat them - how can we teach this to our children if we don't teach them History properly? Who will tell them of our culture, who will remind them of our great past and inspire them for the future?

It is easier to ask these questions the reader may think, but I have the answers too - this is where a government with will comes into the picture; to attract the best talent into the field of primary and secondary education; to build a strong foundation for future generations; to empower children to become great future political leaders of our nation and hence the attitude that a teaching job being for the less qualified has to be done with. Provide for decent pays to school teachers as well rather than throwing peanuts; develop Indian Teaching Services like the IAS/IPS - highlight the importance of a teacher and associate a prestige value to it - the US does it - Mathematics teachers have immense respect in the American Society. Let the students decide which subjects they want (History has to stay compulsory) and involve parents in the task of educating their ward - it is their duty! No parent can give the stupid reason of time and replacing it with money! They better not give birth to kids if they don't have the time to invest in them while they grow up! Abolish private tutions and their parallel set up and ask them to set up standard schools if they want to stay in this business. This is the Governance side of the education solution; there is ours as well.

The Government is but a representative of the majority; corruption and unfair practices is not a bane to the Govt alone - there are doctors who cheat and charge unnecessary treatments; there are engineers who design substandard structures; there are managers who fudge balance sheets; there are teachers who do not justify their pay by bunking classes; there are sportsmen who use banned performance enhancing drugs; there are merchants who swindle in deals; there are students who cheat in exams - corruption is a plague and its oxygen is "our negative attitude" It is the social mirror; our representatives are picked from this mass pool - they aint aliens to be pure when we, the mass, is impure. The governing systems has good men too, it is our duty to raise this number - it can be easily misunderstood that is to be done by swarming the political scene alone; No! I appeal, it can be done on your doorstep too - let us pledge to be good men first; let us decide to be true to ourselves and display sensitivity to all that is concerned with our nation. The Govt is a sample from this large population and when this large population has a great degree of purity can the sample picked have a higher probability to be pure and just. There will automatically be those who want to be good politicians being churned out for the cause when the mass starts its movement towards purity in the soul and the heart. Can we decide as students to forego marks to a certain extent and work towards building our concepts? Can we believe that "Excellence and Success share the same relation as a master and his dog!" ? Can we make that sacrifice and build our foundations and inspire those around to do the same? Can we in some way atleast cleanse a speck of muck from this system - maybe by becoming a teacher once a week/month if not ultimately or by encouraging our close ones today or be good parents tomorrow or support institutions and similar thoughts or clean the muck within by reminding ourselves of our culture and acting accordingly or if nothing else atleast ensure that electricity, water etc is never wasted on our watch? Can't we take that too when those before us have taken so much? Can we take the pains to know our own culture and remind ourselves and others of who we are and of what we are capable of?

I can't see the answer to be that it all seems too impractical; it is a dream meant to be shattered - we under-estimate our own capabilities because we are afraid of the pain on the difficult path; had our great leaders and ancestors felt the same, had forgotten the greater good - we might have been in a much worse condition than today. We need to change this attitude and the system which breeds it desperately. To do that, we need power; for power we need to have great, capable and selfless leaders in those high positions; to get them there - we need to change our attitude - its a circle and it has to start somewhere! A mass movement, a brick-by-brick set up, a step by step change from every individual will set the ball rolling and bring us culturally where we were centuries ago before foreign invaders corrupted us; (we let them, no doubt!) but that can be achieved - many global examples and many domestic as well - How could Napoleon do it? How did Sir Winston Churchill inspire the British to survive all odds and emerge victorious in WWII after all the bombing it took? How come Adolf Hitler inspire a wreck of a nation to achieve the peak of greatness and transform a country he loved like mad into a powerful super-power in a mere decade;where every German was willing to die, willing to kill for Germany? How does a tiny dagger like nation of Israel defy all odds against existence and take a stand against its enemies? How did Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar inspire their respective teams to transform Gujarat and Bihar  - streamline these states into growth stories?

Can we take inspiration from such stories and shape our attitude for the greater good? Can we shape this attitude to act like a sharp sword to cut off the chains of slavery? or act like a purifier which cleans the garbage from blocked ways? Can we contribute our part, small or large, in a hope to change the system we make?

If Arya Chanakya, a teacher, an economist, a politician, an intellectual and a leader could defeat anti-national elements and condense a part of this vast sub-continent into a single nation which lasted 200 years as the Maurya Dynasty;

If Shivaji Maharaj had the guts to defy and stand for justice against a much powerful foe, outlast them and set up the best example till date of a great administrator - truly "The People's King";

If Babasaheb Ambedkar could withstand all the injustice meted out to him and the entire Dalit community by men I am ashamed to call my countrymen and still breathe for a united Hindustaan, could stand tall and ask the British to not instigate inter-communal disparity irrespective of how he had been treated;

If Veer Savarkar could survive the Andamans, bear pain unimaginable and defeat Death itself - a true Mrutyunjay and go on to usher in sweeping reforms after his release;

If Bhagat Singh and his trusted HSRA revolutionaries could endure all the torture to dream and fight for a free Bhaarat;

If Netaji Bose could go against a popular figure among the masses and deem to act as what he thought right in the best interests of the motherland which ultimately resulted in his alienation from the political scenario;

If Vallabh bhai Patel could take a stand and warn us of the dangers to come, show the iron will to unite all regions into a single nation in face of stiff opposition and sacrifice the post of PM;

If Shastri-ji could set an example of morality as the Prime Minister of the nation and obey rules come what may to maintain the political system;

If Atal-ji could dare to shield a Sikh against a rioting mob during the Anti-Sikh riots and consider investment of time with young minds more important than figurehead functions;

If LK Advani could hold an umbrella over his driver's head in torrential rains as his driver tried to work out the cause to a failed engine;

If the Indian Defence Forces are not afraid to die, not afraid to fight for a nation they love, cherish and respect;

Why can't we?

Jai Hind !