Education for all!

At home shared auto is one of my favorite modes of commutation. Not only is it cheap, it also gives you the golden opportunity to have fleeting interaction with the hoipoloi of the city.

One of these times I had a small lad of 11 or 12 as my co-passenger. He boarded the auto with a big empty bucket. He was there in the auto with me for some 10-15 minutes. All the while I was observing him. There was a unique brilliance in his face. A typical satisfaction which is atypical of the school-going lads of his age. On interacting with him I came to know that he was going to some place for some wall-penting. So he was a child labour devoid of education. But then he was happy.

This made me think about the contemporary education and if we should make this type of education as compulsory. The education that the Indian government can make compulsory and free, is simply good for nothing! You have to be extra brilliant in numbers to get any benefit from that education. If you are mediocre or less then you simply waste 10-12 prime years of your life. Do we have the right to shatter the lives of so many kids of the nation in the name of "right to education"? May be we should look around for a better education system before making it compulsory and a right. This might sound harse, but then lets stop living in a fool's paradise; lets stop speculating sitting in our cosy rooms, lets come out and look at the problem with proper empathy...

Tale of two blogs!

Blog 1: Village Republic

Went home for Durga Puja. On my way I had a looonngggggggg halt in Howrdah station. Howrdah station can be a mine of lost treasures for book-hunters. I fished a book called "Vinoba on Gandhi"! Somehow I have got tremendous appreciation for these freedom fighters, esp. Gandhi, Vinoba and Gokhle. We know so little about these guys. These people I consider as real polymaths. Anyway, in that book, I discovered a new term: village republic! What a wonderful idea! I often think that USA is better off a part because of the fact that it has a looser federation than India. Independence at local level solves many problem in one go. It makes smaller independnet entitites, encourages healthy compition and lastly it also gives a community identity which lacks so badly in India. This idea of village republic seemed to solve all the problems.

1. This will make independent village economy. With proper planning this can be done. E.g. there are many villages in coastal OdishA called Sasana-villages, set by medival kings. In such villages there are few families of almost all clans, some smiths, some farmers, some priests, some weavers etc etc. Hence, this is no new idea.
2. This will also make democracy more realistic. Today one legislator represents huge number of people. Hence, Indian democracy has become a mockery. At a very local level things will be more trackable. Even for independent decisions all villagors can be drawn to the assembly hall.
3. This will create a bond. Given sufficient independnece this village identity may come over other differences like cast and religion.

Hats off to the great thinkers!!

Guru-and-sisya
The sort of relation that we have between teacher and student, is something unique to orient. I am not going to tell you about how great is this or if this is all bullshit! I will just write about a sloka I read this time in home. In my home, I find many old books from no where !! This time I found a book by Pandit Gopabandhu. He was one of the major figures in British OdishA. He was also a passionate educator and along with some others has started the first Gandhian school in OdishA, named Satyavadi-banabidyalaya. In the book I got hold of, he was talking about education. There he quoted a sloka which reads:
"sarvatra jayamanwichhet,
sishyat icchet parajayam!"
I.e. aspire for victory in all fronts; from your student aspire a defeat! I was really touched by the idea. How great the mind might have been which conceived of such a piece of thought...

Why are we in a mess??

The other day I was thinking why are we in a mess in India? May be the beginning was not so good? May be the starting point was not well conceived? Of course I am not saying that the great personalities of that time did any blunder. I am sure given those conditions, they have done the best thing. Still these are my personal views, dreams rather...

• First of all, constitution of the republic was almost the same as that of the colonial India. Hence, we never had a new start.
• Those officers and police who were serving the Britishers till independence retained their job. So, those who were killing and oppressing the freedom fighters and who were philosophically against the idea of independent India, were suddenly given the right to rule independent India. They should in fact have been treated as prisoners of war and properly tried. And under no circumstances they should have been allowed to retain the power. So basically we drove the foreigners but kept the instruments of foreign rule.
• Next, we forced the complete British India into a single republic. It was made a federation, but the states had little power. Neither was there any proper common thread for unity nor was there sufficient independence for diversity.
• Hence, it was neither like Europe not like America. People may oppose this view of mine. But, we we see it objectively without prejudice, I don't see any reason for including unwilling princely states forcibly. Gandhi's idea of local governance was completely sabotaged!

The list goes on. We never had a real independence. We never got that confident outlook that an independent sovereign state should have. And at the same time the short-cuts we took actually has put us in long-cuts... I dont see any solution though!!!