Educate this lame nation:

May 22/2013: The Supreme Court has recently expressed its complete dissatisfaction with the manner in which Sikshya Sahayaks (ad hoc teachers) are being appointed. Labelling them ‘shatrus’ (enemies) instead of ‘sahayaks’ (helpers), does indeed project the utter frustration of the apex Court with that system. It is quite understandable why the Court has been so very vicious in its expression. Yet, the criticism is not fully comprehensible as the highest temple of justice of the nation has not bothered to suggest a tangible remedy to the problem of short supply of qualified and willing teachers.

It is a well known fact that no society or country can develop with a majority of its population remaining uneducated. The sad truth is that nations subjugated by foreign powers for long periods in their history suffer from this crippling ailment. Obviously, foreign rulers always preferred to bestow the extreme benefits that education offered to those select few who were willing to lick the boots and whatever else that the colonial powers wanted. This is a reality of the history of India that we cannot wish away today. From the times of the Moslem rulers who gave out their largesse to those who believed in Islamisation to the British who created a separate class amongst the ‘natives’ by compartmentalising them with the help of education which implied the ability to read and write English, every ruler has tried this method in the past. This advantage, very naturally, converted itself into financial benefits. It is obvious the European rulers of India, except the Portugese in Goa, did not feel the need of converting their subjects to Christianity. The protestant British and the Catholic French needed the wealth of India which was more pertinent for them. This quest for wealth did not end with the Kohinoor diamond or some such mundane objects. Both the French to a small extent and the British to a large extent used Indian manpower during major wars as well as an inexpensive workforce sent to serve in areas with the worst living conditions like Africa and the Americas. They needed a certain section of Indians to find them slaves as well as to implement their wishes over such a vast tract of land that extended from today’s Afghanistan to Burma. This group of collaborators is the forefather of today’s educated middle and upper class of India. While saying India, we also include the rest of the pided subcontinent.

We are aware that the middleclass had led the struggle for freedom against colonial powers. That has been the natural process in the history of most colonized nations across the globe. This is not something unique to India. In the later part of the nineteenth century till the middle of the twentieth century, the desire for freedom from colonial powers was a common sight. While saying this, we have to remember that in many countries where the colonizers did not encourage education amongst the locals, there was no awareness about self rule or the benefits of freedom. South Africa and erstwhile Rhodesia are great examples of this phenomena. The middleclass, in countries like India, realised that with their education and exposure, it was better and more beneficial to invoke the ephemeral desire for freedom amongst the toiling masses, eject the foreign rulers and takeover the vacated space to create more benefits for their class. People like Motilal Nehru, Subas Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Jinnah and even MK Gandhi represented this very same educated upper-middle class whose thirst for independence culminated in handing over the power of governance on 15 August 1947 to a set of new, elite brown skinned rulers who replaced the white skins. The only advantage of this class lay not in their power to work in the fields or fight armed battles valiantly but with their ability that education gave them. A Nehru or a Jinnah never aspired to give their respective subjects an easier access to education. Let us remember that India’s population in 1947 was a mere 37 crores. The social atmosphere at that time was of a new beginning. It would have been much easier for those European educated Indian and Pakistani rulers to insist on implementing compulsory education for all. That was not done.

Now when we are a huge 150 crore nation (although the government claims only 120 crore) our apex Court criticises creating multiple and different layers in the system of imparting education. It is extremely acceptable and understandable that the highest judicial body is not satisfied with the method. Still, however faulty the education system may be, we have to accept we are way behind the world. So, every effort, instead of being condemned, must be perfected. Indians have to find more and more means to ensure education, in reality, is made attractive and reaches every child and grownup. Unless we try to make up for the sins committed by those who thought they had given us all a great deal by throwing the English out and usurping the attractions of power themselves, we shall remain a lame nation forever. Education For All must become the war cry for every middle and upper class Indian.

Interestingly, the Indian middleclass today is trying to per the attention from the trials and tribulations faced by the poverty striken of this country. The cry against corruption has come in handy for this exalted class. The underlying purpose is to snatch away the possible weapon called rebellion from the hands of the suffering masses. If we revolt on flimsy excuses, there is no space left for honest uprisings. The poor remain poor and the Anna Hazare-Kejriwal types fight for safeguarding the system that benefits the benefitted class only.