Indian political powers – Congress and BJP – have time and again devalued the country’s education system. The motto is – if people don’t know about the word ‘injustice’ or ‘dictatorship’, they cannot question or agitate against it. BJP too toes the same line.
The Narendra Modi led government in India has removed some parts of crucial learning from its CBSE (Central Board Secondary Education) syllabus.
Topics which have been removed includes demonetisation, foreign relations, nationalism, federalism and most importantly secularism.
The Indian education system has always been lacking, stuck in the colonial era. However, this step is on another level of degrading the education system even further.
For a person who’s thankfully passed the school stage, it feels like a ‘re-education’ camp for me. Something China is using to oppress minorities and their tradition in Xinjiang and even plans to do the same in Hong Kong.
The measure is nothing but systematic erasing of what India was founded on – secularism and all things that come with it.
There was always a fancy for foreign things and countries, but one thing that made me proud to be Indian was our secular fabric and the idea of being brilliant and smart.
However, with the latest gross intervention by government to state control the education system, I am worried that our deteriorating education system has perhaps collapsed altogether.
I don’t know what the next generation of school passouts are going to be like and I definitely don’t want my children in the future to even step their toes into the Indian education system.
However, I feel sad that the generation would learn less about their country than we ever did. Remembering history gives power and we keep forgetting it and our mistakes.
As far as I can remember, way back in school, our history textbooks ended the country’s history with independence from the British.
We never learnt about the Emergency period, never learnt about the Sikh riots, the LTTE in Sri Lanka and assassination of our Prime Minister, the Kargil war, Indo-Sino war or the Godhra riots.
We might be democratic for name sake, but our various political babus of our nation from Congress to the BJP, have always sought to control the minds of Indians.
Without the knowledge of our country’s own history, political ups and downs, the rulers have stolen the powers of us striking back and asking questions.
A North Korean defector said, “When you do not have a concept or understanding of a word ‘freedom’ or ‘oppression’ or ‘revolution’, what would you fight for?”
So, if Indians are never taught, never learnt of the oppression during Emergency, what will they fight for? If we were never told that the British colonised us and exploited our resources, why would we have fought for freedom?
Now, if we are never taught about secularism, why will we stand up for our minority citizens? Like what China seems to have achieved with regards to Uyghurs.
If not secularism, if we are not taught of what demonetisation did to us, why will we ever oppose government’s ill thought plan ever again?
Education has become a laughing stock. It may deride India of the brilliant minds it once produced. Why are we going into the grim old ages, instead of progressing?
SENSITIVE Journalist 
Education, and through that the lack of knowledge, had become the latest tool to control the masses… If you don’t want people to question certain things, teach them that asking questions is a bad thing. I remember from my time on Thailand, that there are free schools where the students get spanked for asking questions the teacher doesn’t know the answer to. Perhaps, that is an approach the BJP and others would like? 😉
Great writing. Keep it up, and stay critical!
LikeLiked by 1 person