A soulless India

Come gather around people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
And if your breath to you is worth saving
Then you better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing

These are words of the iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. I had listened to this song long time back but I can relate to it now more than ever. The people of our country seem to be the participants running a race. A race to win over the others. And the others may vary for everyone and they may keep changing from time to time but the Race remains constant. A race to achieve totalitarianism and to affirm ones allegiance to the political party. And these participants become the paragon of virtue as they kowtow to the ideals of the party.

The roads seem to be getting narrower and the Hindutva agenda expanding more than ever. The recent attack on Pehlu Khan on Alwar highway is an act of accomplishment of the Hindu Rashtra. While the slaughterhouses in UP are being shut down for killing animals without a license, killing of minorities is allowed as it’s in line with the party’s religious ideology.

Such incidents have become a routine affair and they seem be failing to flinch anyone anymore. The Union minister dismissed the version of events of the killing of a Muslim man by cow vigilante groups in Rajasthan’s Alwar. According to him, the version of events presented did not occur. This reminded me of a statement by George Orwell –

“Political Language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”

This statement also holds true for Rajasthan’s home minister who said, “The Cow protectors have done a good job by protecting cows from smuggling. But they have violated the law by beating people brutally”.

First of all, saving cows and beating people are not two separate acts. As can be seen in multiple incidents across India, the duty of saving cows has often been accomplished by harassing and killing Muslims. This has been happening often and so, this statement by the minister is a pure political hogwash.

These communal incidents are becoming a commonplace and the religious fervor of the people who commit them are proud to be a participant of this mad race to fulfill their brutal agendas. With the streets getting bloodier and darker, turning a blind eye to such incidents could mean an end the delicate social fabric of love and mutual harmony of our country and converting minorities to mere statues and puppets divorced from their own religious ideologies.

We cannot see such a soulless India. This must never happen. Time to remember – Unity in diversity.

In desperate need of Social Reform

In desperate need of Social Reform

To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. And as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.

Above quote by Nelson Mandela forces us to think if we are really free and if our sense of satisfaction only relates to acknowledgement of superiority of one caste over the other. It’s true that India gained Independence in 1947 but it’s equally true that the chains of gross inequality have continued to entrap us. Did freedom only mean independence from the outsiders and a continuance of the dominance of upper caste over the lower castes and other minority communities? It would then be untrue to say India got independence in 1947 but rather only the majoritarian or the dominant communities of our society got that independence. The others continue to live in constant alienation with threats of either being forced to leave the country or live following the standards of Hindutva.

For non-Hindu communities and lower castes within the Hindu communities, Hindutva is an achievement of a goal set by the majoritarian community by coercing, threatening and even killing the others on mere suspicion of violating the unlawful guidelines set by the majoritarians. This has led to coining of the term “Saffron Terror” which, as per Wikipedia, is a neologism used to describe acts of violence motivated by Hindu nationalism perpetrated by members, or alleged members, of Hindu nationalist organizations close to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) and Abhinav Bharat. The term comes from the symbolic use made of the saffron color by the Hindu nationalist organisations. This is evident in a number of cases such as 2002 Gujrat riots, 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, 2007 Ajmer Dargah attack, 2008 Malegaon blasts, Mecca Masjid bombing and many others related to the oppression of Dalits.

These incidents have often suggested that India is in grave need of a social reform and a just society which grants the fulfillment of equal rights to everyone. A social reform takes the precedence over a political reform. This is mostly misunderstood with political reform taking the precedence or even complete suppressing the need for a social reform. A government which does not treat all its citizens equally cannot being about a social reform. Under such a government, favoritism will prevail and the fault lines of caste and gender discrimination will only continue to grow prompting an even stronger need for a social reform.

This is the time when the government will suppress every opposition and dissent making a social reform seem more difficult. But the citizens have to stand their ground and make every effort in a non-violent way to push for their demands and work towards a single goal of achieving equality among everyone in this society. There is a need to create forums, group discussions at institution / housing society levels to look for ways of achieving this goal. We need social reform desperately and political reform will follow. So, it not just about voting for a party and wait for the progress to happen but it is the duty of each individual to work in groups and achieve collective progress leading to a progressive society. It would then be easier to question a government for not doing its duties rather than sitting idle and just keep questioning. It’s the people and not the government that would bring about a social reform or at least people need to start and show the way to the government. If the governments could or even considered it as their duty of bringing about a social reform, we would have been living in a different world altogether.

मातृभाषा के माध्यम से शिक्षा का महत्व

भाषा संवाद का एक माध्यम है जिसका उपयोग विचारों के आदान-प्रदान के लिए किया जाता है। ये सामान्यतः मौखिक अथवा लिखित प्रकार की होती है। अमरीका के प्रसिद्ध भाषा-प्रवीण चार्ल्स डोककेट्ट ने मनुष्य भाषा को अन्य प्रकार की भाषाओं अथवा संवाद के प्रकारों से अलग करने के लिए एक उपयोगी सुझाव दिया था। उन्होने मनुष्य भाषा के कुछ प्रमुख लक्षण रेखांकित किए जिनके आधार पर मनुष्य भाषा को अन्य प्रकार की भाषाओं (जैसे जानवरों की भाषा) से विभाजित किया जा सकता है। एक लक्षण जो उन्होने रेखांकित किया वह था कि मनुष्य भाषा को सीखने की आवश्यकता होती है और यह एक व्यक्ति, समाज एवं अन्य मनुष्यों से, उनके मध्य रहने से, उनके साथ संवाद करने इत्यादि से अर्जित करता है। भाषा विशेषज्ञों ने शोध करके यह स्थापित किया है कि कोई भी व्यक्ति जो पहली भाषा अर्जित करता है, उसे अर्जित करने के लिए एक समय सीमा होती है जिसे ‘क्रिटिकल पीरियड’ कहा जाता है। अर्थात, यदि इस समय सीमा में व्यक्ति किसी कारण से पहली भाषा का ज्ञान अर्जित नहीं कर पाता तो इस अवधि के समाप्त होने के उपरांत वह व्यक्ति कोई भी भाषा सम्पूर्ण कुशलता से अर्जित नहीं कर पाएगा और हमेशा भाषा ज्ञान से हीन ही रह जाएगा। सामान्यतः यह अवधि व्यक्ति के लगभग 12 साल के होने तक मानी जाती है। भाषा विशेषज्ञों के सामने कुछ ऐसे केस भी आए हैं जिनके द्वारा ‘क्रिटिकल पीरियड’ के सिद्धांत की पुष्टि हुई है। उदाहरण स्वरूप, अमरीका में लॉस एंजिल्स में जीनी नामक एक कन्या का केस देखा गया है। जीनी को 13 वर्ष की उम्र में उसके घर से मुक्त किया गया। उसके माता पिता ने उसे एक अंधेरे कमरे में बांध कर रखा था और उससे किसी प्रकार की कोई बात-चीत नहीं की जाती थी। परिणाम स्वरूप जीनी कुछ शब्दों के अतिरिक्त कुछ बोल नहीं सकती थी। जब उसे भाषा ज्ञान दिया भी गया तब भी वह कुछ शब्द ही सीख पायी और वाक्य बनाना उसके लिए कभी संभव नहीं हो सका। उसके दिमाग पर शोध करने पर यह ज्ञात हुआ की उसके दिमाग का बायाँ भाग जो भाषा ज्ञान के लिए प्रयोग होता है, वह उचित प्रकार से विकसित ही नहीं हो पाया था और क्यूंकि वह अब लगभग 12 साल से ऊपर हो चुकी थी, बाएँ भाग का विकास अब संभव नहीं हो पा रहा था, अतः उसका भाषा ज्ञान भी विकसित नहीं हो सका। इस उदाहरण से इस बात की भी पुष्टि होती है कि भाषा ज्ञान के लिए (कम से कम पहली भाषा के विकास के लिए) समाज में सामान्य रूप से रहना, आपस में सामान्य रूप से वार्तालाप करना इत्यादि अत्यंत आवश्यक है। इस सामान्यता के अभाव में भाषा के सम्पूर्ण विकास की संभावना न्यूनतम हो जाती है। इसके साथ ही यह भी अत्यंत आवश्यक है कि यह सामान्यता हर बच्चे को कम से कम 12-13 वर्ष की आयु तक प्राप्त हो।

यह समझने के उपरांत कि भाषा क्या होती है तथा उस का ज्ञान किस प्रकार प्राप्त होता है, अब मातृभाषा, उसके ज्ञान और शिक्षा में उसके महत्व पर कुछ विस्तृत चर्चा करना उपयुक्त होगा। साधारण शब्दों में, मातृभाषा उसे कह सकते हैं जिसका उपयोग एक व्यक्ति के घर में सामान्य वार्तालाप में किया जाता हो। अतः कोई भी बच्चा सबसे पहले अपनी मातृभाषा के ही संपर्क में आता है और सबसे पहले उसे ही अर्जित करता है। मातृभाषा को अर्जित करना किसी भी बच्चे के लिए एक स्वाभाविक क्रिया होती है। कम से कम मौखिक स्तर पर मातृभाषा एक व्यक्ति द्वारा सबसे पहले और बिना किसी अतिरिक्त परिश्रम के अर्जित की जाती है। कोई भी व्यक्ति अपनी मातृभाषा में संवाद करने में अथवा उसका उपयोग करने में सबसे अधिक आश्वस्त महसूस करता है। इससे भी अधिकतर महत्व की बात यह है कि कोई भी व्यक्ति किसी भी भाषा में कितना भी प्रवीण क्यों ना हो, वह साधारणतः अपनी मातृभाषा में ही सोचता है।

यदि हम किसी प्रकार के भी ज्ञान अर्जन की बात करें तो उसे दो भागों में विभाजित किया जा सकता है। इसका विस्तार मैं एक उदाहरण के द्वारा करना चाहूंगी। कल्पना कीजिये कि आपको किसी विषय, जैसे कि, समाज शास्त्र का ज्ञान अर्जित करना है। यह ज्ञान अर्जित करने के लिए आपको इस विषय का मूल ज्ञान अर्जित करना होगा। परंतु उससे पूर्व इस विषय का मूल ज्ञान अर्जित करने के लिए आपके पास उस भाषा का ज्ञान होना अनिवार्य है जिस भाषा में यह मूल ज्ञान आप तक पहुंचेगा। यदि आपको इस मूल ज्ञान को कुशलता से अर्जित करना है तो यह अनिवार्य हो जाता है कि जिस भाषा में यह मूल ज्ञान आपको प्रस्तुत कराया जाये, उस भाषा में आप प्रवीण हों ताकि आपका सारा समय भाषा को समझने में ही न व्यतीत हो जाये। सामान्यतः हमारी मातृभाषा ही वह भाषा होती है जिसमें हमें अधिकतम प्रवीणता प्राप्त होती है। अतः मातृभाषा में शिक्षा का महत्व स्वतः ही प्रतीत है।

अब एक दूसरे दृष्टिकोण से सोचने का प्रयास करते हैं। कई बार खासकर भारत में यह देखा गया है कि बहुत से लोग अंग्रेज़ी भाषा में अपने विचारों को व्यक्त करने में सबसे ज़्यादा आश्वस्त महसूस करते हैं, हालांकि अंग्रेज़ी हमारी मातृभाषा नहीं है। इसका कारण यह हो सकता है कि इन व्यक्तियों ने अंग्रेज़ी भाषा का ज्ञान इतने कुशल रूप से अर्जित किया है कि वह सबसे ज़्यादा आश्वस्त इस भाषा में महसूस करते हैं। कुशल रूप से ज्ञान अर्जित करने के बाद उनके आश्वस्त होने का एक और कारण यह भी हो सकता है कि अंग्रेज़ी भाषा का अधिकतम उपयोग करने के कारण अब वह उसमें ही अधिक आश्वस्त महसूस करते हों। अगर हम कुछ और गंभीरता से विचार करें तो हमें यह स्पष्ट हो जाएगा कि किसी अन्य भाषा में प्रवीणता प्राप्त करने के लिए भी मातृभाषा में शुरुआती शिक्षा का ही महत्व है। क्योंकि यह स्पष्ट है कि सबसे पहले कोई भी व्यक्ति मातृभाषा से ही संपर्क में आता है, अतः दूसरी कोई भी भाषा अर्जित करने के लिए उसे अतिरिक्त परिश्रम करना पड़ता है, इसलिए यह भी स्पष्ट है कि दूसरी भाषा अर्जित करने के लिए अथवा उसको सबसे पहले समझने के लिए मातृभाषा का ही उपयोग किया जाएगा। अतः शिक्षा के विषय पर जो भी शोध हुए हैं उनमें भी ये ही सामने आया है की कम से कम शुरुआती शिक्षा के स्तर पर वही शिक्षा प्रणाली कारगर है जो मातृभाषा के माध्यम से अन्य विषयों (कम से कम दूसरी भाषाओं का ज्ञान) का ज्ञान प्रदान करे। इस प्रकार कम से कम प्राथमिक शिक्षा के लिए मातृभाषा का उपयोग अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण माना गया है।

इसके अतिरिक्त भी भारत जैसे देश में, जहां अत्यधिक लोग बहुभाषी हैं एवं जहां हर प्रांत में एक अलग भाषा बोली जाती है, वहाँ मातृभाषा का शिक्षा प्रणाली में महत्व स्वतः ही बढ़ जाता है। इसे भी एक उदाहरण के द्वारा समझाने का मेरा प्रयत्न है। एक बहुभाषी देश में कार्य करने के लिए दो प्रान्तों के लोगों के बीच में एक ऐसी भाषा का होना आवश्यक है जो दोनों को अच्छे प्रकार से ज्ञात हो। इस दूसरी भाषा को कोई भी छात्र सुचारु रूप से तभी सीख पाएगा जब उस भाषा की शिक्षा मातृभाषा के उपयोग से प्रदान की जाये न कि छात्रों को केवल रटने पर मजबूर किया जाये। अतः मातृभाषा में कम से कम प्राथमिक शिक्षा के विकास से ही इस बहुभाषी देश को एक धागे में पिरो के रखा जा सकता है। जब तक मातृभाषा का उपयोग शिक्षा प्रणाली में सुचारु रूप से नहीं होगा तब तक अन्य किसी भाषा या विषय का ज्ञान भी सुचारु रूप से प्रदान करना संभव नहीं हो पाएगा। जिस प्रकार एक कमज़ोर नींव पर खड़ी इमारत अत्यधिक समय तक नहीं टिक सकती, उसी प्रकार मातृभाषा को महत्व न देकर यदि किसी अन्य भाषा के द्वारा शिक्षा अथवा दूसरी भाषाओं का ज्ञान प्रदान किया गया तो वह शिक्षा केवल ऊपरी स्तर तक ही सीमित रह जाएगी और कोई भी छात्र सम्पूर्ण रूप से अपने विचारों को विकसित एवं प्रसारित नहीं कर पाएगा।

एक और गौर करने वाली बात यह भी है कि भारत में आज भी केवल 10 प्रतिशत लोग ही अंग्रेज़ीभाषी हैं। इसके अतिरिक्त 30 से 40 प्रतिशत लोग हिंदीभाषी हैं (इनकी मातृभाषा हिन्दी ही है)। अन्य लोग अपनी-अपनी मातृभाषा (जो कि उनके प्रांत में बोली जाती है) का ही उपयोग करते हैं। अतः शिक्षा को सब तक पहुंचाने के लिए यह अनिवार्य ही हो जाता है कि मातृभाषा का प्रयोग शिक्षा प्रणाली में अधिकतम हो और मातृभाषा के माध्यम से उच्चतम कोटि की शिक्षा प्रदान की जाये।

अंततः जबकि मातृभाषा का शिक्षा में महत्व पूर्णतः सिध्ध हो चुका है, तथापि मैं यह ज़रूर कहना चाहूंगी कि केवल मातृभाषा तक सीमित रह जाना भी सही नहीं होगा। एक व्यक्ति के पूर्ण विकास के लिए और इस देश के विकास के लिए ऐसी भाषाओं के ज्ञान को भी प्रोत्साहित करना अत्यावश्यक है जो कि पूरे विश्व में मान्य हों (जैसे कि अंग्रेज़ी, जो विश्व में अधिकतम रूप से मान्य है), और जिनके उपयोग से हर भारतवासी देश-विदेश में सफलता प्राप्त कर सके।

Understanding the ‘constitution’ of our democracy

Understanding political science

Political science, in simple terms, is a branch of social science that deals with political institutions and processes, the structures and functions of the government and the state at various levels and the way the political power relationships work. A closer look at the theoretical and practical aspects of political science will reveal that its domain encompasses a study and understanding of the sources, structures, distribution and practices of power and resources. This would mean an in-depth understanding of the letter and spirit of the Constitution as the fountainhead, the various structures and functions emanating from it, and the interplay between these. The practice of political science, shall however, remain incomplete if it fails to study and understand the interface between politics and society and the role that politics and power plays in the day-to day life of an ordinary citizen.

Rationale for its inclusion in the teaching-learning process in schools

The day of the birth of an individual bestows upon her, among others, a political identity as well. An individual born in India, for example, becomes a citizen of India, by virtue of her having been born on the Indian soil. She now has certain rights and duties (some of them of course to be activated at an appropriate age) applicable to her in common with all the other citizens of India, drawn from the Constitution of India. Thus, any individual, by default, is also a political being and has a political identity which cannot be separated from her. Just as the individual is socialized into her family and the society, both by virtue of being a part of that family and society, and also through conscious efforts put in by the family and society; similarly, the individual, by virtue of being born in a particular form of political system, is circumscribed by the boundaries of that system, and hence, even if no particular effort is made to politically educate her, she will imbibe certain political character anyway. It, thus, becomes even more imperative for the education system to take up the responsibility of ensuring that the individual develops a mature understanding of the political system, is able to develop a voice and exercise her choices based on critical reasoning and holistic understanding of all the aspects in any given situation.

Political science, being a branch of the broader domain of social sciences, also carries the responsibilities that have been placed on the larger domain of social sciences. The Position Paper by the National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences, 2006, explains the responsibilities placed on the domain of social sciences in the following terms: “The social sciences carry a normative responsibility to create and widen the popular base for human values, namely freedom, trust, mutual respect, respect for diversity, etc.”

The appropriate age of inclusion of teaching-learning of political science in schools

Having established the rationale behind the teaching-learning of political science, the next question that arises is what can be the suitable time for integrating discussions of this nature in the school curriculum. Here, it would be useful to take recourse to the Piagetian model of cognitive development. Piaget was a proponent of the constructivist theory of learning.

According to Piaget, when formal operational thought of cognitive development is attained (adolescence to adulthood), thinking in abstractions, formulation of hypotheses, understanding complex inter-relationships, etc., is possible. After this, no new structures are needed. According to this model, a child, after reaching the stage of upper-primary in school education, would thus be capable of formal operational thinking, hence the appropriateness of this age-group for the introduction of political science in schools, integrated with other social-science disciplines. The Position Paper by the National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences, 2006, also seems to concur with the above inference.

The spaces for inclusion of teaching-learning of political science in schools

Proceeding now to the next logical question of how political science can be integrated seamlessly into the classroom. To understand this, we will have to deal with both the aspects of the teaching-learning process, i.e., curriculum and pedagogy.

Providing curricular space to political science

The Position Paper by the National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences, 2006, and the National Curricular Framework, 2005 have acknowledged the need for providing curricular space to political science. Consequently, the nomenclature for “Civics” has been changed to “Social and Political Life”, for the upper-primary classes, in the NCERT curriculum. The textbooks for classes VI-VIII do a commendable job in living up to the objectives for social sciences teaching set out by NCF, 2005.

 

I would like to make a mention here of another three year supplementary curriculum designed by Avehi Abacus Organization for the students of classes V-VII. The Avehi Abacus project has been working with municipal schools and non-formal education centres in Mumbai and outside since 1990 (Avehi Abacus Team, Acknowledgements, 2001).Titled, Sangati, this curriculum is transacted in the form of six kits (two each) from classes V-VII in all the municipal schools of Mumbai. This three-year supplementary curriculum has been envisaged with a vision to fulfil the objectives of education, to ‘equip children with the knowledge and skills that they will need to face the world, to build values that will help them take care of themselves and contribute to the society they live in and to bring about a positive change in individuals and society’ (Avehi Abacus Team, Dear Teacher..., 2001). The fourth kit, namely, ‘The Way We Live’, turns the focus to the Indian society of today, the problems that we face and how these can be understood and resolved. Various issues are discussed in this kit, like, caste, religious and gender discrimination, economic inequalities, the meaning of patriotism and democracy, etc. The topics that have been discussed are all really relevant and which need to be understood by the students in their correct perspective for them to be able to contribute positively towards making our society a better place to live in. A very enabling curricular space has been created here for meaningful and relevant political discussions.

 

Political science and pedagogy

 

To render any curriculum effective, the classroom teaching needs to be able to shift from didactic to dialogic. Teachers need to be able to discuss each and every issue threadbare, keeping aside their biases and prejudices, and providing multifarious perspectives on viewpoints on things. Teachers need to be able to push students to think critically and reason things out. The classroom space needs to be such that teachers and students don’t have a hierarchical relationship where the teacher is supposed to know all and transmit that knowledge to students, but it should be a space where all are learners on the path of knowledge acquisition. The Vygotskian concept of “More knowledgeable other” and “scaffolding” can aptly describe such classrooms.

I would now like to exemplify how the creation of such an enabling environment is possible in the class. To do so, the backing of a strong and enabling curriculum is of utmost importance, because if so, the curriculum itself can sufficiently guide the teacher in steering the discussion in such a manner that it becomes interesting and challenges the minds of the students. As the Sangati curriculum (mentioned above), in my view performs this role to a near perfect level, I would like to borrow my example from this curriculum itself. In Kit IV of the curriculum, there is a session/chapter on ‘patriotism’. The ‘Main ideas’ sought to be conveyed through this chapter themselves give an indication of what is to follow. In brief, these aim at deconstructing the idea and meaning of the term ‘patriotism’, whether it means only to express one’s love for one’s country through symbolic acts or by hating the ‘enemy’ countries, or it can mean much more as in to fight problems like poverty, inequality, illiteracy, etc., and to realize one’s full potential to ultimately benefit the nation.

In order to convey these main ideas, there are various activities and interactive sessions envisaged, along with some meaningful questions, leading to certain open and critical discussions. As an example, the session/chapter begins with the story of Jarnail Singh, who is a 16-17 year old boy, and is writing a personal diary, wherein he conveys his dilemma of not wanting to join the armed forces while his entire family wants him to. Through the diary the ideas of what patriotism means, the various problems afflicting our society, and how Jarnail Singh wants to contribute towards ameliorating them, etc., are discussed. In the end, a very rich and meaningful discussion is attempted through questions like “Do you agree with Jarnail Singh’s view that there are many ways to serve your nation? Do you think Jarnail Singh is a patriot? Why? Should one’s patriotism make one hate other countries and fight wars with them? Students are further encouraged to think about and discuss various problems like corruption, inequality, etc.

Through such meaningful activities, discussions and questions, political science can be made really relevant, interesting, and meaningful in the classroom space. The above is a demonstration of the kind of pedagogy that can result in an enriching learning experience for students. I do believe that curricular support is essential for the creation of such a pedagogic space. However, determined, thoughtful and resourceful teachers can make a conscious attempt to do this even in the absence of an enabling curriculum, by going beyond the textbooks. For instance, the concept of democracy may not be limited to just “a government for the people, by the people, and of the people”. Meaningful discussions can be held around this topic like relationship of democracy and equality, is meaningful democracy possible in an unequal atmosphere, is democracy only a political concept or mandates the presence of at least some sort of egalitarianism to make it truly meaningful, etc. However, this is not many a time possible as the prejudices and biases of the teacher, her socialization into the dominant perspectives, etc., play a crucial role in dampening the impact.

I would also like to highlight the role of a force that is outside the curriculum and the pedagogy, but has a substantial role to play in shaping both of them, as also what the students gather from the interplay of both of these. This force is the prevailing political discourse of the day, which is predominantly shaped by the ideology of the political party in power. A visible impact of the prevailing political atmosphere was in the students’ understanding of the concept of patriotism, when I actually got a chance to interact with them during the course of my field study. In terms of the understanding of what ‘patriotism’ means, an overwhelming majority related it to symbolic acts of respecting the national symbols like national anthem, national flag, etc. They also looked in awe of the armed forces of the nation. Such an understanding seems to concur with the general mood prevailing in the society.

Conclusion

Having understood the inseparability of our political identity from us, it is not only desirable but imperative to provide a sound and mature guidance to children, so that they can become well-informed thinking individuals and citizens, and are able to make intelligent and well thought out choices in any situation they might encounter. The form and content of political science education though, should be such that it promotes critical thinking and understanding in students and an acknowledgement of the presence of diverse perspectives, rather than a meek submission to the dominant perspective. The creation of this enabling teaching-learning atmosphere requires an enabling curriculum, pedagogy, and most importantly the promotion of the development of an independent perspective in the educational institutions, not influenced by the political ideology and prevailing political atmosphere of the time. Meeting this last requirement seems most daunting and challenging and will require dedicated and sincere efforts by the political class, if at all there is a willingness to adhere to this goal.

 

 

References

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_science

National Focus Group. (2005). National Focus Group on Teaching of Social Sciences.

Piaget’s stages of Cognitive Development. www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/psych406-5.3.2.pdf

Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development

Textbook Development Committee. (2005). Equality in Indian Democracy. In T. D., Social and Political Life II. New Delhi: NCERT Textbook Publishing Bureau.

Textbook Development Committee. (2005). Key Elements of a Democratic Government. In T. D., Social and Political Life I (pp. 36-40). New Delhi: NCERT Textbook Publishing Bureau.

Avehi Abacus Project. (n.d.). Avehi Abacus Project. Retrieved from www.avehiabacus.org: http://www.avehiabacus.org/sangati.html

Avehi Abacus Team. (2001). Acknowledgements. In A. A., Myself, My Body, Our Needs Needs - Sangati Kit I. Mumbai: Avehi Abacus Project.

Avehi Abacus Team. (2001). Dear Teacher... In A. A., Myself, My Body, Our Needs : Sangati Kit I. Mumbai: Avehi Abacus Project.

Avehi Abacus Team. (2003). Patriotism. In A. A., The Way We Live: Sangati Kit IV. Mumbai: Avehi abacus Project.

The Power of Grey – Towards a harmonious and peaceful world order

The society and humankind has been painstakingly trained, through centuries, to be fascinated by black and white. This is irrespective of the fact that if human soul was to be assigned a color, it most definitely would have to be grey, neither black nor white. So deeply have we been prejudiced that black is associated with darkness, negativity and all things bad whereas white has been placed on the other end of the spectrum, signifying all that is good. Just in order to break this stereotypical association, even if only for the space of this article, whenever I talk about the negative extreme I would associate it with white and the positive extreme with black. However, the purpose of my writing here is not to talk about black and white but about the grey that lies in between and actually defines life, truth, reality, humankind and all existence.

In the Hindu religion, Rama and Krishna are considered as manifestations of God in the human form. Even the most devout of followers of Lord Rama are not able to convincingly defend the actions of the Lord in dismissing his pregnant wife into exile, on grounds of suspicion on her character by a few residents of Ayodhya, for having been abducted by King Raavan of Lanka and having to stay in Lanka for a year. So much so, that sage Tulsidas who has composed Ramcharitamanas, his version of the Ramayana, has chosen to completely ignore this episode in the life of his most revered and loved Lord, for he could not associate this with the Lord.

Coming to Lord Krishna, his philosophy of life, his teachings and his own personal life, are non-contestable testimonies of the ambiguities and the grey areas that exist in life. Not even the staunchest of believers could justify the conduct of the Pandavas, led by Yudhishthir, in pawning his wife, and yet Lord Krishna decidedly supports the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra fight.

The above are only just examples from these two epics. There are many more that can be quoted to prove that black and white are not the colours that define humankind, but grey does. Even the colour of the soul of the Gods, in their human manifestations, was grey. Even they could-not accord to themselves any other colour of existence, in order to be true to their human forms.

If the above is true, if only grey is real, it would mean that the world would have to agree on the principle of existence of multitudinous perspectives, of varied possibilities, of diverse opinions, of multiple interpretations, all of them as plausible as the other. It would mean the existence of an exciting world of ideas and opportunities that would cherish and relish the lively debates and discussions that would have to be the norm.

I recently read the interpretation of Mahabharata by Ananda Neelkanthan. He has beautifully depicted the great saga from the perspective of the vanquished and the vile. His interpretation lays bare the heart and soul of Suyodhana (known to the world as Duryodhana), and forces us to question our entrenched beliefs about right and wrong, about good and bad, about black and white. It turns our moralities upside down and yet again forces us to acknowledge the truth of Grey.

I also just finished reading a book titled ‘Mr. and Mrs. Jinnah’, throwing valuable light on the almost never discussed personal life of the much reviled (in India) Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It again had the same impact on me.

In any situation, whenever I have tried to dig deeper into things, tried to break down and get to the basics, I have always felt this deep inability to judge, to label, and most importantly, to hate. I have felt my worldview broadening and my deeply entrenched beliefs and prejudices losing their foothold.

Why is it that I have had to wait for three decades of my life to just roll by, before I was able to experience this intellectual excitement in my life? Possibly because those that wield power can continue to wield power only if they perpetuate a world of ignorance. A world where only one dominant perspective is allowed to exist and all others our either actively crushed or passively ignored. So, it was decided that the education system that had the power to turn around the world would be universally tamed. If knowledge was power, then all attempts would be made to concentrate this power in as fewer hands as possible.

And so, children will never be exposed to Anand Neelkanthan’s version of Mahabharata, whenever they are being told about this epic. They will never be encouraged to read into the human being that Jinnah was, when they are being taught (in India) that he was solely responsible for the partition of our great land. They will be nurtured and fed with lopsided one single dominant perspective and will be told that this is the ultimate truth.

The possibility of a more just, peaceful and harmonious co-existence of human beings is being nipped in the bud at every moment. The recognition of ‘The Power of Grey’ is the only thing that can save the world from hatred, death and destruction. Is anyone interested though, is the real question.