Can the nation prosper only with hype and without sustained ground work?

Hype is at best the exaggerated version of reality. It, thus, does-not have an independent existence but is dependent on an underlying reality for its existence. If reality is pulled away from under the feet of hype, it is sure to collapse sooner rather than later. So the survival of hype is completely dependent on the sustenance of reality, that reality which has to be nurtured continuously through perseverance and hard work. This, in other words, simply means that hype or not, it is the real ground situation that matters, anytime and every time.

There are numerous events in history that have again and again reminded us of this fact. The world of finance is defined by a sine curve – booms and busts and booms and busts again. Hype builds up a boom, every time to collide with the stumbling block of reality, displacing it from its position of hubris. The sub-prime crisis has been the latest example of reality biting hype.

The world of politics is defined by hype. It is at its peak near the election time, when each and every political party indulges in rhetoric. However, the real progress of the nation is not measured by the number of promises made in election speeches, but by the amount of efforts put on the ground in meeting those promises. ‘Make in India’ cannot be realized by just coining and pronouncing out this slogan. Immense planning and implementation efforts need to be put in, at the ground level, to actually turn the dream into reality.

The world of education, which, according to me, is the backbone of any nation, and a prime measure of its progress, has been long suffering from this syndrome of ‘all hype but no reality’. Education has been extolled by one and all as the foremost tool for emancipation of masses and for the development of our nation and society. However, it is completely neglected in every budget document, failing to attract even the minimum expenditure of 6% of GDP, which is touted as the bare minimum that needs to be provided to this sector to sustain itself and grow meaningfully. The Right to Education Act was passed, in a much diluted form, after close to 60 years of independence. Though, the enrolment in schools is close to 100% now, the quality of education imparted, indicated by the learning outcomes, has a completely different story to tell. According to ASER 2016, the 11th edition of the report that collected data from 589 rural districts of India, the proportion of all children in Class V who can read a Class II level textbook is 47.8%. Nothing more need be said about the quality of education imparted in schools, unable to ensure even the development of basic minimum reading and writing skills in children.

“Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud.” - Source unknown.

The only way possible for our nation to prosper is to sustain the confident and silent ground work and resist from indulging in loud hyperbole, only to expose our insecurities to the world.