He loved her. Truly, madly, deeply!
Every night he would dream of her before losing himself in her dreams. He somehow wanted her to feel his love...the love to which she was oblivious. She had her reason.
The school bell rang to mark the end of games period. The students, though exhausted, after bathing in sun and mud and sweat, occupied their seats eagerly to attend Mr. Subramaniam's lecture. He, a South Indian, used to teach Social Sciences to the students of class 9th and 10th. A highly respectable and admired figure in the teaching fraternity, he acquainted students, on the verge of completing their secondary education, with the socio-economic and political problems that were lying unsolved in front of the country.
Mr. Subramaniam started off the day's lecture with a simple question - All the kids who belong to the SC/ST or OBC category, please raise your hand. There were a few raised hands amongst many scorns and grimaces. After noticing the reactions of all the children, he could just say - 'Freedom of thought is the greatest freedom!', leaving the audience completely clueless as to what the teacher wanted to convey.
C A S T E I S M!
'This is the conundrum, thus far unanswered, of how to feel true independence when so many barriers of region, religion, language and CASTE exist as shackles. Its unfortunate that even after fifty years of freedom, we are a long way to achieve independence of ideas, opinions and judgements. The general category snarls at the other categories who according to it, get the jobs and positions at the cost of their dreams and hardwork. And equally, the other classes bear the brunt of social exclusion and unacceptability in the mainstream by the general category. The hurt sentiments of the general class due to denial of well deserved jobs and the SC/ST and OBC's due to denial of equal treatment lead to a stymie that hampers the contribution of both the parties and ultimately hinders the overall development of the nation.
The division of any society on any basis is very natural, as is the division of this class into good students and bad students. This goodness and badness depends on the marks and behavior of students and the perception of the teacher as to whether only the marks and behavior should be the determining criteria. The utility of this segmentation is in identifying the weak students and working more on them so that they can also come at par with the others. Similar situation was on the national front after independence that necessitated the special consideration of SC/ST and OBC's to give them the rights they had long been denied and to result in a unified India where all are General.
The division of any society on any basis is very natural, as is the division of this class into good students and bad students. This goodness and badness depends on the marks and behavior of students and the perception of the teacher as to whether only the marks and behavior should be the determining criteria. The utility of this segmentation is in identifying the weak students and working more on them so that they can also come at par with the others. Similar situation was on the national front after independence that necessitated the special consideration of SC/ST and OBC's to give them the rights they had long been denied and to result in a unified India where all are General.
But over the years, the people who became eligible to be called General, wanted their children to still get the special privileges and so, they dint shun the tag resulting in a society that has many SC/ST and OBC's that live as part of mainstream but dont refuse to encash the tag they have inherited. This behavior has resulted in the low percolation of the privileges to the deserving SC/ST and OBC's and the frustration amongst the General class due to continued and increasing denial.
This class of 40 students can make a big difference to the society by promising that the children with raised hands , if have comfortable standard of living and enjoy equal opportunities, should shun using their tag for employment and rather rely on their own talent and the others should welcome such bravehearts with open hands and both should live in harmonious coexistence. '
This class of 40 students can make a big difference to the society by promising that the children with raised hands , if have comfortable standard of living and enjoy equal opportunities, should shun using their tag for employment and rather rely on their own talent and the others should welcome such bravehearts with open hands and both should live in harmonious coexistence. '
The school bell rang again.
This 'raised hand' guy loved this 'other' girl.
But the Girl's parents refused to consider an SC on the grounds that the family principles are different from their class , thereby, making adjustment for the girl, in the new atmosphere, a herculean task. As for the girl, she would get a good similar class offer. (Shackles of society)
He wanted to give all his love and his promise to not use his Tag for himself and for the next generations. (Shackles of class)
But she could neither offer nor accept!(Shackles of family)
Today as we are celebrating the 66th Independence Day, shouldn't we ponder whether we really have unfettered ourselves , our ideas, our vision in true sense ?
Independence doesnt only mean freedom from foreign rule and guarantee of territorial sovereignty, for me, it means an unshackled individual, with an unshackled mind, clear of all the irrelevant biases .
So is it your Independence day, today ?
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
-Rabindranath Tagore
