Of sleepy nations and stupid notions!

We live in a strange country.

We live in a country that has decided to neglect its majority in favour of the minority. We live in a country where we actually support people who come to power with our votes and then steal our rights to give it to those who do not deserve them. We live in a country that has decided to neglect merit and favour the accidents of birth.

What is ironic is that the majority of the people inhabiting this country even support this. Could any other country match the spirit of sacrifice shown by the majority of the population of India? I cannot find any indeed. And I am glad so. Glad for if it were so, I’ll have to modify my first statement and say that I live in a strange world.

We are a 50 year old country behaving like a mentally retarded kid. What else can I say about a country that has people who favour mediocrity over ability in the name of homogeneity of society? India is overpopulated and over-educated. I find it strange to understand that there are graduates working at levels where a class X education shall more than suffice. And we have a society that respects teachers and does nothing much else further. Have any of us ever deigned to ponder over the amount of money a teacher in a public school earns? I doubt. And of course the teacher is lucky if he gets the salary in time and does not have to fight the state govt. or go for hunger strikes and various other conundrums for his arrears. Of course a teacher should be a teacher in the true sense of the word….he should be interested in the nobleness of his work—and he should feel good about his good luck that he’s got a chance to serve the society.

Bat shit!

I recently read in the newspapers that the state seats in different NITs have been discarded. So any NIT henceforth, shall have 50% of its seat filled by students from that state, and the rest, from students from the rest of the country…whoever can get the requisite marks of course. I have rather mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it is a step in the right direction, if that right direction be only equality in opportunities.

However, the issue is not just skin deep, or even merit deep for that matter. The issue is, well, being a student of one of the NITs myself, I’ve come to think of my alma mater not just as one of the best educational institutes in the country, but also a place where young men from all over the country meet, and learn to respect other cultures, learn to face difficulties of unknown language and customs. It’s a place where I grew up from being a sheltered kid to a man, ready to face the world.

Things should not change by this decision of the government. Only that, they would. The education system in India lacks uniformity. There are way too many educational boards, and way too many different systems. While this decision could have been a step towards bringing in a semblance of equality, it would not help as equality, in this case, should start from a more granular level. What I find surprising, and a tad disturbing, is that the government does not seem to be bothered about the pathetic situation of primary education and the lack of public interest towards this disparity.

I am not a political person. I steer clear of any political discussion simply because mostly I don’t care enough, and more often than not, I’d not really know what’s going on. But this is different. This is scary, and disappointing.

Everybody cribs and carps about how the brilliant minds of India are being lured away to different countries. Well, the way things are going, I don’t really see why any talented guy should stay here to face the political harassment and bureaucratic red tape, stupid socio-political measures, and social apathy. We have become a race that adores the mediocre, simply because we are scared of the exceptional.

It’s time to wake up.

Workaholics anonymous

This does put a perspective on things, does it not?

Betty....welcome home!

Come to Daddy!

:P