What is Education?

The Kathir Times has published my new article on the Draft New Education Policy, titled "Education For Application of Mind and Skills for Children : Why change in education policy is need of the hour?" 

Two para from the article:

"Moreover, it is imperative that the purpose of teacher-centric syllabus based mainstream education has to develop the application of mind in children which will pave for acquiring competence with skills of logic and reasoning more than just numbers, theories, and history. These trainings are the ultimate real game-changer for children becoming a self- confident to face real-life challenges and core competencies in their chosen profession to stimulate thinking. In other words, true teachers or parents should show the children how to think with the application of mind and not what to think and should never be judgmental about which ways to think. 

Therefore, the proposed draft new education policy would help children to adapt, develop and nurture the application of young minds with skills to become competent enough to face the real-life situations like Self-Awareness, Empathy, Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Decision making, Problem-solving, Creative thinking, Critical thinking, Coping with Emotions, and Coping with Stress. A student who practices any five of these skills continuously would witness significant changes in their life and profession in terms of dealing with personal problems or constructively resolving the professional issues and challenges."

Listening, Learning & Leading

The Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu recently released a book titled Listening, Learning and Leading on the eve of completing his two years in Office. His speech at book launch function held in Chennai is very interesting. Here are some of the excerpts from his wonderful speech which need to be pondered:

"The Prime Minister Modi ji’s mantra of “Reform Perform and Transform” has given a new impetus to transformational development of our country. These far reaching and path breaking reforms must be further accelerated.  

How effectively are we able to deliver public services like water, sanitation, power, housing, transport, education, health?  
How effectively are we able to provide support to farmers, youth, traders, entrepreneurs and industrialists? 
How efficiently are we building durable, world class infrastructure like road, rail and air connectivity and an eco-system for growth and development?  
How swiftly and sustainably are we creating conditions for inclusive growth and empowerment of people? 

I have been emphasising the urgency to decide certain category of cases that are time bound like the election petitions and criminal cases against sitting MPs and MLAs. 

It has been found that election petitions, criminal cases and disqualification proceedings under anti-defection law are not decided even for the entire term of the legislators defeating the very purpose of these laws.  

I would suggest that we should have special judicial tribunals which will decide the cases within a reasonable time of, let us say six months or at the most one year. I would also suggest we revisit the 10th Schedule of our Constitution, containing anti-defection provisions, to ensure a time bound disposal of such cases and make it more effective by plugging loopholes. 

The procedure for appointment of judges may also have to be revisited and a credible, transparent process instituted which will steer clear of avoidable controversies. While the Judiciary didn’t quite approve of the National Judicial Commission passed by the parliament and the system of collegium has not been without certain drawbacks, the appointment of Judges needs to be done through a process which inspires confidence and credibility.  The procedures must be simplified and the proceedings should be, by and large, conducted in the language understood by common people in a particular state. 

What we need to guard against today is to take all media posts as authentic. We need media literacy and an ability to identify the fake news, biased analysis and material that is intended to promote hatred, division and discontent. 
The media should be a dispassionate watchdog, an honest messenger, a friendly adviser and a wholesome entertainer.  This is the ideal we must aim to achieve. Media should also like other organs of governance be more accountable for the authenticity and objectivity of the content. 

We should focus on the five ‘D’s I have already mentioned: 
‘Discuss, Debate, Decide, Decentralize and Deliver’.  This can transform the quality of our polity. 

And we have an excellent set of circumstances to transform our country. We are a young, aspirational India. An untapped demographic dividend, a fundamentally sound economy that is growing faster than most of the other countries, a pool of front ranking individuals and a strong leadership at all levels.  "

1909-2019: Remember ONE NEW PERSON on Independence Day

Friends,

Yesterday was a important day for all of us. Its our Independence Day!
I have a bit of different take for this year's Independence Day.

Let's pledge each one of us to the truth that our Nation attained freedom because of the tireless life of millions of people who fought for our well being, safety, peace and prosperity. And we should not merely pay homage to only one or two who has been branded mistakenly by many in the contemporary world.

So, my humble request to all of you is to remember at least ONE NEW PERSON whom you never heard till now but he or she would have given their life to our beloved country's independence.

Past one month, I have been reading the works of several people who have done great jobs securing the constitutional methods of approach to attaining freedom from evils regimes in British India.

When I say constitution, do not mistaken me only with B R Ambedkar or the galaxy of people in the drafting committee or panels. He did great works no doubt about it but who else have done equally great works is our duty to remember faithfully that they don't merely pass away from our dutiful memory.

The independent India's intellectuals have done great injustice to many great classical liberal thinkers of first half of twentieth century. These classical liberals were the main freedom fighters unbelievably working closely with British Empire before the hegemony of Gandhi and Nehru period.

Indeed, there is quite striking similarity between the current year 2019 and 1909. For first time, the Indian National Congress was split on major reform policies evolved during 1908-1909 into two groups: main leaders were called extremists vs liberals. This split in major reform policies mindset and the ideology still hunts us in today's contemporary public policy making whether it is Congress or BJP or any other family run State level parties.

So, there is a amount of rational way of bringing reforms and policies through constitutional methods instead of protests, fasts, strikes, blacking public vehicles etc. The constitutional approach to protest for policy reforms was adopted by Dadabhai, Ranade, Gokhale, VS Srinivasa Sastri, Ambedkar, etc. The fasts protests etc were adopted by Tilak, Pal, Rai, Gandhi, Nehru, etc. Is these extremists leaders who captured the mainstream political power by ignoring the voices of the liberals scholars.

But the contributions to freedom struggles by Ranade, Gokhale and Sastri, etc. were completely ignored by every section of the society. I find this as ridiculous to continue for several generations.

The entire gamut of public policy making minds in India since the independence are the second rate category with protests, strikes etc without any differences in political parties.

We need to come out of this crude mind set of wild act without any logical reasoning on subjects. There is great amount of tragedies done through the act of strikes, protests, etc. both morally and psychically in the name of one community or segments of population or particular region.

Therefore, do take few minutes to ask your parents, grandparents, friends etc to remember the freedom fighters in your locality and also try to know some of the forgotten great souls of our freedom movements. 

Jai Hind,
Chandra....

Poems and Books

Great Tamil poet Subramania Bharati wrote: "We will learn both scripture and science We will explore both heavens and oceans We will unravel the mysteries of the moon And we will sweep our streets clean too"

The above poem was quoted by the President of India in his address to the nation on August, 14.


Nobel prize winning scientist Prof. S. CHANDRASEKHAR wrote a poem in 1993  titled "Gods", the poem starts:

"Secularism has only been on our lips.

In its most modem form,

It says not what it does

And does not what it says."

and ends with the following lines

"Man’s collective consciousness

Runs riot when stripped

Of reason, and at journey’s end.

When culture is consumed at religion’s crossroad

In the name and altar of righteousness."

What he says in between are the lines about Gods.

Author Gurcharan Das has listed books which are important to read in some or other ways to recount the India and other narratives. The list is here.

Author and writer Aravindan Neelakandan has listed seven books which will change your views about India's of last seven decades. The list is here.

Some people in India are eager to learn about Nazis, but not about caste oppression in India

The title of this post is from the interview given by new Dalit Scholar Suraj Yengde, i really like what he has expressed ton reservation to resources poor people that is how I would call it the so called SC, ST and OBCs. Particularly, the below two para is really worth to ponder:

"I'm all for abolishing reservations, BUT only after we redistribute sources equally and we ensure equal education for atleast four generations so that they can be on par with the privileged. We also don't want to fight over limited seats. However, the empirical data suggests that very few people who even occupy these seats and often the government is unable to fill up these seats. And I don't really believe it when people say they care for poor Dalits. How many Dalits get any benefits at all? "


"See, people read about Nazis, the Auschwitz campus, Mussolini, Hitler, we invest time and study what happened there. If you're so genuinely interested, why are they not interested in studying what is happening here? The dominant castes need to realise that this is a common project for all and it should be centered in liberating themselves first. They are so interested in liberating us like it is a charitable deed but we busy liberating ourselves. This is where education comes in, the dominant castes should feel ashamed to be sitting on the resources they have and feel bad about not distributing it democratically. They should know they are part of the oppressive clan. They cannot expect a response that is emasculating and comforting. When we have to keep repeating our problems that's when it shows that even liberal people or people with good-intentions are casteists."