Of tribes and times

Of tribes and times
Bindu Gurtoo, CNS

Sikkim, that tiny outcrop in the eastern Himalayas, is a little jewel that makes an interesting contribution to the bewildering cultural and ethnic diversity of India. On the face of it, Sikkim has always seemed an idyllic, lost- in- the clouds abode of beatific Buddhist monks and smiling inscrutable mongoloid people. Despite the impression of an ethereal placidity, Sikkim’s history, especially in the last six centuries has been quite eventful. Migrations from Tibet, wars with Bhutan in the east and with Nepal in the west, the Gorkha incursions, parley with the British… Sikkim’s past is as checkered as that of any other region in the subcontinent (barring of course, the North West!).

The ethnic cocktail of Sikkim is a mix of the Lepchas, the Bhutias, the Limboos, the Tamangs, the Nepalese and a host of plains people. The original dwellers of Sikkim are supposed to be the Lepchas who ventured into Sikkim from either Assam or Burma or from Tibet in some distant past. Lepchas practice the Bon faith, an animistic shamanistic religion. It probably flowered in Central Asia at the dawn of human civilization and flourished in the subcontinent from eastern Afghanistan to Sikkim and beyond. Bon faith as practiced in Tibet influenced Buddhism and was transformed by it in return. The only Bon monastery I have seen in Sikkim is the one in Kewzing. There is one near Solan in Himachal Pradesh too, but that is of recent origin.
According to the Lephcas or the Rong as they call themselves, they are the children of Kanchendzonga, the third highest peak of the world. The Lepchas call it king-tzum-song –bu meaning, the highest over the head. The bon faith is a primordial religion, a throwback to a time when man had a reverential attitude to nature and had not yet learnt to dam the rivers and blast the hills. Perhaps, we could take lessons in co-existence with nature from the mountain worshipping and river loving Lepchas.

Intriguingly, the hunting Lepchas are bigger built and show fewer mongoloid features as compared to the farming ones. The Lepchas I am told, are happy amiable people. Why not, after all, their God is called RUM! There is a well guarded Lepcha village near Rang Rang. Here, the Teesta winds down from the chilly environs of Chungthang towards the pleasantly lush cardamom hills of Mangan. Approachable by a foot bridge, the Lepcha village is spread over the mountainside and is off limits to all but the Lepcha residents. I should know. My son tried. Driven by the insatiable curiosity of a ten year old for all things forbidden, he had skittered down the hill, crossed the foot bridge and was turned back firmly by the police guarding the entrance of the village.

It was at Rang Rang, more than five centuries ago, that the Lepchas and the Bhutias signed a brotherhood pact that was sealed in blood. It allowed the Buddhist Bhutias of Tibet to settle down in “Denzong”, as they called Sikkim. The Bhutias honored the pact by proliferating and gaining a demographic upper hand. The Buddhist sects that came with the Bhutias set up colourfully frescoed gomphas and monasteries all over the region: From the remote Lachen in the north to Tashi Ding and Pemayangtse in the west to Rumtek in the east and Ralang in the south. Finally, by establishing the Chogyal dynasty, the Bhutias fulfilled the prophesy of guru Padmasamabhava, the eighth century founder of Tantric Mahayana in Tibet, of a Buddhist kingdom in Sikkim.

Sikkim has provided a safe haven for Tibetans since centuries. Hence, it was only natural that following the Chinese annexation, a sizeable chunk of the Tibetan exodus into India should have parked itself in Sikkim. Racial, cultural and religious continuity helped assimilation. Yet, not without a measure of censure though. An old monk at Lachen Gompha, himself a true blue Bhutia, lamented the growing trend of Bhutia-Tibetan marriages. It was ironic, considering that the Bhutias themselves, just a few centuries ago, were Tibetan migrants.

The other, much de-glamorized segments of Sikkim’s population are the Limboos and the Tamangs. Originally from Nepal, they did not receive tribal status during colonial rule and were relegated to the being mere commoners. History however, has a way of twisting the destinies of ethnic groups. The growing demand for cheap labour brought in the hard working Nepalese into the under populated Sikkim. The Nepalese were sturdy, and willing to work far more for far less than either the Bhutias or the Lepchas.on an evening, when you walk down the M.G Road in Gangtok that has been prettified with petunias and orchids, your ears will be filled with Nepali and your eyes will scan in vain for a glimpse of the bakhu clad Bhutias. The multi- ethnic crowd that throngs the Gangtok bazaar in fake jimmy choos walks to the beat of Bollywood. Today, the immigrant Bhutias like the indigenous Lepchas before them, have become a minority in Sikkim. The protected Lepcha village across the Teesta at Rang Rang and the Bhutia heritage village up north in Lachen, preserve slivers of tribal history that is being washed away in the swirl of modern demography.

Bindu Gurtoo, CNS

(The author is a member of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau. Email: bindugurtoo@gmail.com, website: www.citizen-news.org)

Rohini Episode-Lessons For The Police and Society

Rohini Episode-Lessons For The Police and Society

Rohini Singh is still waiting for justice to be done after being brutally physically abused by the police constable Subhas Mishra, who entered and ransacked her home and also misbehaved with her two minor daughters, all because she was asking for protection against the harassment and domestic violence she was being subjected to by her husband.

"Even after the Director General of Police (DGP) saheb has intervened I am still being threatened and pressurised to take back my case against the constable. My husband who is in jail has sent a message through my son who went to meet there that they are asking him to sign a affidavit in jail saying that the injury on my leg is an old wound inflicted by him and not Constable Subash Mishra. I fear for the life and protection of both my children and myself and don't know who to approach for support now. There has been a First Information Report (FIR) lodged in my name against the offenders but till date I have not been given the copy of the FIR despite my asking for it several times. It is my right to know what sections have been put and what statement has been recorded in my name. I am also in need of financial relief to support my children and I request the government to help me get it through the courts, " says Rohini breaking down.

But she was not alone who spoke to the media fraternity press at Panel Discussion on "The Rohini Episode-Lessons for Police and Society" organised by UNICEF and Media Nest in collaboration with Saaksham Foundation, a organisation working to address violations of Child, women and Human Rights. The discussion was organised at the UP Press Club.

Dr Richa Rastogi, also spoke about the police harassment she was being subjected to owing to dowry harassment by her husband who along with the police has been tormenting her since 2007. "Every time I went to the police they refused to help me I even approached the women's commission but nothing was done."

"Repeated attempt were made on my life by feeding me poison in my food and pushing me in front of the truck yet when I went to the police for help they harassed me instead. When I got married my parents spend over 25 lakhs on my wedding but even that is not enough, they are still demanding money and my life is in danger. But wherever I have approached for help even the DGP office I have received no support as my husband's uncle who is under secretary in the UP government calls up the 'thanas' and officials I approach and pulls rank."

Professor (Dr) Roop Rekha Verma, former Vice Chancellor of Lucknow University and a noted social activist who has been spearheading Rohini's case through 'Saajhi Duniya' an organisation addressing women's rights, said,"Rohini's is not the first case in which we are seeing such indifference of the police. In every case that we take up it's the same story. It is a shame that living in a democracy we still have to face such atrocities and human rights violations at the hands of the law enforcers. But if we want to approach the judiciary its the same story, long drawn dates and cumbersome paperwork makes it almost impossible to get justice immediately for the victims."

She also questioned the attitude of the police while filing an FIR in such cases,"It's our right to get a copy of the FIR we file but in Rohini's case we have still not received the copy of the second FIR. We don't even know what has been stated in the FIR and what sections have been put. On the other hand we had also asked the police to investigate who filed the first FIR in which the accused were shown as unknown persons, as Rohini has never said the offenders were unknown. In fact her signatures were forged on the FIR which is a crime itself. But the police has still not furnished that information to us."

Dr Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay Awardee (2002) and President, People's Union for Human Rights (PUHR), said, "This is a systematic problem. Corruption is rife in the police department and the fact that they can be pressurised to work under influence is common. The male dominated patriarchal society we live in also sets the stage for the weak, dalits and minorities rights to be violated. Its a colonial mindset the British have left behind and cannot be rectified. But what can be changed is the attitude of the police, the 'policia bhasha' that they use with expletives can be discouraged and their attitude made more humane. Every victim that goes to a thana today is subjected to abusive language and brutal torture, this should be condoned at all. We don't need a executive council or any legal initiative to change this. The top level cops should bring about this change and if they don't they should not be excused for it. The world is changing today when human rights is a huge issue internationally but in UP we refuse to address it."

G ShreeDevi, Secretary UP State Legal Services Authority (UPSLSA), who was also among the panelist, made people aware on what their legal rights are in case of such violations. She also offered to take up the case of Rohini Singh and help her get the financial aid for judicial intervention. "The problem is that people are not aware of their legal rights. In Rohini's case she should have filed her case under Domestic Violence act. This would have helped her get judicial custody of her children and also the financial relief she wants. The UP State Legal Services Authority wants NGOs to collaborate with us so that we can inform people about the provisions we have made to help them get justice in such issues."

Anjali Singh, Director Saaksham Foundation, said, "In every case of child rights, women rights and human rights the first violations occur at the police level who refuse to go by the system put in place to help these victims. Thus there is a urgent need to develop a pressure group to stand by these victims to help them get justice immediately and bring the offenders even if they are in the police to book. Its a shame that in a survey done by National Human Rights Commission in 2008 out of 94,559 cases of human rights violations from all over India, UP Police was heading the list of offenders with 55216 cases filed against them. It is shameful."

Augustine Veliath, Communication Specialist, UNICEF Lucknow, said,"From our end UNICEF is ready to develop NGO networking list which can be provided to UPSLSA to help educate as many people as possible about their legal rights to protect them selves against human rights violations."

The vote of thanks was given by Subir Roy, Senior Photo Journalist and member Media Nest, he said,"Media Nest's aim is to help people address such issues so that they can seek justice in the cases which are not being addressed fitfully. That's why we have set up this forum and raise such issues every fortnight through Media for Children's Hour."

Ban Racism and not the Burqa

Ban Racism and not the Burqa
Bindu Gurtoo

So the French president has gone and done it. In the first presidential address in the French Parliament since 1848, the esteemed President talked about… the Burqa! By declaring, quite theatrically in the parliament that there was no place for the burqa in France, Mr. Sarkozy has undone the goodwill that President Obama so painstakingly earned for the West in Cairo last month. Not only that, by making a fatwa like declaration, he has given the Islamic hardliners another opportunity to raise the bogey of western cultural imperialism. Well, what else can one expect from a man who seems to have little clue on how to deal with global recession, or to tackle the rising unemployment in his country or even to get his countrymen and women to put in an honest day’s labour without going on a strike. Bombastic statements such as these confirm the long held belief of the coloured world that liberty is the white man’s concubine who uses her exclusively for his pleasure.

Pray, Mr. Sarkozy, how is burqa a garment of exclusion while the catholic nun’s habit is not? Granted that the burqa condemns the wearer to a claustrophobic formlessness, but, what about the two piece bikini designed by a man for the voyeuristic pleasure of the male gaze? How can a culture which connives in forcing teenagers to attain impossible thinness and applauds bizarre garments as high fashion, or sit in judgment over others’ attires? Come on Frenchies, tell us, as instruments of debasement and oppression, how are decadence, racism, substance abuse, bulimia, porn and pedophilia any less than the burqa? If, by banning the burqa you are trying to rescue Muslim damsels in distress, then may we suggest a more worthy alternative? How about giving the Muslims in your country genuine equal opportunities that are not sabotaged by racial snobbery?

While you rush to ban the burqa the way you banned the turban, why not ban a few other things such as tobacco, liquor and skinny fashion which have debased and destroyed a great many of your people? But we know you are not going to do that, Mr. Sarkozy for these are valued as expressions of the haute French culture. And one does not desecrate one’s culture by rudely hiving off bits, does one? We suspect Mr. Sarkozy that you have learnt your lessons in governance from the redoubtable Robespierre whose guillotine had once worked overtime in the name of democracy.

Perhaps Mr. Sarkozy, it is time you stepped out of the Muslim woman’s wardrobe and directed your attention to some real issues such as climate change, recession and the future of the European Union. Or do we conclude that it is because you are incapable of pondering over these problems that you take refuge in her cupboard? Do come away from her closet, President and let the Muslim woman decide for herself what she would like to wear. Ah! You are only trying to lend a helping hand, aren’t you? Please desist! For history shows us that the helping hand often ends up slapping the helper. As the president of the nation that pioneered popular uprising, you ought to know that revolutions have to germinate in native soil and can never be successfully grafted. Instead, place your trust in the Muslims to decide on the destiny of their cultures for themselves.

Perhaps, Mr. Sarkozy, the time has come for France to follow the example from across the Atlantic of her once good friend and partner- in- revolutions and elect colored leaders? Though it may seem a daunting task for a man of your intellect, but think Mr. Sarkozy, think!

Bindu Gurtoo, CNS

(The author is a member of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau. Email: bindugurtoo@gmail.com, website: www.citizen-news.org)

The next health tsunami: Non-communicable diseases

The next health tsunami: Non-communicable diseases

GENEVA: The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF) called today on the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to take immediate action to avert the fastest growing threat by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global health.

NCDs which include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease, cause 60% of all deaths globally and 80% of these are in low- and middle-income countries. WHO projects that globally NCD deaths will increase by 17% over the next 10 years. The greatest increase will be seen in the African region (27%) and the Eastern Mediterranean region (25%). The highest absolute number of deaths will occur in the W. Pacific and S.E. Asia regions.

The global call, issued by the three organizations at the meeting of the UN ECOSOC in Geneva, demands five essential actions:

1. Call for an ‘MDG Plus’ containing NCD progress indicators in the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) review

2. Support the availability of essential medicines for people living with NCDs

3. Support a UN General Assembly Special Session on NCDs

4. Support the immediate and substantial increase of funding for NCDs

5. Integrate NCD prevention into national health systems and the global development agenda

The UN MDGs state that health is critical to the economic, political and social development of all countries, yet they contain no goals or targets for NCDs, which are the largest threat to health systems.

Public health experts are expecting ECOSOC leaders to show the way in confronting this health crisis faced by millions. The emerging epidemic of NCDs is threatening to overwhelm healthcare systems worldwide unless action is taken.

“This tsunami didn’t arise yesterday; it evolved over time and is getting worse. We need a revolution to change the trajectory if we are serious,” stated Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana at this morning’s WHO Ministerial breakfast meeting. The World Economic Forum’s 2009 Global Risks report supports this with evidence that the incidence of chronic disease is rising across both the developed and developing world. Medical advances and awareness can reduce the risk severity but chronic non-communicable diseases are still the main cause of death worldwide.

Evidence shows that up to 80% of NCDs can be prevented by addressing risk factors like unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and tobacco use and those that are non-preventable can be treated inexpensively with essential medicines. While medicines such as aspirin, penicillin, insulin and morphine have been on the Essential Medicines List for years, they still remain beyond the reach of many.

The three NGOs request that the final declaration of the ECOSOC High Level Segment include a call for NCD indicators to be included in the 2010 review of the MDGs to form an ‘MDG Plus’, as this fast emerging global threat has not, to date, been addressed.

The three organizations together represent 730 member organizations in over 170 countries and vast networks of health care professionals, patient, and civil society organizations. They have joined forces to create a powerful voice for change and urge ECOSOC to take action in the face of the NCD epidemic.

Even after a month, tobacco pictorial warnings not as per law

Even after a month, tobacco pictorial warnings not as per law

The pictorial warnings on ALL tobacco products should have come into force since 31 May 2009, as per the Government of India notification (3 May 2009). But even after more than a month of the legally binding deadline, very few tobacco products are showing pictorial warnings on their packets in Lucknow city.


Representatives from the civil society organizations today on 3 July 2009 toured the city to conduct a SOCIAL AUDIT on to what extent which tobacco products are displaying the pictorial warnings. A factsheet card in Hindi language for pictorial warnings on tobacco products which was earlier released by Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, Head of Surgery Department, Chhattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU) at the UP Press Club in Lucknow on 29 May 2009, was also distributed to the people. Professor (Dr) Rama Kant is also a World Health Organization (WHO) Director General’s International Awardee for the year 2005 on tobacco control.

The team conducting the social audit reviewed whether tobacco products in 50 tobacco retail shops randomly selected in Lucknow were selling tobacco products with pictorial warnings, whether these warnings occupy 40% of the front side of the pack, whether the warning is in the same language as that of other text printed on the pack, whether the warning reads in the same direction as other text printed on the pack, among other points.

Some of the findings of the people’s social audit include:
- Even though more than a month has passed by, very few tobacco products are displaying pictorial warnings.
- Only some brands of gutkha and beedies are printing the pictorial warnings, although mostly not as per the norms laid out by the notification of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
- Most cigarettes, local and foreign made, are not displaying the pictorial warnings yet, barring very few exceptions
- The pictorial warning is not covering 40% of the front side of the tobacco pack – mostly there is a WHITE area that covers 40% and in that white area, a small portion is the official and legally binding pictorial warning. Mostly 10-30% of the front side of the pack is covered by the warning only, if at all.

- On one of the brands of Beedi, the warning is very small, and also reads in the REVERSE direction (opposite direction to other text printed on the pack)
- Only one brand of cigarette (in the entire social audit) was found to have 40% area dedicated to the pictorial warning, and warning conforming to the norms laid out by the government’s notification

“India ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the first international public health treaty of the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2004 and is a Party to the convention. According to FCTC, the deadline for India to implement pictorial health warning was February 27, 2008. Even one month after the pictorial warnings became mandatory in India (on 31 May 2009), still so many tobacco products in India do not carry any pictorial health warnings and those that do carry, are not enforcing it strictly as per the norms laid out by the Health Ministry. Also FCTC recommends 30 % as minimum size of display of pictorial health warnings i.e. 30% front and 30% back, which India has again not complied with” said WHO Awardee (2005) Prof (Dr) Rama Kant.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the world. According to the World Health Organization, each year 5.4 million lives are lost all over the world because of tobacco use. Out of these 9 lakh deaths occur in India alone. 2500 Indians lose their lives each day because of tobacco use. India has the highest number of oral cancer cases in the world and 90% of all oral cancers are tobacco related and 40% of all cancers in India are due to tobacco use.

Wah! Shaad Wah! - An interface with 'Best Poet of the Year'

Wah! Shaad Wah! - An interface with 'Best Poet of the Year'
Anjali Singh

Lucknow: Think Lucknow and the mention to the city of nawabs will be incomplete sans mention of Khushbir Singh Shaad, Lucknow’s very own local shayar (poet).

Known for his six book s on poetry complete with brilliant thought provoking muse penned both in Hindi and Urdu, Shaad has also penned verses for Bollywood movies like Dhokha made by none another than the radical film maker Mahesh Bhatt. Needless to say his words have moved hearts.

It’s little wonder that a poet with immense talent to connect with the audience was recently decorated with the coveted Literary Award For the Best Poet Of the Year 2008 given to him in April this year. Presented by a well known US based literary Organisation called Anjumane-e-taragui-e-urdu in North America, the award ceremony gave Khusbhir Singh Shaad the perfect timing to release his sixth book Jahan Tak Zindagi.

Needless to say he not only wowed the audience with his muse packed with powerful emotions and sufiana (spiritual) touch but once again he put Lucknow on the world’s literary map.

In an interview to Anjali Singh of Citizen News Service (CNS) post his return from the US, Shaad talks of his global fan following and what inspires him to pen such powerfully charged verses that gets everyone who reads it to respond in awe.

You have been named the Best Poet of The Year 2008, how does that make you feel?

Very honored. It has touched my heart to see so much love and affection from my readers.

You are one of the most popular shayars(poet) who has a global fan following, why do you feel that people living abroad identify so much with your muse?

Meri lavazon mein shayad unko watan ki khushboo aati hai (they can perhaps feel the spirit of their country in my verses) that’s why I think l my fans internationally feel for my work. You see living away from their country their only connection to it is through art creative expressions that reach them from here. They come to all the mushayaras(poetic evenings) to get a feel of their country irrespective of their caste or creed. I am very touched to see how they respond when I recite the shers(couplets).

You write in both Hindi and Urdu, does your audience understand the poetry?

Yes. The spirit of the shers I write has Urdu in it. Urdu jaan hai shayari ki (the essence of poetry is in the Urdu language) so anyone who loves shero shayari will surely acquaint them selves with a smattering of Urdu. And most of my readers in Pakistan, UK, USA, Middle East and Norway speak Hindi and Urdu both.

So if a person does not know Urdu they will not be able to understand shers?

No, they will be able to understand shers but the depth that the sher conveys will remain hidden from them. I too learnt Urdu at the age of 40 when my guru Wali Asi Saheb who was a very revered poet in Lucknow advised me to do so me when I published my first book Jaane Kab yeh Mausam Badle in 1992 . He said at a felicitation ceremony organized for the release that without knowing Urdu every poet is incomplete in his poetic expressions. He then made me promise that I would learn Urdu in one year and my next book will be penned in that language. I promised him I would comply and requested Sultan Khan sahib, a retired Information officer in the Uttar Pradesh state Govt to teach me Urdu. On learning the language I understood what Wali Asi Saheb meant about the essence of shayari can only be expressed in Urdu. In fact learning Urdu also gave me an idea how to say shers in the correct meter prior to that I had no clue how to measure the right meter.

How did you become a shayar (poet) was anyone in your family also as creative?

(Laughs) Oh no. My family was not into shero shayari at all, the nearest they came to creativity was my fathers’s pet name ‘Dilgeer’ which means a melancholic soul. But since the age of 14 I used to love listening to poetry as I was sentimental. I would spend hours just walking on the roof of my home. Then when I bought a book on poetry by Hind Pocket books my interest in penning what I used to think developed. That’s how I began writing. Then I became a shagird (student) of Wali Asi Saheb and the sky was the limit for me.

Despite being so popular you are not known to attend many mushayaras in India and never go to any in Lucknow either. Why so?

Well to be honest, I don’t believe a true shayar should attend mushayaras today as these functions have denigrated to a level which is not befitting a poets stature. Kabir the well known sufi poet was born with the talent of saying shers but he never attended a single mushayara, he was just committed to his art and truly expressed his emotions. Today people cash in on emotions, the couplets poets recite now have no relevance in modern times. Naturally these shers are said for effect not coming from the heart. Shayari should reflect contemporary society but most poets don’t know how to pen such muse and border on vulgarity. I most certainly would not want to be a part of such a gathering, so I just avoid attending some functions. Those who know my work read my books and understand what I write about.

It can’t be all that bad?

Well it is. To give you a small example, when a sher is said clapping is taboo and it is an insult to the spirit of the shayari being read, it is against poetic etiquette. But these days in every poetry session the poets themselves encourage the audience to clap for them after every sher. So nowadays the so called creative fabric are not even aware what is the proper behavior while saying a sher. So what can you expect from them when it comes to creativity.

Whom do you consider your biggest critic?

Myself. Arz kiya hai, "Mujhse Badkar Kaun hai dushman mera mere siwa. Hai mumkin meri hi zaat le doobe muhje" (There is no greater enemy of mine than myself, its possible I may destroy myself one day). What I mean to say is that a poet should live in the moment. Lamho mein jeena seekh lena chaiye (they should learn to live in the moment) only them they will be able to evolve on a daily basis. I set a benchmark for myself and I am brutally honest when I critique my own work. If I don’t do that the subjects I write on come back to haunt me, kyunki kirdar shero mein apna haq mangte hain muhjse (the characters in my poetry ask for justice for themselves to be treated and written about honestly).

You have a unique style of expressing your emotions through poetry, full of pain and melancholy. Why so?

Kiya Zindagi ne pehle har tarah se mustradd mujhko. Phir Uske baad bakshi mere hone ki sanat mujko (Life rejected me in every way before it gave me the honor that was due to be). So I guess I learnt a lot from life and the different aspects that I lived through which then finds expression in my poetry.

What about your family, what is their opinion to your shayari? Your daughter Asmit is known to call you a khazana(treasure).

(Smiles) Yes her various links on the net have shers I have penned. But I am deeply indebted to my wife and daughter for the support they have shown me. Has it not been for them I would have never reached the place I have through my work. The best I can describe what my family mean to me is through two shers I penned for them, “Meri Khatir Jisne Duniya Bhar Ki Khushiyan Chod Di, sochtha hoon usko kya mila mere siwa” (I often think she who has turned away all the world’s happiness what has she got expect me in return.) “Kabhi dekhi nahin koi shikayat uski ankho mein. Who meri Bebasi aur Bekasi shayad samajhtha tha” (I have never seen any complaints in their eyes ever, maybe they understand my helplessness.)

All we can say is Wah! Shaad Saheb Wah!

Anjali Singh
(The author is a Special Correspondent to Citizen News Service (CNS) and also the Director of Saaksham Foundation. Email: anjali@citizen-news.org)

Published in
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A New Hope Of Life For Our Ailing Education System

A New Hope Of Life For Our Ailing Education System
- Shobha Shukla

It is heartening to note that the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), under the able guidance of Sri. Kapil Sibal, wishes to overhaul the education system in the country. It envisages replacing marks with grades (already been done by some Boards), having a ‘one nation -one board principle (an excellent idea), and bringing a tough law to prevent, prohibit and punish educational malpractices (very laudable, indeed).

So the air is seeded with well intentioned reform clouds getting ready to burst upon our sick education system. Whether they will infuse the much needed new life to it, or drown it, is what we need to ponder on. Very often, the erudite reformers take a blinkered view of the scenario, while sitting in their ivory towers. So it is important to initiate a nation wide debate on this issue, inviting not only heads of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and higher institutes of learning, but persons at the grass roots’ level too, that is the teachers and parents and students from different strata of society, who will be the direct beneficiaries or losers in the process of revamp. A mere scrapping of the class X board exam or introducing the grade system would mean poor cosmetic changes, without addressing the more vital problems.

Reforms need to begin at the lowest rung of ladder, viz. the primary level. It is at this stage that the child needs to be free from stress and the monster that a teacher/school is made out to be. With an increasing number of women joining the work force, the utility of play schools cannot be denied. But unfortunately, despite their mushrooming number, they are in the unorganized sector, with hardly any standards of quality control. The Honourable Minister would do well to strike at the grass roots, so that play schools do not become a mere extension of the ‘learning by rote’ system. It is here (and later in the primary classes) that the child can be introduced to environment protection, good hygiene habits, healthy food habits and communing with nature, in a very subtle manner, without the use of the written word. This becomes all the more important as parents find less quality time to spend with their kids. Corporate houses and government offices would do well to have such a ‘home away from home’ on their premises. This is one of the best ways to discharge their social accountability duties.

The primary level stage is the next one which is again largely into private hands. Education, for them, is big business, at least in the urban areas. Almost every other house in any locality has a board proclaiming to offer the best facilities (through English Medium) to a four year old child in the form of ‘computer education’, general knowledge etc. Very few boast of any sort of a play field. People, from even the lower middle class families, send their children to these schools, where they virtually learn nothing, by way of the three ‘R’s, even on reaching class V.

The situation could be slightly better in the missionary and public schools, the latter charging hefty fees. Computer is the buzzword these days. Parents do not seem to be interested in letting their child enjoy a carefree and happy childhood. Instead they want them to be store houses of crammed facts and figures. It is at the primary level that we can inculcate good moral and social values in the child as also a love and respect for nature and fellow human beings. Some schools score very high on this, but they are few and far between. One of my relative’s daughter studies in class three in a reputed Parsi school of Mumbai . At this young age she sees to it that there is no wastage of water/electricity in her house and that garbage is reutilized as far as possible. She is totally against junk food and aerated drinks. And she has effortlessly imbibed all these values from her school, which have now become part of her psyche. At this tender age, it is easy to mould the young characters as they look up to their teachers and try their best to emulate them. If they are made environmentally conscience at this stage, there will be no need to ‘Study’ Environmental Education as a subject in higher classes (so many of us are up in arms against this additional burden of having to memorize another subject with no tangible benefits). And please, let us not replace the play ground with the computer lab. The irreparable harms of this are already there for all of us to see.

Surely till class V there should be no exams. This is the time to arouse the curiosity and hone the natural talents of the child. Interests in fine arts like music, dance, painting (so very important and so much neglected) will help to ignite their imagination, encourage their creativity, and groom them for a well balanced personality. There is much more (and better) to life at this stage than being adept at handling the computer and reciting dialogues from television programmes of the cartoon network. Reading (apart from textbooks) is another habit which has taken a backstage, thanks to the absurd notion that ‘any activity which doesn’t fetch high marks is a waste of time.’ The intangible benefits of a love for reading are far too many and stand by us life long.

With the number of obese children on the rise, it is also important to emphasize on healthy eating habits and physical exercises and a love for nature. And I can say with certainty that all this is very much possible, if we have the will to do so.

Of course, we need specialized educators at the primary level to ensure a proper and balanced development of the child. It should be mandatory for schools to have play fields, airy class rooms with not more than 30 children to a teacher, compulsory yoga, and music and painting activities under competent teachers. The number of schools following these practices is abysmally small. If all schools follow these basic stipulations then parents would not seek specialized coaching of their child, from private tutors, to succeed at the interview for admission to nursery class in a school of their choice. It may seem grotesquely absurd, but such tuitions are immensely popular in urban areas.

The menace of ‘coaching institutes’ is another area, which needs immediate attention. If it is stopped, the students will be able to manage their time better and be de stressed. Gone are the days when taking private tuitions was a sign of the student’s incompetence. There is big money in coaching these days and nowadays it seems to be a matter of prestige, rather than necessity, to join one. Parents feel it is part of their parental duty to send their ward for private tuitions, right from Class I to Class XII, whether there is actual need of it or not. Obviously the child will be stressed due to paucity of time, having to manage ‘two study shifts’.

Several of my class 12 students admitted that they joined some coaching centre more out of peer/parental pressure. But once the heavy fees were paid they kept on wasting their time without improving their education levels at all. Incidentally, most of such students fare poorly at their Board Exams and also fail to qualify for a good professional institute. They would do much better if left to themselves, provided their teachers in school are sincere. Some state governments have tried, (but failed), to uproot this menace in the past. But the education/coaching mafia has such strong tentacles that nothing short of a strong diktat can deter them. This is one field where the HRD ministry needs to do some thing drastic.

At the middle school and secondary/higher secondary level again, it is a good idea to have a uniform pattern of education throughout the country, with some lee way given for regional modifications. But there should be just one examining body/board for the class XII level examinations. It will not make much of a difference if the class X board examination is scrapped, or the marks are replaced by a grade point system. The gradation in marking will and must remain. It is only the allotted marks that are changed to grades and some examining bodies are doing it already. But it does not make much sense to make the class X board examination optional. Either it should be there or not there. Else it will create more traumatic discrimination in the students.

What is more important is to revamp the examination system. At present it seems to be more of a farcical comedy than a serious exercise. There is an absurd emphasis, right from school authorities, to parents and students to get high marks. So much so that the latter are encouraged to cheat and score well by hook or by crook. The undeserving students stand to gain, at every step of the process. These days the teacher is always held responsible /accountable for good results, but rarely for the good conduct of her pupils. Many school managements encourage students to cheat, (particularly in the practical examinations), use unfair means and score high marks. Students obviously are no longer ashamed to cheat. They feel rather proud at having hoodwinked the authorities. There are numerous cases where parents have withdrawn their child from a particular school (after Class X) as the management did not guarantee to her full marks in Class XII Practical examinations. They preferred to send their ward to one which delivered these goods. So much for the moral character of the so called ‘character builders’.

But my contention is – why have such a system which encourage one to cheat and get away with it with impunity.

At present, every Board is trying to outdo the other by way of giving high marks (by diluting the marking scheme), and not by way of imparting quality education. We have students getting 100% marks in subjects like English, Hindi and Economics. Yet their knowledge of the subject is abysmally poor. The system of conducting practical exams in the Science subjects is fraught with aberrations and needs to be seriously revamped.

Exams should not be an ordeal, but make students capable of tackling pressures of life, without getting affected psychologically. Stress is an over hyped and fashionable word these days. The media has contributed to this stress factor in a big way, by making much ado about nothing. It is ridiculous to see students being interviewed before and after taking the Board Exams. It is pathetically amusing to see parents (particularly fathers) discussing the entire question paper with their ward as soon as she/he comes out of the examination hall. What is worse is the anguish and discomfort writ large on the face of the child at this ‘childish’ behaviour of the parent. I have witnessed such scenes very often during the course of my invigilation duties for Class XII examinations. It is such irresponsible behavorial attitudes which increase the stress levels of the students and not the actual exams

Some stress is necessary for all of us. Human beings are generally said to perform better under stress. Too much of dilution will make life insipid and unpalatable, in the same way as over stress will crush it completely. It is more important to impart life skills to our students. We should neither molly coddle nor suppress them. They have to be made competent enough to face the challenges of life; not to be deterred by failures; to accept success with grace and not brashness. They should not feel happy in walking with the crutches of their parents’ power/position. Rather they have to learn to earn their place in society by rightful means.

All this cannot be achieved without the cooperation of the teachers. There needs to be more accountability and better compensation in the teaching profession. It is only the government schools which implement fully any pay scale revisions for teachers. Yet they are notorious for under performance. Private schools (including missionary schools) maintain better standards, but their teachers are grossly underpaid, especially those teaching the higher classes. They always cite paucity of funds as a major problem. The HRD Ministry would do a yeoman’s service if it applies the ‘equal pay for equal work’ policy and makes a sincere effort to remove these discriminatory anomalies. Of course, higher financial benefits will have to be matched with better performances on part of the teacher community. They will also have to utilize their expertise and energy for teaching in class and not in coaching centres.

It is true that achieving this (or even some part of it) involves getting across many hurdles—political as well as logistic. Already there are loud voices of disagreement coming from some states. But instead of being carried away by populist measures, the ‘powers that be’ should don their thinking caps to figure out how to make it happen. A sensible education policy is in the interest of the students, parents and teachers-- in fact the entire nation.

Shobha Shukla

(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS) and also teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)