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Magazine
Disparities in the system
Vimala Ramachanradam’s portrayal of school education in rural India (“A Quick-fix solution?”) clearly reflects the attitude and ignorance of the government towards the majority of country’s school children who live in villages. Like the media, education has also become city-centric and the fault lines of education in metros or cities always get highlighted and projected as a national issue. Teachers in villages come only occasionally to schools, busy most of the time attending to their own farming activity and drawing big salaries thanks to the Sixth Pay Commission. The Education Minister has to understand that the majority of the population still lives in rural India and visiting Delhi schools will not improve the education system, but will only facilitate large disparities between urban and rural masses.
Bijender S. Sengar
Greater Noida
Following Ambedkar
With reference to S. Anand’s “The illusion of images” (Magazine, July 5), one cannot agree more with the author, that the criticism of Mayawati for her obsession with the erection of statues of Dalit leaders including her own stems more from an intolerance of her as a Dalit leader than any substantive principle. The practice of erecting statues originally started by our colonial masters was adopted by the Congress as an expression of Bhakti/hero worship and the regional parties had a convenient precedent to perpetuate the practice at the expense of the tax payer, with the result the entire country is replete with statues, street /locality names and what not in the name of this or that political leader. If the Dalit leaders really mean to honour Ambedkar, they would do well to follow his advice to open more institutions of learning with a view to elevating the status of the long-suppressed Dalits.
C.P. Srinivasan,
Apex, North Carolina
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When confronted with the precocious skill at archery of Ekalavya, the Kauravs and Pandavs united as one, as they perceived in him a superior combatant. In this modern era, it is the turn of Mayawati to face the derogatory dismissiveness of the elite class, over her single handed attempt to consolidate and wean away the Dalit vote bank. The elite are desperate to find a Drona who can demand the thumb, in dakshina. Through the ages, the upper castes had established ruthless hegemony on the social structure and had committed far greater sins. Now the underprivileged class, marginalised for so long, is seeking empowerment. History is indelible and the wheels have begun to turn the Dalit way. Unless Mayawati, from now on, puts in as much dedication into governance and growth of her State, a more effective leader and of course, his /her statues will take over.
R. Narayanan,
Sumeru, Ghaziabad
Banishing hunger
Harsh Mander’s “Exiling hunger from every home” (July 5) is really a wakeup call to our government which has adopted pro-rich policies so far. It should be the primary responsibility of our governments to ensure proper nutritious food to the down-trodden and marginalised people, for which enacting a law is imperative. The author has unveiled a burning issue which ought to have been addressed and solved long ago. Without feeding everyone properly, a government and its governance has no relevance in a civilised society.
Govindankutty. P
Ottapalam
Apropos Harsh Mander’s article, when it comes to tackling the demon called “hunger”, India should probably learn from Bhutan. Instead of hankering after technological advancement, our neighbour has focussed its attention on health and education. It tries to measure its prosperity by the unique index of “Gross National Happiness” and ensures that prosperity is shared by everyone. Poverty, hunger and malnourishment are still hard realities in India. This belies the Government’s claim of development. The parties in power have only wasted their time and resources in bickering over irrelevant issues like Ram Mandir or Pokhran. The welfare of those below the poverty line seems to be the last priority for politicians. Unless the 230 million undernourished Indians are relieved from their daily ordeal, all rhetoric of “economic growth” and “food sufficiency” will remain a sham.
Kajal Chatterjee,
Kolkata
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