SCHOOLS OR HORROR CELLS ?

On 2012 Teacher’s Day, a teacher in a reputed school in Kolkatta hit a small child repeatedly on his head with a foam can causing serious head injuries. An elderly teacher in a school in Tamilnadu sexually abused a seven-year old boy. In a primary school in Coimbatore a three and a half- year old child was caned severely on the neck, back and thighs by the teacher for not doing well in studies, though the progress report showed that she secured 85% marks.

The above instances are only some illustrations. Sexual abuse of girls and boys; corporal punishment such as caning, cutting locks of hair, making them stand for long hours, forcing them to drink urine and other forms of torture; and humiliation in the open class and before the school assembly (sometimes leading to suicides) are frequently reported in  the media.Such incidences are on the increase in an alarming manner all over the country. Rote learning, discouraging curiosity, heavy homework and excessive pressure to perform are additional anxiety –causing factors in the schools. Many schools in the country are indeed becoming horror cells for the growing young children. Many teachers do suffer from psychological disorders like sadism, paedophilia and emotional insecurity. Selection of teachers in schools should be based both on TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) and Psychometric Test.

P.J.Naidu, a professional social worker with many years of experience in the field of mental health, has been devoting his entire energy for the cause of high quality education in schools. The Journal of School Social Work, the only journal of its kind in India, is published by him every month without fail with limited financial resources. Naidu’s passion is to see that schools appoint professionally qualified social workers.

Our children are the precious assets of the nation. Let us not waste their creativity and growth potential. The government, the media, the civil society and the rest of us should act without any further delay.

GODS AND GURUS

“India has given the world Mahatma Gandhi, ashrams and the idea of a guru. Because of Hinduism, there are so many millions of gods, and the gods do not bother anyone”, said Canadian novelist Yann Martel.True. Our gods do not bother us, but some of our gurus do.

India gave birth to great seers like Adi Sankara, Sree Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekanda, and Sree Narayana Guru.In contrast, we have seen highly controversial pontiffs and gurus. The present senior pontiff of the revered Kanchi Kamakodi Math was arrested on charges of murder. The recently nominated junior pontiff of Madurai Adheenam, a famous Saivite center , has been facing many criminal cases and was also in jail . The chief priest of a popular temple, who is referred to as “Amma” (Mother or goddess) had to face raids by the central government agencies in their premises. A self – styled Kalki Bhagawan (the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu) ,who had many followers some years ago, has now gone into oblivion.

Indians have had the fortune of the spiritual guidance of some great personalities. Shirdi Sai Baba, worshiped as god all over the country in the imaginatively designed temples, led a spartan life. A Muslim by birth, he combined the tenets of Hinduism and Islam. He preached a moral code of contact: Love, forgiveness, help to fellow human beings, contentment, and devotion to god are its main elements. He refused to be treated as god during his life time. Jiddu Krishnamurthi, the globally acclaimed philosopher, was trained by the Theosophical Society to be the “vehicle of the expected world teacher” ; but he renounced that role without any hesitation. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Yoga and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living are excellent tools for self –development. Swami Chinmayananda founded a mission which trains highly competent young persons for spiritual pursuits and service to society.Satya Sai Baba’s benevolent services in the fields of health care and provision of drinking water to millions are legendary. But after his Samadhi the controversies regarding the assets of the Trust are unsavoury.

“The hands that help are holier than the lips that pray”, said Mother Teresa. Mata Amirthanandamayi has been rendering health, education and social welfare services with huge funds raised in India and abroad. These services are praiseworthy. But there appears a tendency of corporatisation of the health and professional educational programmes of the Math. Her “hug” has a healing effect on the devotees like the well-known “saichiatric” impact of Satya Sai Baba. At the same time deification of the Mata by her followers blurs the dividing line between the god and the guru. In an article titled “The Mother of All for All Time”, C.Radhakrishnan ( winner of Kerala and Kendra Sahitya Academy Awards) wrote “ Amma prescribes the amrit of universal love to cure humanity of all disorders and pains”. If that is so, could not the precious life of the young Satnam Singh have been saved? It is desirable that Gurus remain Gurus.

COLONIAL MIND - SET OF ELECTED LEADERS

"Don't spare me" asked Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru while inaugurating the Shankar's Weekly. The year was 1948, and the leader was one of the architects of the Indian democratic system.Nehru was an admirer of Shankar's cartoons. But in 2012, a leader who promised" Paribortan" ( total change) and became Chief Minister of West Bengal got a cartoonist arrested. Professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and his neighbour were declared enemies of the State for circulating an e-mail cartoon lampooning the Chief Minister, and were imprisoned. Though the West Bengal Human Rights Commission criticized the police excesses, and ordered the state government to pay the victims rupees 50,000 as compensation, the government has not responded positively. Instead, the state government appears to be vindictive and is proceeding with the case.  The US - based Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) urged the President and Prime Minister to take steps to amend the laws to protect the freedom of speech of citizens.

Sedition is a convenient charge our intolerant leaders use to silence the critics. Social activist and medical practitioner Dr.Binayak Sen was in detention for a long time till the Supreme Court granted him bail. Writer – social activist Arundhathi Roy was threatened with a similar charge. The British rulers used the sedition law to crush the freedom fighters. This harsh legal option is no more in existence in the Statute books of UK. But the Indian rulers have no hesitation to abuse the sedition clause section 124(A) of the Indian Penal Code to curb the freedom of expression of citizens.

The latest victim is Kanpur – based 24 – year old cartoonist Aseem Trivedi. Exasperated with the mounting corruption in the country and the indifference of the government towards the corrupt, he let out his frustrations through his “cartoons against corruption” in his website. He was arrested and his website was blocked by the Maharashtra government. Young Trivedi did not buckle under pressure and the visuals of Trivedi on the TV screen would make any Indian proud of the mental strength of this uncompromising young fighter.The public anger against the Maharashtra government rattled the political establishment. The Mumbai High Court criticized the police, the lower court and the state government for the “arbitrary” and “frivolous” action in arresting Trivedi. The chairman of the Press Council of India in a furious interview asserted that those who issued the orders should be arrested. The High Court released Trivedi on bail with a minimum amount of personal surety. The state government dropped all charges against the young hero.

During the National Emergency declared in 1975, the government of India censored each and every printed word. Yet the stinging cartoon of Abu Abraham on the declaration of emergency was not censored by Mrs.Indira Gandhi. It showed the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signing the emergency orders from his bath tub and saying that “If there are anymore ordinances just ask them to wait”.

Sarojini Naidu’s sense of humour was well-known. She “once in a mood of loving irreverence” called Mahatma Gandhi “ Micky Mouse of a man”, which Gandhiji enjoyed .Later , the Civil and Military Gazette from Lahore published a caricature of Gandhiji as Micky Mouse. Such a cartoon today might cause violent riots and severe police action. Section 124(A) of IPC should be erased from our statute books to protect the liberty of freedom of speech and expression from our rulers, who are idols of clay.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT: MONEY GROWS ON TREES AT DELHI

In his recent address to the nation justifying hike in diesel price and FDI in multi-brand retail, the Prime Minister cautioned the people that “money does not grow on trees”. Dr.Manmohan Singh also said that the UPA was “voted to office twice to protect the interests of the aam aadmi”. But the government of the aam aadmi splurged nearly 2.9 million rupees to celebrate the third anniversary of UPA 11 (courtesy: RTI querry of Hissar – based Ramesh Verma).While the Planning Commission estimated that 22 rupees a day would be enough for an aam aadmi in rural areas to subsist, a whopping amount of 7,721 rupees per meal was spent on the UPA dinner: that is an aam aadmi’s Planning Commission – prescribed amount for 350 days. Further, of the 603 invitees, only 375 turned up. What a criminal waste of money? Unless money grows on trees, how could the government be extravagant?