Politics

There is no denying the fact that politics is a dirty word especially in a country like ours. It is a word that the common man fears and the elite maintain a safe distance from. The political system in our country has gone from bad to worse. Today, we have a dearth of quality leaders. This is in stark contrast to the 1950's when our nation was teeming with leaders who had great patriotic fervor and acumen to lead us forward. The only thing that we find that most of our leaders have in common today is their criminal history. The very thin line that existed between a politician and a criminal is fading today and the criminal-politician nexus is inescapable. Quality governance is still a dream for most of us and it seems that it will remain just that in times to come.

Today, most of the educated youth (even those from the hinterland) would not want to join politics. The reasons are not very difficult to comprehend. The primary reason for this is that for fighting an election these days, huge financial backing is required which most of the people do not have. Here is where the criminals step in. Most political parties throw their doors wide open for these goons as they bring in the right mix of muscle power and money, the prerequisite of fighting any electoral battle. Some of these criminals demand a party ticket (to become an elected representative) and others just want the backing of the party if it comes into power. Political parties generally find it difficult to say no to such "lucrative" offers. A large part of the funding of the various parties is done this way. When a government backed by such unscrupulous elements comes into power, these goons get complete political patronage in return.

Hence our system ensures that the deserving people stay away from politics. A system of public funding of elections like that of the United States would change things for the better. This will pave the way for the honest people to join the electoral fray. The Lead India Campaign is a step in the right direction. What else could be more important for a country than having the right people to lead it? It is not that the country cannot afford to spend such huge sums on public funding but it is general lack of will on the part of the politicians. Why would they scrap a system that has nurtured them?

The Way We Learn

We keep on bloating about the fact that Indian students are among the brightest in the world. But have we ever thought how little our country benefits from that? India’s contribution to the world in terms of innovations & discoveries is miniscule. The sole reason for the above is that we are simply not creative enough. This is not innate in Indians, but the age-old education system here ensures that our creative abilities are put largely to rest. We see that many of our NRI’s are flourishing as leading scientists & research scholars in universities abroad. How is it that the same person does great abroad while in India, he gets nowhere?

Creativity and innovation are regarded today as the most valuable asset that a nation can possess. Despite all this, we are still stuck in the world of cramming and coaching classes. Our education system stifles all our creativity through rote learning. What we are churning out is just a huge workforce and not creative minds. Our education system was modeled on the British system but the British have moved on by introducing huge reforms, partly under the American influence.

If India has to really progress fast, it needs innovation, be it in the sphere of infrastructure, nutrition, education, administration or for that matter any other sector. So if we don’t want to be called a “Call centre Giant” perpetually, we will have to totally overhaul the education sector. Research will have to be promoted because without it no country can progress. Not only does research lead to innovations, but also (though indirectly) to huge investments. Companies pay exorbitant sums as royalties for using patents. Our government has always neglected research. The number of Ph.D.s in our country is insignificant when we compare it the number of engineering graduates. Research is not given much value in institutes across the country. Even premier research labs in the country get paltry sums as research grants. There is no autonomy in the education sector. A college cannot decide what courses to teach, what fees to charge, and what salaries to pay to its teachers, thanks to the various UGC and AICTE norms. Even opening a new college or a technical institution can take more than a few years.

I have been lucky to experience both the systems of education. I’ll describe an anecdote I remember. In 7th grade, when I was in East Lansing (Michigan, USA), we had to do Asian studies. When we moved on to India, our study was not just based on what was given in the books(despite American textbooks being a lot more interesting that the ones you get here with a lot more illustrations than questions at the end !). In addition, we saw movies on India like “Gandhi” (read Gandi) and the “City of Joy” and another documentary on modern-day India. My teacher, Mrs. Marianne Forman had even asked me to get some Indian currency notes and coins to show around to the class. I did bring in some, and explained about the various languages on the notes and the face of Gandhi on the coins. It did not end there; we even had a school trip to the local Indian restaurant in East Lansing. Most of my classmates loved Indian food especially the “curries” (read kureez) .And obviously, in the class tests (there are no examinations till high school in the US) we were definitely not asked when India gained independence or any other rote-learning question. Instead, we were asked to write our views on non-violence. The American system of education nurtures creativity very well, which explains why it is leading the world in innovation and high end technology.

It is not that American system of schooling is all play and no work, as is the common perception here. We had assignments almost everyday and had to put in a decent amount of effort everyday but I never felt that it was a load. I enjoyed every moment of it because I never had to cram even a bit. And for all the advocates of cramming here in India, I beg to differ. I still vividly remember a lot of the American history we were taught in 8th grade (in East Lansing) but I don’t remember most of what I learned about the modern Indian history in 10th grade in India.

I’ll tell you a bit about the schools in the Unites States now. A fact that should surprise most of us here in India is that in the United States 99% of the students attend government schools. In India, even those who can’t afford 2 square meals a day will put their children in private schools. Talk about the quality of government schools! And the states in the US pump in huge funds into the schools and colleges. I remember our school of about 300, had 3 tennis courts, 2 basketball courts, a soccer field besides an indoor gymnasium. Even many colleges in India would not boast of such sports facilities. America gives equal importance to sports and education, which can explain the number of medals it brings home in every Olympics while India struggles to win a single Gold despite having thrice as many people. Ah, something which all of us would loathe is compulsory attendance. In America, unless you really have a big problem (sickness leading to hospitalization-reminds me of the makeup policy here at BITS!), say adios to bunking classes. I did not miss more that 3 days of schools in my entire three years at Michigan. It’s another matter that attending classes nowadays has become a lot more difficult than it was in school!