Opinion

India’s education policy got a long awaited update after three decades. The 2020 National Education Policy, NEP, has some of the much needed changes, which makes it the third major education policy update since independence. I have wanted such reforms in education for a long time and am happy to welcome this new policy. A policy is a plan for action, and its value lies in whether the plans are actionable, and acted upon.

Most of us don’t pay heed to posters and messages asking for donations. The moment we read the ‘donate’, we tend to run away. The word ‘politics’ faces the same negligence. Let me echo what Plato, a notable Athenian philosopher, had said, “If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools”. Politics is the way that people living in groups make decisions and therefore, ignoring it is harmful because everything around you is affected by political decisions taken by the elected politicians sitting in the parliament. Not thinking about politics is a decision to not value liberty that our constitution offers us. I completely understand why people are not interested in politics. They nurture this feeling that political leaders sitting in the parliament are busy stuffing piles of cash inside their pockets. They believe politics is a lousy business. But I urge you all to reconsider your thoughts regarding politics and restore your faith in it because you must not ignore something that affects you and your daily life. It is high time for all of us to be politically aware.

Divide and conquer strategy is as popular as the Taj Mahal is in India. It’s a very powerful strategy and is extensively used by elite people and political leaders to control masses in such a way that the common people don’t unite and rebel against them. It is also known as divide and rule. Remember, how the British were turfed out of India. If we look at it simply, it was possible only because people then coalesced into a large group with a common goal to drive the British out of India and set the nation free. The strategy that people implemented to unite was the opposite of the divide and rule strategy that British people have always used. The British presumed that if the mass of the population gets united, it would pose a problem for them. Therefore, they divided people which led them to conquer their problems. It kept people busy fighting among themselves and focus on the real enemy got diverted.

Have you ever cared about littering a garden or a park, whose limitless green beauty sets up a perfect atmosphere for you and your other half? Have you ever cared about cutting down trees, demolishing forest areas to give birth to skyscrapers and factories? Have you ever cared about exploiting natural resources beyond the limits of safety? Have you ever cared about refining technologies to such a scale when it could pose a threat to our environment?