Re: How do we take it forward? You tell us!

[Arvind Kumar <arvind.kumar@rocketmail.com>]

---IamAzhar@aol.com wrote:
>
>   Speaking of addresssing the issue(s), I can't
resist to ask Mr. Arvind
> what he finds wrong in educating the 'abandon'
Indian populace about
> their own religion???  Will that help them meet
today's demands is a
> different issue.  At least they will know what they
practice.  Denying
> that is not just fundamentally wrong but an affront
to so called
> "democracy".

Dear Azhar,

I do not suggest we deny anyone anything. All I suggest is that we see
to it that nobody is denied of education as is the case now. You do not
need to abandon your religion to send your children to schools. By
schools, I mean REAL schools.

In our "ideal manifesto", should we include compulsory education? If we
do so, is that an affront on  democracy? It is not a question of
religion here. If you look at Hindu priests too, they are economically
backward. They consider themselves educated. However,
I feel they would have been better off had they pursued formal education
and equipped themselves to face the world.

We should not force anything on anyone but if we do ask for compulsory
education, we should see to it that certain standards are met. Let us
not delude ourselves.  While one should be free to practise one's
religion, we have no right to deny anyone a dignified life in
the name of religion. You say that whether it will help meet the demands
is a different issue. Yes, it is a different issue but an urgent one
which needs to be addressed. It
would be hypocritical to refuse to educate one's children and then point
out that they are poor.

I do not care whether you are a Muslim or a Hindu but unfortunately that
is how I expect this discussion to end (may not be you, may be someone
else but I am confident that it will happen).  Think again. It is an
affront to democracy only as much as having  compulsory education as a
rule is.  Lack of education leads to poverty. Give them a chance. Don't
deny them education.

-Arvind


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