Aspire not to be but to do

In the short life that I have lived it is like a hobby of mine to observe as my dad always told me to, but I only realized the value of observing the various complexities in human nature later on in my life due to the deep thought provocation that i went through during this quarantine. I realized a lot of things in this short span of one year which had been previously restricted owing to the fast paced life that everyone including me was living. This led to the acquisition of the capability to ponder upon the things, not only happening to me but also the things happening around me in a generation where self care is becoming the primary way for one to attain happiness. On the other hand Self construction leads to a unique personality that is created due to the various situations a person goes through in his/her lifetime and in an entirety this creates differences in opinions amongst the people. Leading to a division in the complex human social structure at every strata of the society ranging from the food you eat to the clothes you wear and the team you support in a sport that you watch. Every single thing about a person is unique and nothing can ever truly be exactly alike between people even though we do compare ourselves on a regular basis, basing it on temporary conditions and the way we feel at a certain point of time. This precise way of differentiation in everyone’s personalities leads to the creation of human division that has time and time again led to various wars, killings and unspeakable acts of inhumane atrocities but at the same time division has also given the people a reason to stick together with each other and tolerate each other for a longtime in human history but this is where we have been going wrong for a longtime now. It’s time to stop the notion of tolerance and begin with the need to imbibe the concept of ‘acceptance’ the simple difference being that accepting is understanding the difference of opinion and being happy for them unlike tolerance which is just bearing a person but not totally agreeing with them. If I had the resources available with me then i would expend it in inculcating the concept of acceptance that seems to be fading away in this era of social media where one’s belief, if less popular is considered to be wrong despite him/her having a decent explanation to justify his standing on a particular issue.

The recent rise in the bullying culture that exists where people divide themselves into certain groups and start degrading each others point of view on certain issues is just a step backwards in the ever evolving world as it suppresses one’s individuality and restricts them to a bifurcated way of thinking instead of resorting to a plurality in their way of thought. This can be changed with successive implementation of classes taken on the need of three aspects which are critical that is empathy, acceptance of each others truth and the capability to have a healthy dialogue when there’s a difference of opinions. If these three points are implemented at the grassroot level of the schooling system in this democracy then it might be a small step but with a giant leap ahead in the attainment of a better and more acceptable society where we move from tolerance to acceptance and from sympathy to empathy. It won’t be about feeling sorry for the other person but about seeing the world from someone else’s point of view. But mind you this is only a step ahead on the path towards a more peaceful society.

Besides the ibid, three issues highlighted another aspect that I would like to take is to successively break down and disintegrate the system of carefree attitude that persists amidst the Indian society. The usage of the phrase ‘chalta hai’(let it be) has to be changed to ‘yeh nahi chalega’ (not letting it be and bringing a change). It is our tendency to be very tolerant of wrongs happening around us and letting things be as they are instead of being vigilant and active citizens of the Republic of India. It is a dire need for us to speak up against wrongs happening in society, this only makes us a better citizen of the country. The right word to explain this would be activism and how it needs to be encouraged from the school level. The implementation of which would lead to the students knowing their rights when they become adults and hence resulting in them becoming better citizens of our country. This will also lead to a more critical assessment of the system resulting in better functioning of the education transport and hospitality sector etc. because when citizens are aware of the happenings around them and are willing to act to make it better then nothing can stop the country from changing. While doing all this if the citizen is also aware of the voicing of opinions and acceptance of it then the resulting will be the functioning of a super progressive democracy.

The process of the administration will come with a yojana called “Indian Revitalization Programme” which will wholly focus on human development rather than on human capital formation by developing “empathy, acceptance of each other’s truth and the capability to have a healthy dialogue when there’s a difference of opinions” and “activism”. This will be implemented as a different subject in the school where each type of quality will be taught from primary school to high school by solidifying the knowledge of the subject each year and a deeper dive into the topic with the conduction of activities that will lead to a better understanding of these values and because i will be having the resources all of these issues will be implemented to perfection.

The final change that i would like to take is that of pushing and promoting the important issue of gender parity that has been a huge issue in our country where the safety of a female is always at risk let alone their education. It is largely due to the social construct around women that has been created over the years due to a variety of historical and religious taboos that have come forward in our society. It is a tradition amongst us to treat women as goddesses which is partly the reason for the current condition of the women in the society and I believe this can be changed if the outlook on women is more towards teaching men to live with them rather than to worship them. This along with a wide relook on imparting more education of parents in the rural area by using influential and relatable figures of importance whose opinions are respected will surely lead to a huge change in the thinking of men towards women and in some cases that of women too. This programme will be named “Ling Samanata Yojana” (Gender Parity) which will primarily focus on furthering the agenda of gender equality in the minds of young children from the poorest to the richest and teach children to live with women rather than worship them. It will also make sure that parents are well aware of the need for parity amongst all genders.

These steps when executed to perfection will lead to the making of a more refined citizen and better functioning of the world and will consecutively lead to a thinking amongst children as to what they aspire to do on contrary to the current belief system in what they aspire to be. There is this popular belief that the change we can make is through improving the system from the outlook of it but if you just stop and give it a thought then you’ll realise that a change in people’s personalities will indirectly but surely affect the whole economic, political and social structure of our democracy. It will improve the whole system on a level never experienced before and for once actually lead to citizens questioning what they aspire to do and not what they aspire to be.

I would like to conclude with a famous quote from the 35th United States President late John F Kennedy “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”