For the past few weeks, I have been frustrated by the constant bandhs, blockades, and petty destruction of property across Hyderabad and perhaps in other cities and towns across the State. The final straw was when I read and heard the call of Prof. Kodandaraman asking for all schools and colleges to remain closed until Telangana State was granted. I assume that Prof. Kodandaraman is an eminent professor, and no matter what his political views, for someone to become a professor, he would have obtained a doctorate, which means that he would have applied the basic principles of logic and reasoning to arrive at a conclusion.
If there are two reasons, why the Telangana region has remained backwards, it is the lack of a single minded pursuit of education, and desire to work against adversities. It is a simple cycle, the way I see it: first you need to be educated - I do not mean getting degrees, but education in the real sense of the word (but that is a different story). Once you are educated, you need to get jobs, competing in a free and competitive world, Once you get a good job, your economic condition improves, and once that is achieved, it is possible to hand down this prosperity to the next generation.
The very act of denying education for a prolonged period of time is going to put every child to a disadvantage, make it difficult for him to compete in a much larger world than Hyderabad, and eventually do well for oneself. I was aghast to learn recently that a student wrote in her exam papers that she could not prepare for her exams; she was ready to offer her services to the examiner just so that he could pass her in the exam. This is what disruption to an education process can cause!
I have always lived with adversities. I was born a Brahmin. In India, being a Brahmin means that you fight your way through; there are no reservations in schools or colleges, there are no concessions or scholarships, or reservations in jobs. In order to make a living my father had to move out of Andhra Pradesh. That means that I was living in a new place, learning a new language, a new culture, and yet trying to succeed. I never recall complaining about that. Since then, I have been moving from one state to another, always an outsider, always working hard. If I am successful today, it is because of the two basic ideas that I was brought up to recognize: a) you cannot achieve anything without education, b) in order to achieve anything you need to work against adversities, and not try to subvert the system.
In light of my own limited understanding of what it takes to achieve something, I find it rather ridiculous that Prof. Kodandaraman has called for depriving students of the very education that could be their emancipation. I also find it painful to see that the most simplistic way of looking at the correct picture has become to believe that another person can deprive you of what is rightfully yours. You need to earn it, not through bandhs, and blockades but by working hard and with diligence.
Telangana region has remained backwards, but let us stop blaming others for it. Let us work to make our next generations stronger through education and hard work. Otherwise, we will continue to perpetuate the truth that the people of Telengana are a deprived lot.
