‘MAKING WARRIORS, NOT WORRIERS’

This is the tagline of one of the coaching institutes in Surat. Whenever I happen to pass by the hoarding with an advertisement for this institute where I see a boy with a sweet smile, his hands folded at the chest and a tagline that states with pride that they are creating future warriors by preparing them for competitive exams, I wonder, why not make them Agniveers? A very recent and new career option. Let them apply to the Agneepath Scheme by the government which is recruiting youngsters from the age of 17.5 to 21 years. Let them join any of the three services of the armed forces and serve the nation. Let them be warriors in the real sense.

If they are not willing to do so, it should be a worry for parents that their children are on the path to becoming warriors for marks, universities and the best job placement in or outside their country. Parents should become Worriers. The institute’s claim of creating Warriors constitutes the notion that writing an exam is like fighting a war. The very idea of education being a war instills fear and anxiety in children, thus making parents anxious enough to consult a counselor. Not a career counselor but a wellbeing counselor. A mental health therapist. So, it’s like such institutions and therapists are thriving and students are striving.

Why do we want our children to become warriors simply to gain the highest score in competitive, nerve-wracking examinations? Are we not audience to wars around us, around the globe, literally and metaphorically?

I understand that for a bright future, one’s career is important. But the smiling faces of students we see on hoardings across the city with their scores or percentage mentioned below their photographs are just for that particular advertisement. Otherwise, most of the time, their faces seem to reflect tension, pressure, and stress. Why are we making academic life so competitive for students?

And I am not just talking about those preparing for such exams. I am also talking about children whose parents send their kids for tuition even at pre-primary and primary levels. As adults, we start instilling in them titbits of fear and reluctance for education at a very early age. We want them to become fighters at a very young age itself.

In any case, they will have to fight wars once they are out in the real world. Not just fight outside, but there will be battles within too. Don’t we all fight some sort of battle within us every now and then? The intensity and gravity might be different for different people, but we all fight battles in our day-to-day life. So, instead of letting children become warriors at an early age and expecting them to fight (compete) with others, why not teach them to fight with their own fear, anxiety, stress, failure? Why not teach them values like patience, respect, compassion, faith, gratitude, courage, discipline, and the like.

Aren’t the wars in the name of religion, culture, race, politics, and position enough for us? Today the youngsters in many states are at war with the government because of the Agneepath Scheme. I am not sure how many of them have actually weighed the pros and cons of the scheme. If these people feel that the scheme is a sham and it is unjust and unacceptable, they have the right to protest. Agreed. But protest without being disruptive. How sane is the idea of disrupting public property in fury, rage, and ignorance? 

We are a nation of Gandhi. The Mahatma. We take pride in his philosophy of satyagraha and non-violence. Then why such uproar and unrest?

यह महान दृश्य है,
चल रहा मनुष्य है,
अश्रु स्वेद रक्त से,
लथपथ लथपथ लथपथ,
अग्निपथ अग्निपथ अग्निपथ।

On the one hand, we have the youth fighting against the government, and on the other hand, we have politicians like Uddhav Thackeray who was fighting a battle within his government, against the Sena rebels along with his son Aditya Thackeray. The drama has finally ended with his resignation as the CM of Maharashtra. And as if this is not enough, in the northeast, we see people battling against nature. It has been almost one month and the people of Assam are still fighting against floods and rains.

And how can we forget Russia and Ukraine?

Making warriors simply for achieving the highest score is not enough. It is a subject of worry. Children need to be prepared for the exams of life because the real world is going to be different and challenging. At such times, marks and merit won’t matter. What will matter the most will be the will to survive. The patience to persevere in the battle of life.

तू न थकेगा कभी,
तू न रुकेगा कभी,
तू न मुड़ेगा कभी,
कर शपथ, कर शपथ, कर शपथ,
अग्निपथ अग्निपथ अग्निपथ।

– Sri Harivanshrai Bachchan