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PreritPatidar
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Not only schools, even community functions organised on religious festivals are similarly adorned. If the organisers cannot get hold of someone in service or politics at present, they go for someone retired. By the time they are in secondary grades, children absorb the message that a worthwhile life can only be led by gaining public importance. Many children begin to feel that their best chance to make their parents happy is by doing things that bring fame and importance. For doing this, there are more choices today, but the range continues to be narrow and the preferred ones are those with the biggest crowd at the entry. The lure of competitive tests like the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) throws light on this cultural phenomenon.
The civil services remain a big draw as the vast clientele of commercial coaching demonstrates. Probability of success is understandably low, and that is precisely what drives the coaching industry to ever increasing rates of growth and fee. It is only after failing to make it into the highest civil services that students look towards other avenues. The same is true of tests in engineering and medicine. It is only after failing to get into these professions that the young consider pursuing a career in other areas. The experience of failure leaves its psychological scab on many young minds. They continue to feel, for a long time, that they could have 'become' someone important. A touching story in this genre is of a schoolteacher who never went back to meet his favourite teacher. He said, 'How could I tell my teacher that I could only become a teacher?'
As a society, we obviously pay a high price for maintaining this syndrome. If only an IAS or a political leader is perceived as having the capacity to do something, the rest can only carry out inconsequential routines. And what is that 'something'? It is a socially shared mystery. In the case of Mr. Shah Faesal, it seems to be somewhat clear. His letter of resignation from the IAS can be read as an expression of his urge to alleviate the pain of Kashmir. He feels he can do it by joining politics. Let us hope he succeeds.