India, my country, your country, a nation we live in and live for!
India, our motherland- our Supreme Deity- the Most Immortal!
Celebrating Our Independence is nothing less than celebrating our own life!
We, with the youth power-young minds have come significantly far ahead of the narrow patriotism.
There is a new definition of being an Indian!
There is Pride!
There is Happiness!
There is Responsibility!
There is Courage!
There is Concern!
There is an India in Us!
Independence is not just a day that we celebrate as a holiday. It is not just a play of words on thousands of stages all over the country. It is not about making the school children stand and perform cultural events. What is Independence then?
Independence- Freedom-Liberty-Happiness...have their own connotations and we seldom define them the way millions other feel it is. We cage it sometimes, we kill it sometimes by forgetting that it was not a neighbourhood fight that our Angels had with the Colonial Rulers. It is a mind-set, a sense of duty towards the home, called India!
Independence is a life-style which is our way of breathing in-out. It is our way of making friends, representations and relations. It is our way to eat-dance-play-think. It is our realization that we are not slaves to outsiders; we can protest against and reject our government. We the youth, know that patriotism means a lot to us. It is about the flow of emotions in our veins when we see our National Flag- Tiranga- high in the sky. These Three layers with the Chakra have been able to captivate us. If you want to tell someone, how to feel 'Being Indian', just make them look at India, in the tri-colour- Our Flag.
India needs to live in you and you need to live in India. Without even one single citizen, India remains incomplete. It is like our family chemistry, we need all together; India demands togetherness from all.
We as Teachers, need to remember that, we are one the most significant position with power to influence not just the academic rules, but life! Life of our Nation! We need to keep the courage to stand up and speak against the wrong that we feel we can not control or correct. Teachers must to facilitate the feeling of Pride in Protest. Rather, we need 'Responsibility' when we question anyone, be it the system or individuals. When this is being asked, we mean that firmness must be there but with dignity. Youth needs a path and we have stopped standing in their ways. This bewilderment will turn bad, if we the agents of change do not dare to make the difference. Do not try to instil in them a sense of dejection about India, we know that we are fortunate enough to be in a county like this. It is not just about being US or UK, it is about the feeling that people have for us. Certifications, Passports-Visa can not make us Un-Indian. We know what is 'origin'. So we need to remember that we represent India, where ever we go, settle, study or work.
As teachers, we can make our students believe that they are not the clients of this country, and of course, India is not a firm selling you burgers. As learners, students, teachers, we can not question a 'system' which is made of us. But Yes, we can correct it. We have been wasting more time in cursing the 'system' rather than adding corrections to it. As teachers, we have lost the credibility that we used to enjoy. It is easy to re-gain this and by becoming 'competent' we can become the decision makers again.
Make your Students believe that Education is in a transition mode, it remains so as always, and protesting against it is putting hurdles in the way of learning. Better we become active, sincere and responsible part of reform of education.
We need to tell them that they are paying for what they are to learn, it is not money but their time, so engaging oneself in learning will not be a loss.
Career remains important, but as a citizen, the students are required to be moulded as Indians. Even is we need to create obsession in them for India, that won't be as dangerous, as the feeling of 'Disappointed with India' is. Make our country a part of our teaching.
Impart Skills, the skill of making sense, the skill of understanding people, the skill of adding more skills, the skill of learning cultures and languages of the country and the world, the skill of employability and entrepreneurship, the skill to innovate and improvise, the skill of being honest and true to work!
Last, not the least, Keep your own self active. Being exhausted by the corporate structure of modern education, devise the extra-steps, that you need to take for self-improvement, in fact, self-enhancement. Being the guide-Mentor-Guru, you need to be on the perfect path of learning. Keep learning the trends of education, be one step ahead them the students in observations and adaptability. Teach yourself technology and then integrate it into teaching-learning.
Be the Indian, who knows that Being Indian matters to India.
Happy Independence Day!
