10-31-2006, 08:13 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Arjun, heal thyself </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Leave Saraswati Sishu Mandir alone
It is unlikely that Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has heard of the adage, 'Physician, heal thyself'. In the event he has, he would be well-advised to look up its meaning because he needs to heal himself of the canker of toxic communalism from which he suffers. If he needs evidence of manifestation of this illness that has so severely warped his mind and jaundiced his vision, he can recall the comments he made at an NSUI function where he berated Saraswati Sishu Mandir schools and charged them with "injecting venom into society". As if that were not bad enough, he went on to add, "The nation should understand the damage done by these institutions." Really, Mr Singh? For, the facts speak otherwise. These schools, set up by individuals and organisations associated with the RSS, have taken education to the farthest corners of the country which the Government, most notably the Ministry headed by Mr Singh, has so abysmally failed to do. They are not driven by the profit motive, nor do they discriminate on grounds of religion or caste. They are affiliated to Government boards and they follow curriculum laid down by the commissars who decide what our children should learn. If they digress, which they admittedly do, from Government schools with absentee teachers and private schools that promote deracination, it is in instilling a deep sense of nationalism and national pride in children who study there. They do not teach their students to scoff at India's culture and civilisational history. Neither do they promote elitism. It is, therefore, understandable that Mr Singh should be unhappy with them: The emphasis on moral values and ethics at any Saraswati Sishu Mandir upsets him because these are concepts alien to his politics and the way he goes about his ministerial responsibilities.
It is laughable that Mr Singh, who is determined to destroy India's centres of excellence and does not believe in a merit-based society, should dare lift his finger at Saraswati Sishu Mandir schools where children are taught to value the power of merit and encouraged to become all-round achievers, irrespective of their background. A man whose single-point agenda is to doctor textbooks used by Government schools so that they are in tune with his perverse ideas deserves to be pitied for wanting to sanitise textbooks used by these schools. If Mr Singh truly wants to shut the sluice gates of anti-nationalism and communalism, he should begin with madarsas and seminaries that flourish as jihad factories. Instead, we have a situation where the Minister provides unlimited patronage to them; indeed, he certifies them as contributors to nation-building! This is as unacceptable as the abuse he has poured on Saraswati Sishu Mandir schools.Â
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
Leave Saraswati Sishu Mandir alone
It is unlikely that Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has heard of the adage, 'Physician, heal thyself'. In the event he has, he would be well-advised to look up its meaning because he needs to heal himself of the canker of toxic communalism from which he suffers. If he needs evidence of manifestation of this illness that has so severely warped his mind and jaundiced his vision, he can recall the comments he made at an NSUI function where he berated Saraswati Sishu Mandir schools and charged them with "injecting venom into society". As if that were not bad enough, he went on to add, "The nation should understand the damage done by these institutions." Really, Mr Singh? For, the facts speak otherwise. These schools, set up by individuals and organisations associated with the RSS, have taken education to the farthest corners of the country which the Government, most notably the Ministry headed by Mr Singh, has so abysmally failed to do. They are not driven by the profit motive, nor do they discriminate on grounds of religion or caste. They are affiliated to Government boards and they follow curriculum laid down by the commissars who decide what our children should learn. If they digress, which they admittedly do, from Government schools with absentee teachers and private schools that promote deracination, it is in instilling a deep sense of nationalism and national pride in children who study there. They do not teach their students to scoff at India's culture and civilisational history. Neither do they promote elitism. It is, therefore, understandable that Mr Singh should be unhappy with them: The emphasis on moral values and ethics at any Saraswati Sishu Mandir upsets him because these are concepts alien to his politics and the way he goes about his ministerial responsibilities.
It is laughable that Mr Singh, who is determined to destroy India's centres of excellence and does not believe in a merit-based society, should dare lift his finger at Saraswati Sishu Mandir schools where children are taught to value the power of merit and encouraged to become all-round achievers, irrespective of their background. A man whose single-point agenda is to doctor textbooks used by Government schools so that they are in tune with his perverse ideas deserves to be pitied for wanting to sanitise textbooks used by these schools. If Mr Singh truly wants to shut the sluice gates of anti-nationalism and communalism, he should begin with madarsas and seminaries that flourish as jihad factories. Instead, we have a situation where the Minister provides unlimited patronage to them; indeed, he certifies them as contributors to nation-building! This is as unacceptable as the abuse he has poured on Saraswati Sishu Mandir schools.Â
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