ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

The Rediff Interview/P D Chitlangia

'Hindu values, what is wrong with them? After all, 85 per cent of Indians are Hindus'

Purshottam Das Chitlangia was in the eye of a political storm last week. He was scheduled to deliver a speech at the state education ministers and secretaries conference in New Delhi. However, with many political parties opposed to the various proposals suggested by Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Chitlangia was forced to drop his speech after politicians questioned his locus standi. The reason for the opposition to him: Chitlangia is neither a minister nor a secretary; he is only president of the Friends of Tribals Society, a voluntary organisation involved in the spread of primary education.

The Calcutta-based Chitlangia, naturally, is rather bitter about the experience, and spoke about it to Rediff On The NeT Senior Assistant Editor Amberish K Diwanjiover the telephone.

Can you tell us something about the organisation you run, the Friends of Tribals Society?

The Friends of Tribals Society was set up in 1989-90 with the idea of spreading literacy to the tribal areas. Some friends of mine had visited the tribal areas in Orissa and were horrified at the conditions that existed there. And we felt that something must be done about it.

The question is, how to provide primary education in rural areas. The main objective is to have a cost-effective method, otherwise it is impossible. Every year, India adds 20 million (more than the population of Australia) children to the country who will need education. Add to this vast sum the massive backlog of illiterates. Given the government's financial situation, the government itself can do very little. And even what the government has done over the years, which is not insubstantial, has been further harmed by bureaucracy, inefficiency and a bad system.

For instance, the government will set up a school in a village, but the teacher is from the town, who will then never visit the school but collect his salary. We seek to step in here.

How does the Society work?

What we do is go to villages and seek out children who are educated, who have passed Class VIII or Class X. We seek people who are motivated and whom we can motivate to do something for the village. When we find such people, we give them a one-month training and provide certain basic tools such as the alphabet charts, numeral charts, slates, boards, pencils, notebooks, etc. This person will then be asked to provide primary education to his or her village for three hours a day. Often this is done in the person's house or under a tree.

Our method has worked successfully. The entire cost is not more than Rs 10,000 per village per year, and the students are charged only Rs 350 per annum. Attendance rate is around 60 to 70 per cent. To teach primary subjects, why do you need teachers who have done Bachelor of Education courses (now mandatory under government rules)?

We have found it is very important to have the school in the village itself. This is for primary students, around three to fives years of age. In a small village of 200, there are about 40 children up to the age of 10, and hence no school. Will any parent then send them five kilometres away to the nearest school? So what happens is that such children skip primary school, and when it is time for middle school (ages 8 to 10), they are too uninterested in studies. They are children of illiterate parents who are themselves unable to do much.

Have you been successful in your efforts?

We have been running this gurukul system for 10 years now. Today, we have such schools in 1,300 villages, and every school has around 30 to 40 students. We don't take any aid, neither from the government nor from non-governmental organisations. The honourable HRD minister (Dr Murli Manohar Joshi) invited me to share my experience with the delegates so that this model and our methodology can then be replicated throughout the country. There was no other reason.

So why are the non-Bharatiya Janata Parties against you?

I don't really know. Today, what is happening is that no matter what the BJP says or does, it is opposed. Everything today is politicised. These are groups who have been against the BJP for the last 20 years, and who are simply motivated by electoral politics.

There are complaints about your course and of Hindu elements in what you teach?

In our teachings, we have an interest in character building, which is part of our heritage. Besides being literate and numerate, young students must be inculcated with the right ideals, and I am sure no one disagrees with this. So we imbue our students with such ideals and values that will nurture their character.

Regarding Hindu values, what is wrong with them? After all, 85 per cent of Indians are Hindus. And we have never said we are against Christian or Muslim or any other values. Let the right values and ideals come from the Bhagvad Gita, Ramayan, Guru Granth Sahib, Bible, Quran, etc. Let them come from all sides, and this is what I was going to mention in my aborted speech.

Every community and country has certain values, which are often contained in religious books. And it is for the country to pick up the relevant parts from the religious books.

But aren't many Hindu teachings irrational? For instance, in the Ramayan there is the sad story of Shambu, a low-caste person killed by Rama simply because he wanted to go to heaven, and in the Mahabharat, there is Eklavya, a tribal who was asked to cut off his thumb so as not to challenge the upper-caste Arjuna's supremacy in archery.

What is in Hinduism is most rational. India is the only country where all religions are treated equally. But as and when there are parts which are wrong, we will simply not accept them. For instance, there are many things in the Quran which some others may not like, but there are other aspects which are very good and must be taught.

Our interest is in the child's mind, on his values. Even UNESCO today recognises the need for value-based education. And all this is at the primary level, where the teaching is very basic. After primary education, if the student is interested, he or she will go to a government or private school where he or she will learn other things also.

It is a fallacy to believe that everything a child learns is through books or through schools alone. There are other influences and factors in their life.

Are you associated with the BJP and the Vidya Bharati?

Yes, I am. I am part of the BJP's national council, I am involved with the BJP (West Bengal) state secretariat, and also with the state BJP finance committee. I am not at all associated with the Vidya Bharati and I have no idea how my name was linked to the Vidya Bharati, though I have respect for the work they have done. They are an honourable institution.

People suspect a hidden agenda of the BJP in seeking to change the education system.

Every education system is part of the political system. And every political party will try to put out its philosophy and its ideology. The Communist Party of India-Marxist put a communist angle to the books after they came to power in West Bengal.

The BJP has no hidden agenda. In fact, it is very open about its agenda, its ideology and philosophy, unlike the other political parties. And it is keen spread this ideology and philosophy.

Tell us something about yourself.

I am now 62 years old. I graduated from the Institute of Jute Technology in Calcutta in 1957, where I stood first. After working in jute, I went in to business in plywood, and am now doing business in other areas also.

I had decided long ago, that like serving people, I too would retire at the age of 58, and I did that. I also believe in the Hindu philosophy of four periods. The first is your young life where you acquire knowledge; the second is your early manhood where you marry and work; and the third is where you give something back to society. I am now at this stage where I now work for the benefit of society. At the age of 50, I began to do social work, and after I reached 58, I have devoted myself to charitable work.

EARLIER REPORTS:

RSS seeking to indoctrinate school kids, say Joshi's critics
Computers more important than Vedas now, AP minister tells Centre
Protests force HRD minister to withdraw controversial RSS paper on education
Murli Manohar Joshi's 'Indianisation' plan runs into trouble

The Rediff Interviews

Tell us what you think of this interview