Dr BKS Sanjay
The way MK Gandhi worked for political freedom by running a non-violent movement in our country, BR Ambedkar, through the constitution he headed the drafting of, provided us with political and social freedom.I believe that many people have contributed a lot in nation building but Ambedkar has contributed immensely.
I had an opportunity to attend the release of the book “Ambedkar & Modi – Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementation” by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind recently. Being an academician and an orthopaedic surgeon I would like to confine my views to education.
Considered the main architect of the Indian constitution, Ambedkar gave prime importance to education. He understood well with his experience and gave his key message of “educate, organise and agitate” to the masses. According to him, it is education which will enlighten the human beings and fulfill the dream of every Indian.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during Dr Ambedkar Memorial lecture in 2016, “If anyone found the antidote to all social ills, it is Babasaheb. If anyone provided a permanent solution, it was Babasaheb who gave the message to the society –to get educated. The solution to all problems lies in education.
The goal of primary education should be to enable children to read, write, speak, calculate and express their feelings through their eyes, hands and other parts of the body.National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, under the leadership of PM Modi is a landmark step to make a radical change in the Indian education system.
The goal of education must be to develop interest in the child in reading, writing and learning. The medium of instruction in school plays an important role in guiding and modifying a child’s personality because language is one of the basic needs for communication.
The learning process for all children should be in the language which he or she can understand and easily comprehend. Every child learns his first word spoken in his mother tongue. In childhood whatever is taught, the child usually grasps it easily and retains it forever.NEP 2020 has given due importance to the mother tongue. The provision of a three-language formula in primary education in NEP 2020 will give long-lasting benefits not only to the children but to the society and the nation.
Books play an important role in shaping the life of all citizens. Knowledge has been passed on from one generation to the next through these books. The preservation of the books and construction of libraries has been a part of Indian society since centuries. The ruins of universities of Nalanda near Rajgir, Vikramshila near Bhagalpur in Bihar and Takshashila in what is now Pakistan and their grand libraries are testimony to the past. The programme Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat is a unique initiative taken by Modi to inculcate the habit of reading among students of all ages. To fulfill the dream of Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat, the earlier guidelines given in 2021on library grants were also boosted to enhance the habit of reading as a whole.
Ambedkar had said, “Humans are mortal. So are the ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Otherwise both will wither and die.” Books are a good, cheap and permanent medium for propagating any idea. I am sure, like many books, this book ‘Ambedkar & Modi’ will also fulfill its duty for the same.
Ambedkar had the experience of getting his higher education at a young age and hence understood the value of higher education. He was the one who had earned doctorate in political science from the Columbia University of New York, USA and in economics from London School of Economics. He wrote, “Education is something which ought to be brought within the reach of everyone. The policy therefore ought to be to make higher education as cheap as possible to the under privileged classes. If all these communities are to be brought to the level of equality, then the only remedy is to adopt the principle of equality and to give favourable treatment to those who are below level”.
PM Modi is putting all efforts on making higher education as inexpensive as possible for the under privileged which is based on the principle of social justice and empowerment as I can see as a medical doctor and an academician. Under the leadership of PM Modi there has been tremendous change. According to a published report, there are 612 medical colleges in India having 92,927 MBBS seats and around 42,182 PG seats which are many times more than earlier.
In my opinion the decision taken by PM Modi to reduce the fee structure of medical education such that 50 per cent of all seats in all private medical colleges will be at the fee in state government medical college, another to increase the network of AIIMS across the country and third decision to develop one medical college in each district is not only commendable but if they are correctly implemented and executed it will bring unprecedented changes in the healthcare sector in India.
Whatever Ambedkar did, he always thought about welfare and equality of citizens. Our visionary PM Modi is following his footsteps for the same goal. This could be because both were born and brought up in their contemporary time against all odds prevailing in the society. That is the reason Modi can feel the pain and can aspire to alleviate the pain of millions of those who are living in the same circumstances as he did. Modi is putting all out efforts by making the changes in government policies to make a better India not for the few but for all as it can be seen in his motto of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas”.
(A Padma Shri recipient, the author is an orthopaedic surgeon. Views expressed are personal)
