Engaging with the Youth
– International Day of Equality
I have been writing on the International Day of Equality
regularly ever since it was decided to revisit the subject on the birth
anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on April 14.
Besides reminding the GOI through EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar and PM Narendra
Modi, I wrote to political circles, spiritual deras, intelligentsia in the
civic society, social and political activists to pursue the proposal to declare
April 14 as International Day of Equality. Though the government is yet to
respond yet, I must share here; the proposal is
एक तर्ज़े तग़ाफ़ुल है सो वह उनको मुबारक़;
एक अर्ज़े तमन्ना है वह हम करते रहेंगें !
With a view to carry forward the campaign, I wrote to engage
the younger generation of students and their experienced teachers in the
process. My letter dated May 30, 2020 is appended below for perusal.
It may also be observed in this regard that many established
educationists and academicians and educational administrations have shown positive
interest and have extended support to the proposal and rightly so viz.
Principal Kulwant Singh Phull, Principal Patwinder Singh, Prof. Rajesh Paswan,
Prof. Jagdish Chander Joshi, Prof. Varun Nayyar, Prof. Dinesh Arora, Prof.
Jaspreet Kaur, inter alia. Our interlocutors and stakeholders abroad namely Jai
Birdi and his associates in the Chetna Association of Canada and Arun Kumar and
Santosh Dass of Federation od Ambedkar and Buddhist Associations of the UK are
doing their best to pursue the matter in foreign lands. We are on the right
track, it seems. The day is not far when the proposal on International Day of
Equality will be duly accepted and adopted.
It will not be out of place to mention that in many
educational institutions abroad, Ambedkar Thought has been included in the
curriculum for higher studies. It will only be appropriate if in India too
Ambedkar Thought is included in the syllabus and curriculum of both schools and
universities. This is the purpose of writing this open letter to the students
and teachers’ communities to make them aware of the avenues to study and know
the greatest son of India in the contemporary times, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Babasaheb Ambedkar himself was much interested
and engaged to interact with the younger generation. He addressed a Mock
Parliament of
Appendix-
Text of an open letter
dated May 29 to Students and Teachers
An Open
Letter to Students and Teachers
International
Day of Equality
Dear
Students and Teachers,
I need not repeat the obvious – students i.e. the youth is the
future and teachers are the makers of that future of any country and the
society at large. With a view to engage the students and their teachers with
the proposal on April 14, birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, as
International Day of Equality, I thought of addressing this open letter to
students and teachers. It is to inculcate, in the process of their education
and learning, a sense of contemporary history and recognition and appreciation
of the role of our leaders and icons in shaping that history. Babasaheb
Ambedkar, father of the Indian constitution and a harbinger of ‘Equality,
Liberty, Justice and Fraternity’ in the society, was one such stalwart. The
proposal pertains to him and the lofty ideals of our polity and society. I
intend to educate and awaken both student and teacher communities in this
regard and that is the purpose of this open communication. I made this proposal
on the International Day of Equality to the then Minister of External Affairs
Sushma Swaraj in June, 2015.
Without going into the history, it would suffice to say that I
initiated the proposal to declare April 14, birth anniversary of Babasaheb
Ambedkar, as International Day of Equality in June, 2015 in the run up to
celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of the great icon. It was pursued
diligently with the GOI and others ever since but nothing much moved. The
proposal saw the light of the day on April 6, 2020 with the City of Burnaby in
Canada proclaiming April 14 as “Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Day of Equality”. It gave
some encouragement and I resolved to revisit the subject and pursue the matter
in my own humble way with the help and support of the stake holders.
Accordingly, I wrote to EAM Dr. S Jaishankar on April 15, 2020 the
details of which may be seen at the link:
As a follow up of the Road Map, I wrote to the Chairman of the
Forum of Scheduled Caste MPs and MLAs, Sardar Charanjit Singh Atwal on April
22, 2020 to pursue the matter further.
Subsequently, I wrote to about 80 MPs and MLAs, an open letter to about
200 friends, made an appeal to seek blessings of the spiritual Deras, urged
about 15 political and social activists and solicited their support to the said
proposal on International Day of Equality. It is a matter of satisfaction that
the proposal is increasingly getting good consideration and much needed support
from various sections of the society. The link would provide you all the
details and the position so far of the proposal – International Day of
Equality:
All said and done, I urge my young friends and enlightened teachers
to kindly study, consider and support the proposal on International Day of
Equality in the process of your educational pursuits. The student community and
the faculty may consider joining hands, in consultation with the management, to
organize and host seminars, lectures, panel discussions, talks, paper reading
contests on the subject – International Day of Equality in their respective
Schools/Colleges through relevant fora in their esteemed educational
institutions. Students may be encouraged to write in the school/college
magazines/publications. This activity will not only provide the students an
opportunity to hone their debating skills but also work as a stimulus for their
educational wellness. At the same time, these activities will tend to generate
and encourage better understanding of our national ethos as enshrined in the
very Preamble of our constitution. Due appreciation and recognition of our
national heroes and icons will further strengthen our country and raise India’s
stature in the comity of nations. Contribution of student and teachers, while
doing their work in the temples of knowledge, to the proposal on International
Day of Equality will be highly appreciated.
I leave it at this with the hope that students through their
respective outfits, teachers through their faculties and managements of
schools/colleges would jointly extend their support to the proposal of
International Day of Equality appropriately. I would remain at your disposal
for any further information/consultation in this regard.
With all the best wishes for your good health and further success
defeating the pandemic of Corona
Yours truly,
(Ramesh
Chander)
No comments:
Post a Comment