ASSIGNMENT- 01

BY: Ugresh Chandra Aman

The story opens in a village, the village where I was born. This village is a
microcosm of human belief and failure. Shahabad was a revenue village during
the colonial era, but it is now a village with a shut-down PHC and a crumbling
school. My parents are where the story begins. My father lived in this village
where caste prejudice and discrimination were at their worst together with his
two siblings. Prejudices and stereotypes are the main causes of discrimination,
according to NCERT. On this instance, it was hostility on the part of the
bhumihaars toward the mushhaars who had previously worked as day labourers
in their fields. Fortunately, because of my grandfather's insistence that my
father complete his education and earn a diploma, who was once a freedom
warrior. He left the village and took a position with the government. My mother,
a straightforward housewife, was just 8 years old when she wed my father. She
was unable to complete even her elementary school education. My father
avoided taking his children to the village, and occasionally I wonder if this was
due to caste and religion.
My parents, who come from a caste-based society, made sure that their children
would not participate in the caste system. In a colliery in Jharkhand, we first
moved into the government housing. My godfather was a Muslim, my family
doctor was a Christian, and my neighbour was a Sikh, so that colliery helped me
realise what it truly meant to be one despite differences. I consider myself to be
a very fortunate man who has experienced holidays from many communities. In
addition to the Hindu holidays, we also enthusiastically observed Guru Nanak
Jayanti, Eid, and Christmas. As a result, I consider festivals to be occasions for
people of all religions to celebrate life. And it was this civilization that shaped
me so that I no longer think of a human as a Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh but rather
as a human. My parents held the view that a solid education is essential for
leading a successful life as well as enabling us to comprehend life's bigger
picture. They were fortunate that their children were only averagely intellectual
by modern standards, proving that no human is born superior or inferior and
that we are all created equal. My brother and I passed the Sainik Schools
admission exam and were accepted to Sainik School Tilaiya.
On account of this, an 11-year-old was sent to a boarding school 700 kilometres
from home. The boarding school was a completely another world unto itself.
Regardless of their religion, caste, creed, etc., children from all around the state
and other areas of the country ended up in the same basket. My life now has a
fresh perspective thanks to Sainik school. During previous events like
"Shramdan," kids were required to perform jobs like picking up trash and picking
up debris from the roadway in order to clean it up. Through this activity, I
learned that all jobs, no matter how small or large, deserve respect. The same
was true of "Mess-Term," when the on Sundays, children were asked to serve
food so that waiters may take a break from their week of work. These events
strengthened the inclusive atmosphere at school. Similar to the military, civil
attire was not permitted on school grounds, and there used to be a "sarv-dharm
temple" where people of all faiths could go to pray. These things eliminated my
sense of superiority and distinctiveness. My principal claimed that the
realisation of our school's motto, "Forward Ever," depends on us all uniting as
Indians, not as followers of Hinduism, Islam, or any other faith. Sainik School is
where I discovered that people are could cohabit quite happily and easily
without ever having to ask about the caste or even religion of the other person.
That is how I imagine the world to be.
My father retired by the time I finished my boards and made the decision to
move to Patna. I made the decision to stay in Patna with my parents while I
completed my graduation out of concern for their well-being at this time. Patna
was a pretty eye-opening experience for me. I had the opportunity to travel back
to the hamlet and see my ancestors' house. Sahabad was a village of zamindars
who were frequently accustomed to taking pleasure in meaningless identities
because it used to be a revenue settlement during colonial times. I must add
that even though much of the land and royalty were lost following
independence and the land acquisition act, the sense of pride persisted. The
fundamental necessities of life have deteriorated over time, with children not
attending school, the village's primary source of income—agriculture—being
practised only for survival, there being no other viable options for employment,
and the village's rate of progress being very slow. Even the parents who wanted
to send their children to school had to move out from the village or send them
to one of the nearest towns, which was 14 km away. After child marriage was
declared illegal, the hamlet had a sharp fall in the number of child weddings,
which is relevant in the context of female residents. One of the remarkable
things I observed in the hamlet was how the women found a way to make a
living by making and selling cow dung cakes. However, female education was
still nowhere to be found, and parents still avoided sending their girl children to
schools. When it comes to the lives of those who are marginalised and dwell on
the outside of the hamlet, these people are in abject poverty. Due to a dearth
of employment opportunities and extremely low labour costs in agriculture,
they have started producing illicit alcohol. As a result, the majority of the men
in the hamlet spend their days drinking, and women and children must work at
creating alcohol. I wonder occasionally what could have caused this decline. The
prejudice that both populations have toward one another and the general lack
of education are the two main causes of this.
There were also unique characteristics to life in Patna College. What caste you
belong to was one of the questions I frequently encountered at college because
the dormitories were divided based on caste and religion (Iqbal was for Muslims,
Jackson was for Yadavas, Saiyyadpur was for Bhumihaaras, and Nutan was for
all the other students). I always retorted, "Indian," to that. Because Patna is a
city, it is difficult to perceive the disparities between the groups. As I read
through the NCERTs, I came across instances of marginalised people being
mistreated, either through manual scavenging or being made to roll on other
people's leftovers. And as a fellow person, I also believe that certain tasks are
beneath human civilization and should not be performed. The government
outlawed manual scavenging in 2013 with the passage of the prohibition of work
as manual scavengers and their rehabilitation legislation.
To sum up my experience, I must say that I adhere to the principles of equality
and fraternity set forth in our Indian constitution. Every person, in my opinion,
has a dignity that we should never violate. According to our constitution, it is a
vital duty to uphold the spirit of fraternity. We must realise that religion is but a
segment of humanity. Even while there exist reservations for the scheduled
castes and tribes in employment and education, this is insufficient to improve
their lot or alter how others see them. In order to combat the bias monster, we
must step into their lives and treat them as one of us. The majority of this notion
of differences needs to be uprooted at the very beginning in order to create an
ideal learning environment, which will later lead to the prosperity of the country,
and I believe education is the tool as well as teachers who need to delve deeply
into these matters of inclusivity. We must also comprehend how crucial
women's education is to family planning. I think that a man's education benefits
simply him, whereas a woman's education benefits the entire family. I should
also point out that the majority of the laws protecting those on the margins are
written down and open to interpretation. Humans must develop respect for one
another and for different lifestyles. The only way to make India glorious and
affluent is in this way.
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