By M L Satyan

Bengaluru, Aug 14, 2023: A shocking incident took place at Nanguneri in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district on August 9. Six youngsters from a dominant caste allegedly attacked a 17-year-old Scheduled Caste student and his younger sister with sickles at their home.

According to the police, all of them are students at a government-aided school.

Chinnadurai, the victim was subjected to harassment at school by the other students belonging to dominant caste. He was asked to buy cigarettes and snacks by the other students and was also bullied by them. Fearing harassment, Chinnadurai had stopped going to school. When the school principal found out the reason, he summoned all the students and gave them a strict warning.

On the fateful evening, the Dalit student was warned of dire consequences by the accused persons. Later in the night, they barged into his house and attacked him with sickles. Following the attack, relatives and neighbours of the Dalit boy staged protest. During the protest, the victim’s grandfather collapsed and was declared dead after he was taken to the hospital.

The police apprehended six juveniles for various charges, including Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and sent them to an observation home.

This incident has revealed the bitter truth that a section of students was unnecessarily indulging in caste-related issues within the school campus.

Here are some more shocking incidents publicized by TV and newspapers:

• A girl student shot a shopkeeper at Thiruchengodu in Tamil Nadu. She used her grandfather’s (an ex-army person) gun for this.
• A college student killed his lover and classmate since he was cheated by them.
• Gun culture was found in schools of Gurgaon, Bhopal and Patna.
• A girl student killed her mother since she refused to give her pocket-money.
• A 17-year-old girl student killed her classmate on study related issues.
• A college student killed his mother and elder sister since they did not give him money for his personal expenses.
• A college boy in Pune kidnapped an LKG child and demanded 100,000 rupees from the child’s parents.
• Male students giving sex torture to girl students in schools/colleges is on the increase.
• Communal hatred, violence and drug abuse are fast spreading in educational institutions.

Mahatma Gandhi spoke about seven crimes prevalent in the country. One of them is “Education without character.” Today’s education system has many drawbacks. The most important one is “lack of character building.”

What is the objective of education? Educare is the root word for education. It means “drawing out the hidden talents and abilities” from every student. Education must mould the character of the students and enable them to become good and responsible citizens.

Of course, today’s educational institutions produce students with academic excellence. But they do not help students become men and women of character. Hence, there is an urgent need to focus on character building.

Being part of ‘Dharma Bharati Institute of Value Education for Peace,” now known as “Universal Solidarity Movement” for more than 10 years, I have promoted Value Education programs in schools/colleges for students, teachers and parents. I continue to do so as an independent NGO consultant.

While in Dharma Bharati and USM some simple exercises, formerly known as “Chatur Guna” (Four Qualities) and later expanded as “Panch Marg” (Five Paths) were formulated. We, the members, practiced them in our personal life and found them very effective.

Every responsible citizen wants social transformation. But unless and until an individual does not change, society will never change. The Five Paths is aimed at personal transformation. Let us look at these exercises and find answers for “Why and What will be the result”?

1. Pray daily for peace. Each one can do this according to his/her own religious tradition at a suitable place and time. Why? We need to pray for peace since we live in a peaceless situation. The result will be that we will experience peace within us and become agents/messengers/channels of peace.
2. Do a good deed a day. We need to do at least one good deed a day without any selfish motive. Why? We have become selfish and self-centred. The result will be that we will become selfless and other-oriented.
3. Skip a meal a week. We could forego one meal once a week or cut down certain personal expenses. Why? Today almost 35 percent of Indian population lives below poverty line. Hunger is widespread in many developing Asian and certain African countries. Only when we are hungry, we can experience the pain of hunger. The result is that we will become empathetic and we can contribute the savings to the poor and needy people.
4. Honour parents, teachers and all human beings. Why? The Indian tradition is: “Matru devo bhavah; Pitru devo bhavah; Guru devo bhavah” – meaning mother, father and teacher are equal to God. A person receives the gift of life from the parents and the gift of knowledge is obtained from the teachers. Above all, every human being is created by God. Hence, they all need to be honoured. The result is that when we honour others, that honour comes back to us in manyfold.
5. Respect the earth and save its resources. Why? We survive mainly due to nature and we depend on natural resources. We must learn to use only what we need and save the rest for our future generation. Today what we enjoy is the savings of our ancestors. They used only what they needed and saved the rest for us. The result is the prevention of environmental degradation and protection of natural resources. This will help maintain ecological balance.

Here is an inspiring poem on character: “Positive character traits are something you can and should develop… traits like love or caring, respect for life, honesty or trustworthiness, responsibility, justice and fairness” – Barbara A. Lewis

Considering the scenario in the educational institutions every educator – parent, teacher, civil society – need to focus on character building. This is the need of the hour.