By Nalanda
22nd March 2006

IGNORANCE…the root cause that hampers the Nation’s & Individuals Development…as I analyze the human tendency & readiness to speak out the truth & fight for justice I have observed that people right from the illiterate to the very learned, high-class literate people are unwilling to change the scenario! We only blame the legal systems & the corrupt people for the “Developing Status” of India…but fail to realize that as Indians we too have something to give…something to contribute towards our country…no one really wants to take an initiative or even spread the word like fire to work for the betterment of our country & the world in the broadest sense… the root cause that truly hampers development is IGNORANCE!!!

The Shadow of Ignorance: The verbal meaning of IGNORANCE is lacking knowledge or rather behaving rudely through not knowing good manners. Do we all lack knowledge? Don’t we imbibe good manners? Does gaining simple knowledge from our academics & different media like magazines, television, radio & Internet sufficient to free ourselves from Ignorance?!? Its absolutely agreeable that poor, illiterate people do face a high degree of ignorance but I wouldn’t claim that even the well-learned people too are NOT ignorant! It is understood that the illiterate are ignorant as they have not gained easy access to education & the basic amenities in life as of which they struggle hand to mouth even to avail the basic needs of food, clothes & shelter in life! But what about those people who have nutritious food, clothes to cover their body & a roof to shelter their family! Do they ponder to work towards the upliftment of the country? Do they make an effort to reach out their helping hand to the needy with the right attitude & right intention? Are we individual self-sufficient? Don’t we depend on the government, the farmers, the vendors, the domestic workers, the institutions etc to facilitate a better living?? In todays fast-moving competitive world humans tend to just constrain themselves to their egocentric life…my life, my family, my children, my relatives! Would our acts be justified if we don’t work in consortium with everyone on a broader perspective to make a dream of peaceful & compassionate nation come true??

Human Attitude: We always try to balance out our gains with the input that we give…if there is no balance then that particular errand is kept at bay!! As of which it is very easy to give up on contributing our little towards the country cause the country has not done anything for their countrymen!! How just are we…in sowing the seeds of unreceptive development towards our country & being happy and self-content in our own world!! Aren’t we & our upcoming generations going to be in constant interaction with the outside world?? Just because we are running in between the lines of responsibility, comfortable life aiming for a decent & successful life should we turn a deaf ear to our responsibilities towards the society? It has become an inherited attitude of the youth to ape their elder generation just being numb & accepting that nothing can be done about the scenario we face today!! This has caused things to be the way they have been going on for years…you can still see child marriages, female infanticide, dowry system, child sacrifice practiced even in the modernized era of 21st century. But why should we care? Its not happening with us or our family? WE CANNOT DO ANYTHIN ABOUT IT!! People who care to raise their voice against injustice & speak out the truth are just claimed to be fools & are suppressed in forgoing their thoughts & words into action!! But common man fails to realize that it is such “Twisted People” who have made a difference in the upliftment of the country & bringing about a revolution. Such “people” don’t believe in things that are just dragging on and on at the cost of inhumane attitude & intention…they believe in CHANGE & it is only the “change” that can break the evil shackles of blind practices & bring about a REVOLTUION!! History too supports these facts!

Do We Deserve to be the Victims of Ignorance? : As we wade through this journey of life I would like to pose a Question. “Do We Deserve to be the Victims of Ignorance?” by carrying on with our self-centered life in the viscous circle of ignorance! Here I would like to quote a Situation Analysis that I would like you to think about for yourself! As a baby…our parents often scold us, warn us & keep us away from fire as it can burn & cause hazard to us…we as babies obey them & try to keep away but some curious kids have the guts to touch it & experience the burn which is a very much unpleasant experience as of which they don’t even want to touch it and are unable to associate with it! As young school going children we learnt the properties of fire…its constructive & destructive use too! At every step we are learning more about fire & being less ignorant about its existence. What if there was no one to tell us, teach us & make us aware of the properties of fire at every step in life? Would we deserve to be burnt down to ashes? Would we deserve to be the victim of ignorance? Think about it?? Here I would compare our unreceptive attitude to the fire! We do not want to take the initiative to spread a word of awareness, to speak out the truth or to even fight out the injustice going on…can we justify our words “Those ignorant people deserve to face the consequences of their actions??” Do we deserve to rank no.1 in the outbreak of AIDS/HIV epidemic just because of our ignorance that failed us from being open minded in incorporating sex education as a part of the academic curriculum & discussing the subject at home, college, friend circle without shame & embarrassment.

The Right Attitude to be inculcated: Just because our family members, our relatives are not the victims of “ignorance” we shouldn’t lose out on our goodwill to help others from breaking the shackles of ignorance. Who knows tomorrow your younger generation when you would be no more would fall prey to ignorance just because you were “too ignorant” in extending your contribution towards this social evil called IGNORANCE!! So many religions vouch for truth, justice, brotherhood but I cannot trace these principles in the action revealed! Here Mother Nature gives us in abundance without questioning us on the violation of Laws of Nature…we still circum to deforestation, harness the Resources gifted to us by Nature without paying a heed to the conservation of natural resources, flora, fauna & beauty of nature! But when it comes to us humans we don’t have the courtesy to work for a better future. We pledge to be Indians “India is my country and all Indians are my brothers & sisters” but it is sad that we prove the very statement in our pledge to be WRONG!! If we really treat each & every person as our brothers & sisters we would compassionately work hand-in-hand in eradicating every social evil including Ignorance!!

Human Species and its Tendency: God has gifted the human species with a unique feature of brains & intellect which we don’t seem to be using efficiently, I would like to question to each & every soul, the authenticity & credibility of “having a brain to think logically & intellectually and having a compassionate heart to associate with emotions?” What really makes us different from the rest of the animal kingdom? Infact animals like deer, zebra, penguins and so many other live together in large groups for the protection & betterment of their race. Even our ancestral link chimpanzees & monkeys have the brains to howl an alarming signal in case of danger but we humans are the weakest species inspite of having an upper hand in this run for the survival of the fittest. We all are deaf, dumb & blind…DEAF to our responsibilities towards our country not even by contributing on a small scale by spreading a word of awareness & initiating good work…DUMB in supporting the truth and fighting for justice…BLIND in seeing and learning from the Animals & Mother Nature the exotic principle boosting “Unity in Diversity” being united, helping ourselves by helping others, giving in abundance without expecting the fruits of our action!!

Agriculture, the Basis of Indian Economy: We people easily circum to consuming foreign products as they are no doubt much effective than Indian products & we don’t even mind shelling out more irrespective of the profit they make. One can easily justify that foreign traders are very sincere & legalized in every action as they invest major of their financial resources in research & development and installation of sophisticated machines, which is very true, but you never know when such people can take advantage of your IGNORANCE and invade the Indian markets like another East India Company! Can you still afford to be the victim of Ignorance? Let me trial over your intellect…if tomorrow your vegetable vendor says Rs.80/- per kilogram of potato instead of Rs.10/- you would instantly rationalize that the vendor is taking you for a royal ride and launch an opposition towards it. If an abroad industry can squeeze out humongous profit on per product I would like to know that can’t our farmers also earn what they really deserve? Today though Agriculture is the basis of 70% Indian Economy, our farmers are deprived of even full payback of their efforts…you know why? Because of their IGNORANCE! Do they deserve such kind of treatment? Just like the depletion of ozone layer would be wel-coming unwanted problems in future, the extinction of farming community due to the increase in their exploitation at the cost of their Ignorance would soon leave India without an agricultural sector!! Who should be paid well…the firm-headed officers sitting in posh offices programming on the computer or the hardworking farmers or the teachers who are responsible for moulding the young children who are going to be the future of our country! Think about it??

Breaking the Shackles of Ignorance: Can one delve into the means of breaking the shackles of Ignorance? Is this a too futile social issue that can be side glanced? Would Literacy & Knowledge alone hold the answer to such a social evil? Knowledge & wisdom may mean the same but it is not…as with knowledge one can gain information on Atom Bomb-how to make it? What is its composition? etc etc. but it is only “wisdom” that can help you rationalize & take the right decision to use the Atom Bomb for a constructive purpose than a destructive one. It is education, knowledge, the learning experience shared by others and our own experiences that creates a perfect environment in developing WISDOM which truly frees us from the social evil of IGNORANCE! Wisdom cannot be gained as a final & ultimate achievement but it grows, matures & develops through time, all throughout till we breathe our very last! Its like the wine which gets better with time!

There is an alarming need to work upon areas like:
a) Spreading religious principles & ethics not only to learning but also imbibing it to make people realize that nothing is greater than the very persona & character of a person.
b) Spreading literacy not only among the youth but each & every person to free them from ignorance. This will help them not only to secure job but also to rationalize & justify their actions. So in future we would be able to handle the social evils of population explosion, ignorance, corruption etc deftly.
c) The government should employ strategic means to protect the interests of the public & efficiently harness the human resource in India or they would be bound to fall prey to ignorance & other social evils!! Soon we would lose faith in the government & be invaded by the social evils that would cripple the Indian economy & culture!
WE HAVE TO WORK DELIGENTLY TO SUSTAIN OUR VALUES, CULTURE, AND ETHICS!!

Its truly said that “The world is so empty if one thinks only of everyday routine things, but to know a person, who thinks so much of others, truly makes this world a beautiful place to live in.” Small things make a perfection but Perfection is not a small thing…Come lets join hands & venture out to make this world a better place to live in…spreading the word around & initiating goodwill in every thought that arises in our logistic & intellectual brain, words we say and actions we do! Lets sow the seeds today before its too late to find another group of freedom fighters to fight for our “Independence” in the true sense of the word!!