Abhivyakti

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of

darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

- Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities)

The recent times in India bear an uncomfortable resemblance to those described so vividly by Dick-

ens. We are on the threshold of momentous changes; changes in political equations, economic con-

ditions but most of all, changes in the minds and hearts of the people. Never before has it been so

evident, that we are ready, and maybe, even desperate for this change. The people are out on the

streets; token gestures and emotive (read politically inspired) speeches made in parliament will not

suffice anymore.

But the questions remain : How long will the public fury last? Will things finally change for the bet-

ter? And if they will, then how?

The outrage that the Delhi gang rape has fuelled across the country is unprecedented. The last time

we witnessed people becoming so angry with the system, thousands had joined Anna Hazare in his

indefinite hunger strike at the Ramlila Maidan. Many of us felt that was the tipping point the country

had been waiting for. However, the movement, following a brief rise to the pinnacle, ultimately

failed. Political parties and leaders managed to play their mind games with such finesse that it man-

aged to cool off the anger and push the issue out of our limited sight.

Unfortunately and quite naturally, the public outrage and the intense grief over a young girls inde-scribable suffering may also soon come to pass. Whats most likely to happen in this case is fast-track action against the accused. They might be tried and sentenced in record time, probably re-

sulting in a mitigation of public fury and vindictiveness. Case closed. Period. Once again, the funda-

mental issue of the safety of women will remain unresolved. The help-lines set up for their safety

will continue to be reported as faulty, the unreliable police will continue proving incapable of pre-

venting crimes against women, and some sick men will continue molesting, raping and killing

women, unmindful or fearless of the law, whether there is death penalty, life imprisonment or

chemical castration.

As a nation, we seem to have proved to be a failure. While only a social transformation and respect

for the law alone may be expected to make lasting changes, we need preventive and rapid-response

systems in place.. That calls for all government-arms to work in unison, to be in a state of constant

vigil. It needs commitment, money, machinery and people, with or without public outrage.

The ground has shifted and something fundamental has changed. The shock has passed but the pain

still lingers in our hearts. Let us therefore pledge never to forget this pain, never to let this anger

pass as just a knee-jerk reaction. Lets ensure that we rise to the occasion and promise ourselves not to rest until we can bring about the change that our nation deserves. And truly, all it takes for a

nation to rise, is for its people to wake up!

From The Editors Desk

SNEAK

PEEK

2

Indian By

Color, English

in Taste

2

3

Citizen Caf

3

Republic Day

Celebrations

4

Upcoming

Events

4

Abhivyakti V O L U M E I I S S U E I 1 S T F E B R U A R Y , 2 0 1 3

THE TEAM

Himanshu Jain

Lakshmi Savaram

Manaswi Raghurama

Md. Urooj Abdullah

Mrinalini Nath

Prateek Sai Gahlot

Shubhangi Satpathy

www.nirmaan.org

P A G E 2

All the powers

in the universe

are already ours.

It is we who have

put our hands

before our eyes

and cry that it is

dark.

- Swami Vivekananda

Indian By Colour, English in Taste : The Colonial Hangover of Indian Education

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institutions was not as much to pro-

mote scientific and technological re-

search as to providing the British with

technical officers for its various busi-

nesses in India. As Lord Macaulay

famously put it, they wanted a new

breed of officers who were Indian in

blood and color, but English in taste, in

opinions, in morals, and in intellect.

This, like other strategies of our

colonial lords, was aimed at destroy-

ing Indian culture and education sys-

tem and using the educated Indians

for their progress. Like other great

policies adopted from the British by

Nehru and his cabinet, we inherited

the education system and have been

very loyal in following it until today.

Except a few like IISc, none of the

other Universities aimed at research

and educational development. Univer-

sities set up post-independence have

also followed the same trend.

There is, therefore, a pressing need for

change. In order to meet international

standards and to facilitate quality edu-

cation, India needs to adopt a two tier

reform in its education system. Ele-

mentary education is the most impor-

tant foundation in a persons life, but

today, school children are learning

foreign languages like English, French

etc. even before learning to read and

write in their own mother tongue. The

result we are producing exactly what

the western educationists in colonial

India wanted.

It is with this concern that some state

In September 2012, QS World Univer-

sity rankings announced its annual list

of the top 700 universities in the

world. Not a single Indian university

figured in the top 200.

Indias higher education system is the

third largest in the world after China

and US and according to a UNESCO

survey India has the highest public

expenditure on higher education per

student in the world. The problem

therefore is clearly not with numbers,

and definitely not with a lack of talent.

Indian professionals are respected all

over the world and hold top positions

in many multinational giants. Why then

are we not able to prove ourselves to

the world? Why does a country with a

population of 1.2 billion not produce

eminent scientists, technical experts

and entrepreneurs when the US, a

country with 300 million people con-

tinues to churn out hundreds of them?

Why do our youngsters on whom the

government spends millions, abandon

their motherland and run for

foreign money year after year as if

we were a nation full of laborers

waiting to be hired by MNCs?

The British started the university

system in India based on the

London Model by establishing

presidency colleges in Madras and

Calcutta. The colleges in Bombay,

Lucknow, Punjab and later the IITs for

technical training followed. However,

the main aim of these educational

governments like Karnataka have

passed legislations making state lan-

guage/mother tongue compulsory in

primary education.

Students in Chinese universities are

learning Ramayana and other Indian

texts as part of their syllabus and we, in

India, live in a society where our youth

answer questions on western music,

Greek mythology and French revolu-

tion in a jiffy but are clueless about

Indian music, art and history. Enormous

amount of resources are being invested

in the field of education in a country

where hundreds die of hunger every

day without a clear sense of direction

and thought as to how these resources

are being utilized. Therefore, the first

step must be to incorporate Indian

languages, art, ethos, values and ideas

into our education system along with

western thought. The second change

must be to concentrate on knowledge

production and to develop a research

oriented syllabus rather than simply

concentrating on textbook based learn-

ing with placements as the ultimate aim.

Students must be given the means and

methods to acquire knowledge wher-

ever possible instead of the knowledge

itself!

These steps if implemented successfully

would definitely help in developing a

knowledge driven nation deeply rooted

in its culture.

-Amogh Gopinath

A B H I V Y A K T I

www.nirmaan.org

P A G E 3

You have to

dream before

your dreams

can come true - Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

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2011

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- (24

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Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) could be

followed. In addition, the audience shared

stories about how they had/had not prac-

tised some of these values in their lives. One of the most important issues that

emerged out of this session, was the

importance of liberty in our country.

Options like RTI, PILs, petitions, participa-

tion in local level decision making bodies,

etc. were discussed on the issue of freely

On 24th January, Nirmaan facilitated a

Citizen Caf on behalf of We, the

People. The Caf was an effort to

spread awareness about the Preamble to

the Constitution and the underlying

responsibilities that we should take up as

citizens of India.

There was a detailed discussion on the

meaning of the Preamble and the ways in

which the values cited in it (Justice,

voicing our opinions.

By the end of the caf, all present there

pledged to live our citizenship, to be

informed, to become more responsible,

to learn about our rights and duties, to

participate in decision making, and to

be the change we want to see.

- Manaswi Raghurama

A B H I V Y A K T I

Citizen Caf

www.nirmaan.org

Dhiti (APOGEE - 2013)

This Apogee , we invite you to participate in DHITI a platform to solve grassroots level problems of the country . You are re-

quired to come up with innovative, efficient and economical solu-

tions to problems (http://www.bits-apogee.org/dhiti/#!/page_Pool). Selected participants will be provided mentorship during the event.

The more promising models may go on to be implemented on the

field with some NGOs help. Dhiti also promises exciting lectures

by some of the best innovators and academicians of today.

So, heres your chance to put your technological skills to use ! Register for Apogee and then Dhiti (http://www.bits-

apogee.org/2013/)

Last date for abstract submission - 1st February, 2013

Nidaan (Interface - 2013)

As one of the social partners of the fest, Nirmaan has col-

laborated with the Marketing Club for the event Nidaan.

Through this association, we aim to receive quality solutions

from the participants by the evaluation of the managerial and

practical problems we face at the grassroots.

The event has seen registrations from more than 100 teams

from various reputed colleges in different parts of the coun-

try. Mentorship has been provided by us to acquaint the

participants with the communities that we target and offer

them as much practical knowledge as they might require for

furnishing a feasible solution and compliant model.

The final round of the event will be conducted on 2nd Feb-

ruary, 2013 in LTC 5104 from 1 p.m.

On the occasion of the 64th Republic Day of India, Nirmaan Pilani volunteers

conducted celebrations in several communities we are associated with.

In Dhindhwa government school , where we had admitted some of the kids

from the basti we work in, we had flag hoisting, patriotic songs and dance.

We also involved them in some interactive sessions about national leaders

and the Constitution. Books and

chocolates were distributed

among the kids..

Similar celebrations were con-

ducted in Baas government school,

with the program being co-

ordinate by the teachers them-

selves. One of our volunteers

spoke about the importance of

rules and regulations and the rea-

sons for celebrating Republic Day.

Inspirational videos were shown to the students followed by flag and sweet

distribution by us and the teachers.

In Gyan Bodh, we organized celebrations in BITSAA Pilani Resource Centre.

Mr. Reddy, Senior Research Official, CEERI Pilani was the Chief Guest for the

occasion. A short film was screened showing the love and respect for the

country.

Get Active, Get Involved!

Contact Us

President (Pilani Chapter) : Vishnu Dutt

(+91 7568803377) - [email protected]

Public Relations (Pilani Chapter) : Lakshmi Savaram

(+91 9001228808) - [email protected]

www.nirmaan.org

The highlight of the day was the play "Sansad Ka Ek

Din" (A Day in Parliament) in which the children staged a

discussion on the problems of electricity in the commu-

nity. A scholarship board was inaugurated to provide

information about various scholarships running at the

national and state level.

In Baas, we also had a street play that the members of the

community put together on the importance of girls' edu-

cation, an issue of utmost concern in the area. That was

followed by a dance performance by the small kids of the

village.

Contributed by

Manaswi Raghurama

Upcoming Events

www.nirmaan.org

Republic Day Celebrations