Education in India has failed to be a torch bearer: Yogendra Yadav

On : 2023-03-12

Political activist and convenor of Swaraj Abhiyan movement Yogendra Yadav said that education in India has largely failed as it has only created more bigots who have become part of the problem rather than solution.

He was addressing the superiors, directors of work and commission heads of Karnataka Jesuit province at Prerana, Mount St Joseph, Bangalore on March 12.

“In the US, you have a bigot at every street corner, who is basically ignorant about many things. But the educational institutions there foster parity among all stakeholders and all are very careful not to hold or make any controversial opinion. In India, it is just the opposite. Students and teachers get away easily fostering bigotry and perpetuating an ideology that is not in tune with our constitutional values, while the ordinary person on the street may be a little more sensible. This way, our education system has not been a torch bearer for self reflection among students,” Prof. Yadav opined.

In his opinion, the first republic in India has already ended and what we now have is the second republic which is nothing but an electoral authoritarianism. “There are constant elections, and no democracy in between. This has led India to be a non-theocratic majoritarianism,” he added.

Prof. Yadav further added that the close nexus between the political establishment and the corporates has resulted in crony capitalism. The recent Adani scam was a case in point.

Regarding resistances in India, he said that there are five types of resistances taking place in India, however two of them were weak, namely contestation where people come together to fight for civil rights and democratic rights; and movements for secular India. “But there are other three resistances which are strong and they give greater hope to salvage Indian democracy, namely, fight to restore federalism; the unease among the lower castes about the subjugation they face from the upper political castes, and the economy that favours only a few, pushing the large majority into poverty. There is discontent among farmers, unemployed youth and depressed classes. When such resistance become bigger, they can definitely make a difference,” he said.

Stating that communication is the key to counter the communal forces, Prof. Yadav asserted that to fight the troll army, there is a need to create a ‘truth army’.

Answering a question about his statement after the 2019 elections that ‘Congress party should be dead’ and if he holds the same opinion today, Prof. Yadav said that he held the same opinion even today, though he was willing to change his opinion if the Congress party shows real intent to save our democracy. “The Bharat Jodo yatra has given some hope among people and it is important that it becomes a Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, collaborating with scores of like-minded people’s movements,” he added.