Are We Really Independent?

Happy Independence Day! Oh wait! Are we really independent? Aren't we still slaves?

We got our independence on 15th August, 1947. 73 years have gone by and we are equally slaved by the system like we were then to the invading foreigners. The first and the most important thing we are still slaves to, is our Education System. For those who do not want to accept this fact, consider this article as "just a theory" like the big Bang. For you, this theory hasn't been proved. For those, who agree with me, consider the point of this article as a fact and accept the sad reality. For bringing a change to our sad reality, we need to first accept the fact that it is indeed a reality we are trying to escape from.

Back then, before the invasion of the British, our education system was under one roof of the Gurukul. All the education, all the extracurricular activities, all the skills, ALL THE VALUES we gained were from Gurukuls. The British invaded India and all shit happens. They establish companies in India for their business. But, they need human resource for their business. "Educated" human resource for white collar jobs. They introduce their education system (which is, in my view, absolutely incompetent to the existing education system in terms of quality). Their education system was implemented for a reason. The education systems taught people to get educated, get a job and work. Here, by work, I mean working under somebody. First, work to sustain. Then, work to earn. Then, work to impress. Then? Die.

The whole education system taught people to work for somebody. The education system did not teach people to be self sustained, to be independent. It taught people to work till they die and they did that very well. They made it sound promising and when it did not impress the people, they used coercion. This way, they got white collar labors to perform their menial jobs. They were given limited chance to improvise, which was for the benefit of the company. We were slaves and we did not have much say but to obey to their rules.

Independence happened. The British quit India. But, they left their education system in India. And congratulations to the British education system, it has been generating slaves for the past 72 years. 

Aren't we all slaves ? Slaves to the trend. Slaves to the schools. Slaves to the rules of the universities. Slaves to the pressure of performance. Slaves to the thought of educating from a reputed institution. Slaves to the thought that education is everything. Slaves to the thought that good grades are an outcome of reputed institutions. Slaves to the thought that a job is directly proportional to respect in the society. Slaves to the thought that a job in a reputed company will increase your respect in the society. Slaves to the thought that we were born to work and die working. Slaves to the grades. Slaves to the education system. 

Do the educational institutions ever teach how to behave? Do they ever teach how to respect people? Do they ever teach Values? Absolutely not! We have gone from bad to worse. Initially, the type of education was at fault. Now, it is also a money making method. People spend lakhs for admitting their kid to an institution which is reputed by name and not by values. The education system has made us so weak and incompetent, that we have lost our ability to improvise for ourselves and we prefer to work under somebody rather than for ourselves.

 Aren’t we slaves to the trend? We tend to buy things we don’t need because they are being sold at a cheaper price. To quote the movie Fight Club, “We’ve been raised on television to believe that one day, we’d all be millionaires and movie gods, and rock stars. But, we won’t!” and the fact that we won't is pissing us off. Why? Because, we have been taught that it is compulsory to either be rich or famous. The education system does not teach us that it is okay not being rich or as successful as others. It is okay to be normal, to have a normal life. We tend to buy clothes of a particular type because they were worn by a particular celebrity or a designer. We follow their trend because we are incompetent to create our own or even to be brave to not follow their trend. A person not following the trend is considered a psycho. Tell me honestly, won’t you stare or give a look to a person wearing a Gold shirt and Pink trousers.

Aren’t we slaves to the society? By society, I don’t mean the traditions and rituals. Every one of you must have come across that famous dialogue from your parents when doing something different, “Log kya kahenge”. I am talking about that. We are working jobs we hate so that we can buy shit we don’t need, for the sake of society. We have this “Log Kya Kahenge” shit for all the necessary questions we ask to ourselves. I don’t need a car, but log kya kahenge? I don’t need a job; I’m trying for a startup, but log kya kahenge. I am satisfied with a decent salary, but log kya kahenge. We never realize that we are not our job, we are not the car we own, and we are not the contents of our wallet. We do all the unnecessary stuff to impress people we don’t like.

Let’s not be slaves to the trend or society or the education system. Let’s be really independent. Happy Independence Day!