Student repression

Wiki defines symbiosis as "close and often long-term interaction between biological species". And further down the article, the words "mutualistic" and "inter-dependent" crop up.

As far as I am concerned, symbiosis is a class-room relationship between me (who can write) and my friend (who can draw). I write speeches for them and he/she does my biology diagrams. And my chest swells with pride when the class and teacher alike appreciate someone else's speech in the knowledge that it is my brain-child.

But perhaps I went too far when one particular friend asked me for a speech by writing this speech on "Student repression". Presenting it to the class would certainly have drawn the teacher's ire in the form of a sincere defense of the school that puts bread on her plate. So, I present it to my more open-minded, yet modest and sparse blog readership

Student Repression

The clash of civilisations is nowhere as evident as in India, western living based on an urban, fast-paced life having infiltrated into age old Indian culture which places emphasis on values rather than situations. The social hierarchy painstakingly evolved through almost 6000 years of civilisation is crumbling.

While it has lead to some reforms for the betterment of society such as the abolition of sati and untouchability, the values which just one generation ago we laid so much stress on have simply evaporated. And the new generation, the children of globalisation, know no inhibition. Even when it comes to elders, especially teachers.

The spirit of inquiry has certainly made its mark. Whether it will be good in the long run or not is yet to be seen, right now tumultuous scenes in the classrooms are the order of the day.

A cultural shock for the teachers, they are seeing defiance and indifference to their words on a large scale, something they could never have imagined doing or happening.

But instead of adapting to the new age, teachers and institutions alike are taking more and more stringent means to control and discipline the children, leaving the young minds feeling compressed and isolated. Military establishment like measures and continuous surveillance by teachers has left students feeling insecure and forever ill at ease.

While not going as far as corporal punishment, in these overly strict and disciplined environment, the youth lose their most prized asset, uninhibition. Mentally, it leaves them tortured by self-doubt and full of apprehension.

It is here, in the mind, that in my opinion is where the real damage happens. When this new, first globalised generation of India begin their transition from being the future to being the present, they will be confused whether to follow their parents and teachers, all values, grit and discipline, or to go with the current, free and spirited.

Either way, the fear imbibed in them in their formative years will forever linger with them. The new generation of India will be bold, active in their role of citizens, no doubt. But they will always take that occasional glance over their shoulder, where their teachers always were, attempting in vain to convert perceived donkeys into horses by rubbing their backs with soap. The shackles of their repression will never leave them.