PU BLOOPER

“I’m a victim of racism in my own country” – Pu Lalthanhawla, the Chief Minister of Mizoram made headlines with this statement in Singapore. Should India set its own house in order before pointing a finger at Australia? Certainly. There is a problem. It needs to be addressed. But is this the way to go about it? You are the chief minister of a state. You are the leader of more than 9 lakh people. You hold a constitutional post in the republic of India. And what do you do? Go to a neighbouring country and say India is racist!

If anything, you’ve only made it worse. You’ve embarrassed your country and your people.

BOARD-ING PASS FOR OUR KIDS

Homework homework homework—that’s what I’d be doing this time of the year 10 years back. What a miserable way to end a long holiday! Last minute project reports, assignments. I hated holiday homework. I got scolded every single time by my mother for not doing it over the month and rushing through it the last minute. But I’d do the same the next year, and the year after that. Stay up late, wake up early. Finish it. Or get scolded in school, even punished. Despite the madness, nobody at home entertained the idea of my being ‘stressed’. All this work, so much pressure on a child – nobody ever said that to me. Not like my folks were insensitive monsters. They just believed it was a deal—You’ve got to do your homework, study hard for your exam, deal with peer pressure, sort out your mess—like it or lump it. I never went weeping to the counselor. I didn’t know we had one in the school for the longest time. And I guess I turned out fine. All my friends did.

So what’s this talk of kids under pressure? Exams are too much now?!!. No issues, we have an education minister who understands all about stress in school. He wants to scrap the 10^th board exam. Yippie!! Next he’ll abolish boards in twelfth (that’s any day more stressful). Then college. Never take an exam. Sarkar kaa haath aam vidyarthi ke saath. They’ll also come up with ways to make your love life smoother, offer help with pimples, make sure your parents give you enough pocket money, and include bunking classes in the list of constitutional rights. Go ahead, live your life stress free, challenge free. UNTILL. You get a job and find it hard to keep. You get a moron for a boss who’s always yelling. You struggle to plug the leak in your bank balance. Your bills are the only thing that grow faster than your waistline. YOU GET THE POINT. It may be the worst case scenario but we face challenges every day. And they cause stress. Any remedies mr sibal? No? then don’t mess with the system. Please.

If you insist on helping, start with primary education. You’ve spent crores of rupees and we’re not faring much better from where we started off. Abolish quota. It sucks. When I go to a doc, I want to know his caste. I don’t want a quota guy to tinker with my health. He may not know his stuff. Create opportunities instead of trying to curb competition. We’ll all appreciate it.