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Right to Play and the Debate Around It

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Sachin Tendulkar in his debut speech at the Rajya Sabha spoke about the importance of Right to Play.

We live in a society today that houses extreme contradictions in its beliefs. Every Sunday we turn on the TV and enjoy a cricket match or a late night football game, but when it comes to allowing our own children to pursue a sport as a career in their lives it is, in most cases, frowned upon. When a child begins his/her schooling s/he is always taught to focus on education and is presented the same slippery slope argument, which is that good grades will lead to success. All other recreational or creative activities are branded to be “extra-curriculars”, implying they aren’t essential to one’s life and development. This approach, however, is absolutely flawed.

Very recently, India’s most loved cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, who is also a nominated member of the Upper House of the Parliament, used his platform to voice concern over the matter of the exclusion of Right to Play in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education bill. In his speech, he laid emphasis on the importance of sports and urged the government to make the adequate amendment to the previously mentioned bill.

According to many psychological studies on child development, Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact with the world around them.

This issue raised by the former batsman is not one to be taken lightly. It is of high relevance in a country like India where more than half of the country’s 1.25 billion population is below the age of 25 and more than two-thirds, below 35. This year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also used his platform and called upon children to engage in sports and take up other physical activities while expressing concerns over the rising number cases of obesity or malnutrition among children that are rampantly prevalent in India. Talking about this issue, the iconic athlete also cited many examples of national level players who are struggling to make ends meet while highlighting the importance of providing financial aid, he further added that sports can be considered an essential and mandated part of curriculum and consequently, each life should get the Right to Play at school.

Feature image credits: The Quint

Bhavya Banerjee

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Hope: The Scientifically Proven Mental Shield

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In a recent study, it was proved that hope protects our brain from anxiety and expands our understanding.

Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. It has been a stimulator, a motivator, and at times, the only positive force left in us when we are going through our bad times. Just like any other feeling, hope is intangible and unseen, yet it has been ever-present in us. And its presence has finally been identified by science.

In a recent study, Chinese psychologists found out that hope protects our brain from anxiety and expands our understanding of things that are happening as reported by Big Think. Defining hope as an important term in positive psychology, scientists conducted a survey on 231 students and found out that hope trait was related to the brain region that is involved in the reward-related procession, motivation production, and goal-oriented behaviour. “ Overall, this study provides the first evidence for functional brain substrates underlying trait hope and reveals a potential mechanism that trait hope mediates the protective role of spontaneous brain activity against anxiety” the researchers quoted as per the website.

Anxiety has long been the cause of our mental struggles. Anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, hypertension, and so much more, it is anxiety that has aided these diseases. Not necessarily as a disease, but people suffer from anxiety in various situations. In all those times when we were helpless, when we could feel that chill down our spine, when our mind was contemplating scenarios we feared to face, or creating illusions that demoralised us – we hoped. We simply sat there and hoped that things would be fine. We hoped that we would not have to endure the trauma, the stress, the pain, or the anxiety for long. We hoped that someone, somewhere, somehow could save us from all that was happening, or was about to happen.

Turns out, we were “the one” we were looking for, and hope was “the how” that protected our brain. The positive force that we clung on to in anonymity was actually helping us survive our mental battles and shielding us from all the negative forces trying to let us down. Science recognising hope as the protective force justifies all the endurance that we made all this while. This study proves that being hopeful protects our brain from harmful thoughts. It proves that we have a positive force within us that helps us combat all the negativity and gives us the strength to keep going. We should take this research as a benchmark and be ready to face whatever comes our way for all of us know that we have what it takes to wade through deep waters.

 

Feature Image Credits: ThinkingWords

Karan Singhania
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In Conversation with Dr. Shaik Suleman

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Dr. Shaik Suleman is the General Manager of Overseas Education Services at EdCIL India Ltd. EdCIL is a mini-ratna government company under the Ministry of Human Resource Development which provides education consultancy services to the MHRD.

  1. Russia launched an initiative known as ‘5/100 initiative’ to boost the international faculty and students in its universities by 2020 as part of a wider plan to develop the global competitiveness of their universities.  How does the government plan to increase its institutions’ global competitiveness?

 

Indian government in the recent days is trying to enhance the standards of the premier institutions of India                  and is already inviting foreign faculty through the ‘Gyan’ program. We are progressing in this endeavour.

 

  1. According to HRD ministry’s All India Report on Higher Education 2015-16, only 45,424 foreign students were enrolled in Indian educational institutes whereas Indian students are the second largest source of international postgraduates in the UK. Are there any incentives the government plans to offer to invite more international students?

 

The official number is 45,424 students but informally more students are coming to India i.e. 1 lac students.                    Currently the government isn’t planning for any incentives but is working to generate more opportunities for                foreign students to come and study in India. At present, our premier institutions like IIMs and IITs do not have          any quota for foreign students but the government being a part of the Kasturirangan Committee is planning on            providing some quota to foreign students which will hopefully increase their number.

 

  3.  At present, roughly a third of all German students spend some time at a university outside                    Germany during their degree programme and are working to increase it to 50%, are any plans in        the pipeline for us, Indian students?

The UGC (University Grants Commission) has given directions to the universities stating that in the designing of         the curriculum there should be an ‘Industry Interaction’ like Barcelona where students attend morning classes             for theory study and in the afternoon they visit industries. Some of the deemed universities are planning for                 similar industry interaction. The government has initiated and the plans are in the initial stages, nothing has               been finalised yet.

 

  1. The University of California at Berkeley is setting up a new campus at Richmond Bay, California, where it plans to host 4-5 Asian and European universities.Has the Ministry thought of setting an Indian university in their campus?

We have not yet been given green signals regarding the same but renowned private universities of India like                 Manipal University etc. are planning to set up their campuses on foreign soils.

 

 

  1. Providing incentives and inviting more international students would strength India’s ties with their countries and greatly influence India’s image as an emerging ‘education hub’, don’t you think?

We can provide scholarships to foreign meritorious students in the fee structure etc. Other than that, quality of            education in the institutions need to be improved. Also, the communication and liaising between the                              institutions and foreign students need to be strengthened like smooth travelling, helping them in settling down            in the Indian culture and exposing them to the Indian culture and diversity. Such aspects play a major role as              well. For India to become an education hub, we need to upgrade our curriculum and provide courses with                      international validity like Big Data, Data Analytics or IOT (Internet of Things). On the other hand, we are very              strong with IT and Science field. The other courses where we are not renowned but good marketing would solve          the problem, then there is no stopping India from becoming an education hub.

Feature Image Credits : DU Beat

Prachi Mehra

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They Are One Among Us: National Policy on Education reaching out to differently-abled children

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Amidst all the hullabaloo of the new US President Donald Trump and the newly printed Indian currencies, let’s change the theme to reflecting back on the Children’s Day celebration.

Undoubtedly, this world is full of miracles and children are one of them. But to understand that every person is equipped with a different and special quality is a backdrop for many. And also for parents having a child born differently abled is a life-long adjustment.  Families must learn to accept and hopefully celebrate children who are not what they originally had in mind. Expectant parents usually dream that their new baby will have some of their features and grow up to share their values and interests. But what happens when the baby is very different from them because of a disability? How do the parents cope with raising this child, develop a bond of love and appreciate the child with his/her own individual characteristics? The answer is simple: to consider them as one of us and attend their special needs normally. Well, symphonies of Beethoven soothe our ears when he himself had hearing impairment as a birth defect. Works of the dyslexic child Albert Einstein rule our textbooks now. Disabled ones are differently abled.

autism-spectrum-disorder-in-india

Education for the differently abled children has been a story in highlights for the past decades. India has 20.42 lakh disabledchildren aged between 0 and 6 years. Around 71% of them – 14.52 lakh children – are in rural areas. There are 5.9 lakh disabled children in cities. Of them, 11.04 lakh are male and 9.38 lakh are female children. Among them, 1.49 lakh children have multiple disabilities. A report said that while India has made significant improvement in primary education enrolment, the figures for children with disabilities are staggering. Out of 2.9 million children with disabilities in India, 990,000 children aged 6 to 14 years (34 %) are out of school. The percentages are even higher among children with intellectual disabilities (48%), speech impairments (36%) and multiple disabilities (59%). These numbers portray the ignorance of the fact that disabled children are differently abled, not invalid or non-existent. They do need a label; they just need an individual identity and a secured place out of all dogma and denigration about their abilities. Education becomes a means to break open all the shackles of disabilities.

kids

The government has initiated the National Policy on Education (NPE) – 1986: The NPE brought the fundamental issue of equality centre stage. Section 4.9 of the policy clearly focuses on the needs of the children with disabilities. “The objective should be to integrate the physically and mentally handicapped with the general community as equal partners, to prepare them for normal growth and to enable them to face life with courage and confidence. The following measures will be taken in this regard:

  • Wherever it is feasible, the education of children with motor handicaps and other mild handicaps will be common with that of others;
  • Special schools with hostels will be provided, as far as possible at district headquarters, for the severely handicapped children;
  • Adequate arrangements will be made to give vocational training to the disabled;
  • Teachers’ training programmes will be reoriented, in particular for teachers of primary classes, to deal with the special difficulties of the handicapped children and
  • Voluntary effort for the education of the disabled will be encouraged in every possible manner”.

 

People, no amount of acts are effective unless we do initiate the awareness that differently abled ones are one among us.

 

 

By Radhika Boruah

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With DU yet to find records, Smriti Irani’s degree remains a mystery

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After carrying out relentless searches, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s bachelor’s degree seems to have consigned to oblivion by the University of Delhi. Failing to furnish documentary evidence of Irani’s educational qualifications, the Assistant Registrar of School of Open Learning (SOL), DU, Mr. O.P. Tanwar was quoted as saying, “1996 documents related to her BA are yet to be found,” as he addressed the court.

The varsity’s move came in response to the court’s earlier order for summoning the minister’s documents from its School of Open Learning department on the allegation of a discrepancy in the affidavits she filed in 2004 and 2011. While her 2004 affidavit claims that she completed her BA in 1996, another affidavit by her for the 2011 Rajya Sabha poll from Gujarat mentions her highest qualification as B.Com (Part I) from DU.

The case, which came into limelight following a complaint by Ahmer Khan, a freelance writer, Smriti Irani’s educational status has been in question ever since. The complainant had alleged that the HRD minister had deliberately produced false affidavits and thus is liable for punishment under relevant sections of IPC (Indian Penal Code) and under section 125A of Representation of the People Act (RPA). Section 125A of RPA deals with penalty for filing false affidavit and entails a jail term of upto six months or fine or both.

The Assistant Registrar also informed the court that Irani’s Class 12 documents, submitted along with the admission form of B.Com (H) course, were yet to be found. He was however quick to add that “verification must have been done before the admission”, as he was quoted by a national daily.

However, it seems like faking one’s educational degree is the new fad that’s become increasingly popular with our politicians and PM Narendra Modi has become the recent victim of this trend.

Talking about the issue, Teacher Representative of Executive Council, University of Delhi, Ms. Abha Dev Habib told us, “Whether it is the degree of the HRD Minister or the PM, it will be unfortunate if they make claims of having a degree they don’t hold in the first place. And it is strange that the university doesn’t have records. There is definitely pressure but this is nothing less than a blatant excuse. To me, degree doesn’t matter, but the ministers are the role models for the general public and information must be furnished by the varsity on the same.”

Commenting on the current state of the Ministry of Education’s working, she added, “I am not disappointed that she doesn’t have a degree, what I am disappointed with is the continuos interference of the ministry in the education system. The hasty implementation of CBCS system in less than 7 months is the biggest case in point. It is all about rational thinking and a scientific temperament to be able to take decisions, degree doesn’t matter here.” Also talking about the recent controversy surrounding the degree of PM Modi, she further connoted, ” The PM wants to talk to the nation on Mann Ki Baat but what perturbs me is his silence on issues of importance. Whatever the degree may be, it should be truthfully embraced.”

The court also asked SDM of north Delhi to bring documents filed by Irani with the affidavit for contesting 2004 polls from Chandni Chowk constituency here and fixed the matter for further hearing on June 6. The pivotal question here however remains whether power gives an easy escape route to politicians to distort their educational qualifications.

We previously did a report on the suspension of 5 officials of School of Open Learning for leaking documents related to the HRD Minister. You may take a look at the report here. 

Image credits: timesofindia.indiatimes.com 

Riya Chhibber

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Why I’ll never approve of the ‘coaching classes’ culture

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I distinctly remember when I entered grade 8 of school, coaching institutes were wooing their potential candidates, lecturing children as young as 12 and 13 on ‘success’ and how one achieves success by cracking an ABC entrance exam after which they gets a nice ‘package’ and settle in life. It was all aversive to me, how people would pay so much to sit in a cramped classroom where mock tests decided your self worth.

What I saw was very obvious to me, but it wasn’t to my fellow schoolmates who did decide to sign up for coaching. My parents’ anxiety loomed each day as I continued to refuse coaching classes. I get where my parents’ anxiety comes from. It is indeed very hard to get a respectable, good earning job in this country without stomping on thousands of others, including your peers. ‘Cutthroat competition’ although a buzzword today, quite effectively describes the situation.

This anxiety is omnipresent and coaching institutes, vicious enough in their business strategies decide to tap these anxieties to squeeze out money from the masses. A lot of those include people from poor backgrounds, without means to access proper education who only seek a better life after investing hard earned life savings.

Coaching institutes which boast of guiding students to gain the top ranks in exams seek to reduce the individuals to their most marketable essence. The totality of their existence is judged by the decimal digits that follow 99 and they are confined to their passport sized photos on a large banner along with their All India Ranking (Much to everyone’s suspicion, all the toppers seem to be associated with all the coaching institutes)

Coaching culture is so widespread and accepted that most of actually consider it a basic necessity in getting an education. That explains the sorry state out higher education system is in, where school and college teachers wouldn’t ever give a damn about a student’s further studies.

When I learnt that earning money is not just the end motive but the soul motive of coaching centres, I refused to acknowledge their credibility. Why do I hear about people who crack Civil Service exams, only to quit their jobs after a few months to teach a class where they earn in lakhs? Why do IIT graduates, instead of giving back to the government that invests so much in them, vow to make you the next IITian?  

Education in India is not a transmission of knowledge but actually a very strategic trade. Coaching institutes are seemingly the throne bearers of this trade.

 

Kartikeya Bhatotia

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India and the WTO-GATS Agreement: Yes or No?

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The World Trade Organisation deals with the formulation and implementation of international trade rules. Its objectives also include raising the standards of living in member nations, ensuring full employment and expanding the production of goods and services. A Ministerial Conference, that is held every two years, conducts the business of the WTO. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) implies that WTO members have varying degrees of commitments in individual service sectors, like transport, education, banking and health.

At the Nairobi Ministerial Conference, slated to take place from 15th to 18th December, 2015, education is on the agenda. India is expected to sign the WTO-GATS agreement at Nairobi, according to which foreign direct investment will be permitted in the education sector. Foriegn universities will set up their campus in the country, and this entails service charges. The WTO will also be given the rights to control India’s education policy through its own accreditation body. Those opposed to this agreement claim that it transforms education into a ‘tradeable service,’ thereby commercialising an important aspect of public welfare. Once the education sector is placed within the purview of WTO norms, it is alleged that the people’s right to education will be rendered redundant, denying education to the poor.

Once it is considered a ‘commodity’ that can be traded in, the sanctity of education will be destroyed. Commercialisation of the education sector can lead to the destruction of the autonomy that academic institutions may enjoy in terms of the syllabus or academic research. Those companies that ‘trade’ in education will be wooed, and their interests protected by the government. Education will then become a ‘market,’ governed by the forces that all markets that trade in goods and services are subject to.

The mere presence of foreign universities in the country can only be beneficial, however, if the purpose of this entry into the country is business and profit, the overall quality of education in the country will only be hampered. The commodification of an essential service, and global trade in the said service, can have two consequences- in India, it can either provide Indian students access to foreign universities and their resources, or contrarily, it can lead to a decline in the overall quality of education in the country owing to unnecessary institutional and administrative influences and restrictions. Thus, India’s stand on the WTO-GATS agreement must be carefully considered, with the Indian education sector in mind.

 

Sources: http://thecompanion.in/fight-against-inclusion-of-higher-education-in-wto/

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-11/news/64308981_1_general-agreement-education-sector-service-charges

Abhinaya Harigovind

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Jobs vs Master’s: The Third Year Dilemma

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For every third year student, the next few months are bound to be hard. Most of them are stuck in a dilemma about whether to pursue their Master’s degree or take up a job. This decision is critical as well as highly difficult. Adding to that, this decision is extremely subjective as well. Here are a few points that’ll help you decide:

 

  • Corporate Firms and MBA

It is common for commerce students to look for a job right after their graduation. There are certain reasons behind it. Some do it for work experience before doing an MBA, some enjoy working and they never do an MBA and some start their own businesses. For people working so that they can get some significant experience on their resume, their choice is stable (provided their resume is strong) and it will help their employability after their studies. Some IIMs demand work experience during interviews. For people who end up never doing a Master’s degree, things can be dodgy, unless they have the ability to reach to the top positions in a firm. But there is quick money if this is the choice.

 

  • Academics

In case someone is interested in an academic profile, a Master’s is a must. It is better to complete a Master’s course as early as possible. This is primarily because qualifying tests for academics such as NET and JRF are only open up to a certain age. Adding to that, one will not be eligible to teach unless they have a Masters degree.

 

  • Civil Services

This is a pretty subjective area. For people looking for State level exams and General Services, a graduation is sufficient for applying for a civil services exam. However in case someone is inclined to apply for an IES or ISS profile they require a Master’s degree in Economics or Statistics. Hence a Master’s is a better option in this case.

 

  • Civil Society

This is also a pretty subjective field. The profiles here are very vast. Every profile requires a certain qualification. For high level research openings a Master’s is definitely required. However for a data entry or survey position a graduation degree is generally sufficient but it depends on the organization.

 

  • For Scientific Research

This is quite obvious. A Master’s degree is necessary to pursue a career in scientific research, preferably followed by a PHD.

 

Ishaan Sengupta
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Why rankings don’t matter but quality education does: A closer look at DU’s 81st spot

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Quacquarelli Symonds Rankings or better known as simply QS Rankings released Asian Universities Ranking List on May 13, 2014. While the sciences fared better by getting impressive spots (IIT Delhi-38th , IIT Bombay- 41st), the traditional universities such as University of Delhi, Benares Hindu University, University of Calcutta scored satisfactorily.

While rankings in general seldom matter in the overall assessment of an institution, the quality of education offered by an institute is surely a matter of concern. Once, a renowned magazine published a list of colleges in India that are at at the top for a particular course and later it was found that the college on #1 did not even offer that course! While this is not to cause ill repute to  the nature of rankings and deter anyone from looking at rankings for making their personal decisions, but shift the focus from the numerical value of a rank to the qualitative assessment of an institution on the basis of certain parameters that WE deem important for OUR personal growth, not dictated by the parameters preferential to the authorities distributing ranks.

Moving on, the University of Delhi has been controversy’s favorite child for quite a while. Whether it be the FYUP or the autocratic non-democratic functioning of the Padma Shri VC, it has numerous issues that need to be dealt with. Here is my list of the changes that I would like to see in DU being implemented, which I believe can raise the quality of education, and maybe subsequently the unimportant rankings too-

1)  Inclusion of a Statement of Purpose in the admissions process

Much has been said about how the Board Examination marks are not indicative of a person’s potential, except that of his potential to rote learn and present it on paper. In addition to this, what is important is that even if a student is not passionate about his subjects, he can still score decently in the Boards because of the way in which our evaluation system is structured; we don’t assess the student’s grasp over the concept, but how the concept has been put on paper.

Almost all international universities have the concept of writing a statement of purpose wherein the student is required to explain why he wants to do a particular course. This is not only reflective of the student’s passion for the subject but also helps the examiner gauge how much has the student engaged with the subject, how much has he mulled over the concepts and theories and most importantly, is he actively thinking about the subject? The amount of engagement a person has had with his subject prior to admission is also important as it is a significant marker of the future projects you’ll undertake once admitted to the University and even beyond that.

This becomes crucial in the context of improving the University’s admission of students, the research wing of the University and the larger intellectual ethos.

2) Valuing quality education over mere employability

One of the key arguments put forth by the VC in favor of FYUP was that it will increase the employability of students. While there is nothing wrong with concerns over the employment generation for the larger demographic dividend of the country, the problem arises when you begin to mould the intellect of the students in order to satisfy the larger market ideologies that are seldom governed by thirst for knowledge but rather by a production oriented approach that seeks to garner more money and eye balls through the medium of their undertaken projects. Think tanks are few in India, and for them a drive towards knowledge supersedes any other drive that the university is trying to impose upon us.

It is slowly creating a structure for students that designs them to submit to market oriented strategies rather than giving free way to the cultivation if the imagination of students. Moves such as FYUP are constant reminders of the regressive mentality of “padh likh ke afsar bano” that plagues the Indian mind. Rather, the end of education should be a refinement of one’s own intellect and personality that gives us the potential to negotiate with the world, carve our won way and create our own employments sans the “help” of FYUP.

3) The structure of the course and subsequent evaluation

Our course structure is designed in a way that even if a student has not studied the entire semester, and opens the book 2 days prior to exams, he can still score well, the reason being that the marking scheme is a set of extremely loose ended parameters that seldom negatively reinforce bad arguments and end up distributing marks. The previous Semester, I started studying 2 weeks before the exams and scored the fifth highest in college, not too bad, eh?

I’m not taking any moral stance on how many hours a student needs to put in for study, but what I’m stressing on is that a paper doesn’t evaluate how much has the student engaged with the subject. It involves a routine set of questions with a routine set of answers that can help you score decently well.

Processes such as writing term papers helps the examiner assess how much has the student gone beyond the text and made attempts to come up with his own theories and rhetoric, something absolutely essential in the process of education. There are also provisions for designing your own course in many masters level courses where you can decide what all you want to study, and except for a few compulsory credits you can custom make your course as it helps in writing your thesis in future.

4) Inclusion of radical political philosophies with the dominant ones

This might appear a little out of place but allow me to put it into context. In the 1970’s during the 2nd wave feminist movement in India, the University was an important breeding ground for several front runners of the movement. Also, the University has been the place where radical political philosophies of Communism have taken shape and been accommodated into the larger political scenario.

But now there is an indirect polarization of political philosophies, and binaries are too quick to be created in terms of political affiliations. Also, the amount of freedom students enjoyed earlier to protest against issues has diminished, because of the advent of the autocratic administration of the university.

It is important to locate the socio-political importance of an environment that actively accommodates dissenters. A lot of students who were active in student politics in Delhi University went on to become some of the most important public commentators, social rights activists, intellectuals, and so on. Accommodation of dissent should not looked upon as a threat to establishment but as a way to create citizens who’re more aware of their identity and existence and who dare to carve their own niche in the world that is constantly seeking to kill individuality.

As a secondary thing, it is also a matter of great repute for a University in retrospect to produce people like these, who contribute to making the world a better place and bring the margins to the mainstream.

 

In conclusion, Delhi University till now has produced almost all of the present academia and intelligentsia of India by virtue of its professors and curriculum designed to make a student bloom to his fullest potential. What is important is to incorporate more divergent ideas and lay emphasis on the quality of education than being driven by dominant mainstream approaches.

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Meerut’s Razia Sultan awarded UN Malala Award

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Some archaic manuscripts dating back to the thirteenth century have acquainted us with the name of Razziya al-din, popularly known throughout the history as Razia Sultan, the only female ruler of both the Sultanate and the Mughal period. In defiance of the customary norms, Razia spurned the usage of the title “Sultana”, meaning the wife or mistress of the Sultan, and instead, and quite magnificently if one tries to imagine, answered only to the title of “Sultan”. Nearly eight centuries later, another Razia Sultan has answered to a custom in defiance.

Born in the Nanglakhumba Village of Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, a coy and dainty Razia Sultan has received the first United Nations Malala Award for educating child labourers. She will also be commended as the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award for Education. The silent revolutionary odyssey began when Razia was rescued by a non-governmental organization from the job of stitching footballs in decrepit tenements in her village, a job she had been doing since the age of four like many other girls. Subsequently, in a heralding development, Razia attended school and became the chieftain to the cause of other child labourers, having rescued 48 children till now. Eventually, Razia expanded her frontiers and voiced the need for child education outside her district and even other countries like Nepal, prudently backed by the non-governmental organization all the way.

While on one hand there is a world where people know the counterproductive trivia about Jabulani football except the cryptic information as to how or where it is made, on the other hand there’s a world where people do not know anything but ‘that’ cryptic information. For instance, Razia Sultan’s father not at all wary of the importance of the honour conferred on his daughter by the United Nations, was quoted as saying, “We didn’t even know that this award is of great importance. Now, we are feeling very proud of her. I cannot express my happiness in words.”

Elated as Razia is, she is not keen to be swept by the mesmerising adulation and considers the honour as a step closer towards her real goal to spread child education because for all she knows, stitching footballs was never her calling in life. And for all we know, though we have no means to affirm it, Razziya al-din would have taken pride in the magnitude of justice done to her name.

(Also see: Malala Yousafzai: The Voice of Change)

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