Life and Literacy

15 August 1947 , the golden day in the Indian history.Britishers left India and the nationalists all across the nation came together to design the Indian constitution. The document which would decide India's future.In the Indian constitution,the first page-''The Preamble'' recites the main features of the Indian Constitution,and in this prestigious paper we find a phrase which is :-

''Equality of status and opportunity'' the phrase which makes India culturally rich and seperates it from the other countries and places it above  all.How soothing it is to read these lines,the ''bookish'' lines!

                                   But that was past and they were imagining the future and today it is the present age - 2013 more than half a century has passed since 1947.So, today it should be equal everywhere. But, not going anywhere else but just in my room I find a lot of pens,pencils,paperand books around me on my table and on the other hand outside my room I find another 14 year old girl with broom in her hand who comes to my home with her mother everyday. And  the each day I find her eyes filled with  regret as that time was actually meant for her homework.So, here I and my 14 year old friend describes the Equality of nation .But its not just me for whom the constitution was made but it is also for that poor girl. Today,I am delighted to be a citizen of an independent contry , as I have books, school and a secured future.But what is the fault of my friend.She is also an Indian but she is not getting what she desires.

                                                 Considering another situation,near my home a construction work is going on where at least 10 to 12 labourers work daily.Among them all,there works an old man with a shabby appearance.Nearby 7 a.m. I find him coming to the spot and late at 6 p.m. when I come back from my tution classes,he leaves.The whole day I find him working, sometimes levelling the ground , sometimes picking up the bricks and much more.He does not care of the sun, even at noon he goes on working.Then, by the evening the owner of the house comes at the construction site in a white Swift car. He tells the oldman to arrange a chair and wash the car.The oldman who is the citizen of ''India" where "Equality" is must, cleans it without saying a word.The prospect which I think makes him to do it is "Literacy".This word describes the dfference between me and my friend and between the Swift driver and the old man .Now if I keep on examplifying ,words of the whole world would end but not the problem.

         In my school teachers always keep on saying to the students to concentrate on studies but what all the students think is "Another lecture". When the Social Science teacher delivers an Economics lecture ,everyone find it boring and dull but my student cum friend might be wishing to attend the class.And if this class had been delivered to the old man, the scene could be different.And he would have been earning money with respect.

                  Today in the 2013 we hear the ministers saying ''Dont worry! Telangana will earn its position soon'' .But I dont think anyone has heard a minister saying Don't worry I will make it sure that education is for all. Today the Americans are rising at a constant speed and we the Indians are watching the movie of their growth. 'Literacy' is the cause of this difference.It was literacy which made an english doctor to cure the mughal emperor's injury.But it was the emperor's illiteracy which made him to reward the doctor with permission of trade in India.If he had been a little smarter the Indian history could have been a lot better. S.Bhagat Singh could have lived longer.If the Indians would have valued literacy more than gold coins, then the 'Kohinoor' woud have been ours. If literacy could have become the most important thing, then India could have been the richest country economically and SENSIBLY.

    Simran Kaur

 (Class 10th, 2013-14, La Foundation School, Sangrur, Punjab)