Before I begin explaining the title of this post, I must apologize for not posting as much as I would have liked to in the past week. After a day of having internet, my computer's keyboard decided to break... so it's been in the repair shop all this time! Luckily however, it was finished today and I was able to go pick it up. But without my computer I was able to do a ton of reading and sleep a lot :P Yet now that it's back, I'm excited to add my photos and start recalling all the experiences I've had so far. First I have to mention my classes--
I am in love with my Contemporary India & Development Economics classes- the professors are by far some of the smartest individuals I have ever encountered. I feel truly grateful and am soaking in every bit that I'm learning each day. However, some of the other classes are a little frustrating for most of us as students. Very few of us have come in with knowledge regarding India's complicated history (seriously, complicated is an understatement). I'm slowly beginning to realize that things aren't black and white here- there are many, many contradictions but it's all about taking the time to learn the history and the culture- and learning that things can exist simultaneously; it doesn't have to be one or the other, especially here in this country. So I strongly believe that things will come a little more easy to me in the coming days and months but it'll just take some extra work now in these present days.
And in regards to the title of this post:
Today, we went on a field trip for our Contemporary India class. We visited the MIT School of Government- which is essentially a one year masters program for those getting a degree in political science. The MIT SOG is the first institute of its kind in India, and in fact, all of Asia as well; it serves to train future political leaders of India and is extremely rigorous. We were fortunate enough to meet the 7th batch, that will actually be inaugurated tomorrow by the chief of the BJP. These students are some of the best and the brightest, and it was truly phenomenal to see the passion they had for going into the field of politics. When asked what one of the biggest problems they hoped to tackle in the coming years, one student from Madya Pradesh responded with the quote I have used as my title. In explaining it, he went on to talk about the problem of corruption in India, how the education system needs to be improved, and how the agricultural population of India- rural India, and the poorest parts of India- need to be included in the political system. Without them, the entire nation as a whole suffers, which is what my title refers to. He went on to talk about how maternal healthcare and child healthcare need to be improved as well, and how if the youth, which is the biggest part of India's population today, is strong- then the entire nation will become strong.
Listening to him really brought a lot of things to the surface. In the past few months here in India, there have been many protests regarding Anna Hazare's demands for a corruption-free government and throughout the 3 weeks we have been here, we have gotten a variety of perspectives on them. Some believe that the Anna Hazare movement is being exaggerated, seeing as how some parts of India have been comparing him to God Ganpati (with the festival occurring presently). Others however, and most that we met at MIT today, seemed to believe that this was an extremely important movement in India. Many noted that actual common people were involved in the protests and that is something that has made this movement so distinct from others. And by and large, the idea seems to be that everyone here in India wants to see corruption gone- it pervades almost every aspect of the political system, despite being the world's largest democracy.
Beyond this, we also got to hear where each of the students came from (what state in India they were from) and just their thoughts on what they wanted to do once they finished the masters program. There were many that spoke of returning to their villages/districts and improving the conditions there while educating others and raising awareness. It was absolutely incredible listening to each and every one of them. It was strange and exciting to think that I was sitting in a room with students that could potentially solve future conflicts and become world leaders in the coming decades. And it was fascinating learning about all of the different parts of India- there were students from all over including Punjab, Gujarat, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and more. It just once again, reinforced for me, the vastness of India and the immense amount of diversity that exists here.
All in all, today was an extremely enlightening day for me. I had contemporary India in the morning and then the field trip later on and from start to finish, I can say I learned so much. I look forward to how my perceptions and opinions will change over the coming months as I learn even more & I'll end this by including another quote said by one of the students:
"It's all about humanity- politics is not beyond humanity"
Oh and this Sunday is the last day of the Ganpati festival so once that's over I will be writing a post explaining ALL about it :)
I am in love with my Contemporary India & Development Economics classes- the professors are by far some of the smartest individuals I have ever encountered. I feel truly grateful and am soaking in every bit that I'm learning each day. However, some of the other classes are a little frustrating for most of us as students. Very few of us have come in with knowledge regarding India's complicated history (seriously, complicated is an understatement). I'm slowly beginning to realize that things aren't black and white here- there are many, many contradictions but it's all about taking the time to learn the history and the culture- and learning that things can exist simultaneously; it doesn't have to be one or the other, especially here in this country. So I strongly believe that things will come a little more easy to me in the coming days and months but it'll just take some extra work now in these present days.
And in regards to the title of this post:
Today, we went on a field trip for our Contemporary India class. We visited the MIT School of Government- which is essentially a one year masters program for those getting a degree in political science. The MIT SOG is the first institute of its kind in India, and in fact, all of Asia as well; it serves to train future political leaders of India and is extremely rigorous. We were fortunate enough to meet the 7th batch, that will actually be inaugurated tomorrow by the chief of the BJP. These students are some of the best and the brightest, and it was truly phenomenal to see the passion they had for going into the field of politics. When asked what one of the biggest problems they hoped to tackle in the coming years, one student from Madya Pradesh responded with the quote I have used as my title. In explaining it, he went on to talk about the problem of corruption in India, how the education system needs to be improved, and how the agricultural population of India- rural India, and the poorest parts of India- need to be included in the political system. Without them, the entire nation as a whole suffers, which is what my title refers to. He went on to talk about how maternal healthcare and child healthcare need to be improved as well, and how if the youth, which is the biggest part of India's population today, is strong- then the entire nation will become strong.
Listening to him really brought a lot of things to the surface. In the past few months here in India, there have been many protests regarding Anna Hazare's demands for a corruption-free government and throughout the 3 weeks we have been here, we have gotten a variety of perspectives on them. Some believe that the Anna Hazare movement is being exaggerated, seeing as how some parts of India have been comparing him to God Ganpati (with the festival occurring presently). Others however, and most that we met at MIT today, seemed to believe that this was an extremely important movement in India. Many noted that actual common people were involved in the protests and that is something that has made this movement so distinct from others. And by and large, the idea seems to be that everyone here in India wants to see corruption gone- it pervades almost every aspect of the political system, despite being the world's largest democracy.
Beyond this, we also got to hear where each of the students came from (what state in India they were from) and just their thoughts on what they wanted to do once they finished the masters program. There were many that spoke of returning to their villages/districts and improving the conditions there while educating others and raising awareness. It was absolutely incredible listening to each and every one of them. It was strange and exciting to think that I was sitting in a room with students that could potentially solve future conflicts and become world leaders in the coming decades. And it was fascinating learning about all of the different parts of India- there were students from all over including Punjab, Gujarat, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and more. It just once again, reinforced for me, the vastness of India and the immense amount of diversity that exists here.
All in all, today was an extremely enlightening day for me. I had contemporary India in the morning and then the field trip later on and from start to finish, I can say I learned so much. I look forward to how my perceptions and opinions will change over the coming months as I learn even more & I'll end this by including another quote said by one of the students:
"It's all about humanity- politics is not beyond humanity"
Oh and this Sunday is the last day of the Ganpati festival so once that's over I will be writing a post explaining ALL about it :)
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