Social Justice and
Academy
Thank you very much , Fr. Kuriakose, for
inviting me to share a few of my thoughts on social justice and academy in this
session. On this day when one commemorates the life of Mahatma Gandhi, it is
very appropriate for us to reflect on
the different dimensions of justice to
preserve peace in the world.
The world is experiencing all kinds
of turbulence and tremors every year. This year, we are passing through an
unbelievable period of crisis and tragedy. More than a million people have lost
their lives in the last few months because of Covid-19.
In this time of great loss of lives
and suffering, our hearts have to turn
to the creation of peace in our hearts and in our neighborhoods.
At this time when most of schools, colleges and
universities remain closed all over the world, the young are experiencing an
unbelievable crisis in their lives---their future becoming uncertain and their
hopes dashed to the ground.
In spite of this dire situation, we have to
devise ways of sustaining the richness of our lives through our educational
institutions.
Our institutions should continue to
function as beacons of hope and peace and not as agents of destruction and
dissension. I am reminded, at this moment,
of the words of Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru , the architect of modern India,
in his convocation address at Allahabad University in 1947: “ A university
stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for progress, for the adventure
of ideas and for the search for truth.”
There should be freedom for
expression and tolerance for the views of others in the hallowed halls of our educational institutions which are engaged
in the pursuit of truth. Without the presence of truth, there will be no peace.
We would be experiencing fragmentation and confusion, instead. Unexpressed
feelings and thoughts become explosive and result in violent actions if they
are not discussed in an atmosphere of dialogue and openness.
As Gandhi has taught us, “we have to
speak truth and live or move in dharma(Satyam Vada,dharmam chara).
Cardinal Newman also emphasizes the
need to convey eternal values through our educational systems. According to
him, “It is education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own
opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing
them and a force in urging them.” He wants an underpinning of philosophical and
theological training for education in order that the young minds may get the
ability to think clearly and to see everything in relationships.
Thomas Friedman in his book, ”That Used
to be Us” speaks of the need to have a new vision for education which consists in developing three
Cs—Creativity, Communication and Collaboration. He sees collaboration and
communication as necessary elements for the development of creativity.
Our academic institutions should not forget
the economically marginalized and deprived. The poor in our society should be
encouraged and motivated to join the mainstream and attain all that is possible
within their reach. Education should become a leveling force, bridging the gap
between the poor and the rich. It should provide an anchor for stability and
unity.
The economically poor should be given
special consideration and motivation so that they don’t feel discarded or
rejected in this march for progress. Facilities for education should be
available to all.
But there is a vital deficiency in
our educational system. In our extreme eagerness to be the best in everything,
we forget to give the young moral formation and help them to develop character
and discipline. In spite of the tremendous progress we have achieved in science
and technology, there is an exponential increase in violence. Children, girls
and women are attached and their lives snuffed out. Gandhi does not any feel
any diffidence in pointing out this lapse in our educational philosophy: an
education which does not teach us to discriminate between good and bad , to
assimilate the one and eschew the other is a misnomer.
Education , hence should transform
and humanize us and should become a transmitter of values that would help the
young to become people of character as well as of knowledge.
Sir Richard Livingston, the former
Vice-chancellor of Oxford University spoke of the function of education as
enhanced awareness of life. Education hence is meant to transform and humanize
us so that we become transmitters of values that would make us people of
character as well as of knowledge.
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