 "Chanting Bharat Mata ki jai decides exclusiveness: Sisodia")
Chanting Bharat Mata ki jai when asked to, talking about Sanskrit and not eating beef have become the deciding factors to differentiate individuals in the country, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said here today.
Sisodia, who is also the state education minister, stressed upon "contradictions" in the country about being in race for "exclusiveness" and then talking of achieving "inclusiveness".
"I as a politician and a leader, dream for inclusiveness but the problem with inclusiveness is it doesn't give you chance to be exclusive which at present is the foundation stone of our society. There are people who forcefully chant Bharat mata ki jai, there are people who say it from heart. We will consider all those who do not say Bharat mata ki jai when asked by us as exclusive rest all will be inclusive," he said at a symposium on 'Making Delhi an inclusive city'.
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Confessing that he is often criticised for being only an Education Minister and focusing less on his other portfolios, Sisodia said, "Education is the biggest crime, roadblock in the way of being inclusive. We teach a two and half year old kid to be exclusive by performing well in school. People want more cars, their children to clear civil services exams only in race of being exclusive.This is the biggest contradiction".
"We want to talk about Human Development Index but because we do not want to be political, we will not talk of how many people want to study sanskrit in IIT or not, issues like beef eating cause clashes. I am sorry to say but until this happens all development reports and Delhi as a city will be on different paradigms," he said.
"Those who want to talk about inclusiveness will have to talk about beef, languages being taught or not taught, political scenario in the country or the political mindset being imposed on the people," he added.
The minister pointed out that one-third of people in Delhi stay in slums while over half of the city's population resides in unauthorised colonies. However, the development plans are always exclusive and not inclusive.
Asserting that there is no clarity in people's thoughts about development, Sisodia said, "No economics theory says development means widened roads, big buildings and flyovers. Unless the youth is assured that there are adequate and affordable arrangements for education there can only be development of the city but not individuals".
"I have not be an educationist but I know that changes in design of education system can only bring inclusiveness. Whenever it comes to government schools, people ask if mid-day meals are being served on time, uniforms being distributed or washrooms are in proper shape or not.
"But no body focuses on why the standard of learning is low in schools which have all the facilities. I went to a government school recently in Dwarka and I was shocked to see that Class X students were not able to read and write even small and common words properly," he said.
He also said that human development and human resource development are different paradigms.
