Just Do It

By:- N. Arunkumar *

Can education really bring us peace in this world? Students learning in classrooms right now are being taught with this gracious objective in mind by the educators participating in the process of education for freedom from strife. We often hear people declaring that only education can lead us to peace and harmonious living on the planet. And, they further underline that there is no substitute for education in terms of ensuring a better life for not only the family but for the community, neighbourhood and society at large. I often wonder if these claims are true, honestly.

Has education ensured that people live in peace and contribute towards the betterment of the world in real terms? I am wont to say...no! I don't think that we have the necessary triumphs with us to guarantee that the education which we give our children today will certify them as peaceful citizens of the world, or even make them wonderful angels among mankind. Sure, a good education does offer more choices to adopt a way of life that will lead to a certain amount of success. Even then, it is true that our children are not taught the true meaning of success and how to cope with it. It is left to each individual to deal with in his or her own genetic manner.

Another aspect of our deficit in terms of education is the fact that we are not producing leaders from among our students today. Instead, we are producing office personnel even now, in spite of the fact that the British Raj has set on us. I have often seen youngsters loitering around in life with basic education that has essentially made them oddballs in society. They are reliant on the social order to provide for them in terms of quality jobs and rewarding occupation.

However, that is something which is not always easy to achieve, especially in a country and world where the population is swelling chillingly. To fill up a vacant government post, the applicants almost always outnumber the vacancies and eventually the most corrupt officer appears to dole out that post to the one who is able to secretly afford the going rate in the clandestine auction.

Just for example, look at the police forces today, all over the country. The police have a well established recruitment norm that is more or less foolproof and cannot be challenged. Yet, one look at the efficiency and decorum of the police force indicates that the really meritorious personnel are not there to provide dignity to their office. Every evening I can see the beat patrol going around some particular infamous areas of the Imphal, collecting their cut from illegal business enterprises.

Can anyone deny that they have not seen this happening right before their own eyes? No doubt, the police are doing a thankless job for us, given that their working conditions are generally too poor to inspire their complete devotion on the job. Nevertheless, that should not be an excuse to continue status quo without making an effort to plug the downslide and bring in some more dignity to their authority.

We are to believe that the best personnel were recruited to the force in order to provide social security to us, and yet that is far from the truth. Many officers are simply out of shape and look like Humpty Dumpty sitting on walls made of cardboard. How they will chase a thief and catch him is a riddle that is yet to be solved, I guess. Divine intervention is called for in such cases perhaps.

Look at Manipur in the context of the existing law and order condition today. We are witnessing so many meaningless killings and shoot outs in almost every Leikai, persistently. Every day, one or the other incident is sending people to the hospital with either fatal bullet injuries or just providential escapes with minor bullet injuries. How many times have the cops caught up with these perpetrators and brought them to book? How many cases have they solved and provided justice?

That is a woeful story by itself. The police are busy fighting insurgency so intensely; that they simply do not have the resources with them to go after these shooting sprees's going on in our backyards. There is simply no hope for us, in such a scenario. That almost unavoidably brings us back to the need for a progress on the parameters of education in order to strengthen our society and hold it from the rot that is setting in gradually but surely.

Education though, is not providing us with the personnel to lead from the front. Our youth at present, are looking for jobs to sustain their self � respect productively. If they had been leaders and ready to take risks bravely, they would have been thinking of establishing their own companies or businesses to employ other people. We are sadly work oriented though not entrepreneurial in our outlook, and that is something which is due to an inherent flaw in our education system itself.

Leaders do not mean only restricted to politics, but encompasses a larger playing field with limitless scope. We need leadership qualities in every existing enterprise on the planet, and we can begin inculcating that by encouraging our youth to jump into the fray in any profession of their choice, with determination and burning ambition as the assets to see them through. It will call for sacrifices and tough choices along the way, but they have to be prepared to balance the positive and negative energies that will challenge their abilities to the core.

Also, we have to start developing a proper work culture among our youth from the grassroots. Today, most unfortunately we do not have that work culture in us like there is in many parts of the world. People are busy making their lives more secure and pleasant with tremendous energy and dedication. We must learn from them what is good and try to incorporate those good things in our ordinary life also, if we are to make a mark in our pursuit for happiness.

Multinational companies will pay you through the roof to avail your services, but remember the bottom line they give you is just this � 'Just Do It'. Come rain or storm, your targets must be realized and you must be at their beck and call almost twenty four hours a day.

There is no excuse for any failure to achieve the goals set by the company employing you. The door through which they welcomed you is always wide open the other way too. Just a little silly mistake and that door will see the last of you instantly. It calls for a different kind of work culture to stay within those doors for a decent length of time. Produce or perish. No third choice here. Just Do It. When shall we accept this truth and begin taking stock of our lives? Let's begin today, believe me.

There is no tomorrow in the vagaries of life. Live each day as though it was your last, and things will almost certainly begin to fall into place. And as we do that, let us stop blaming others for our deficits and take responsibility for ourselves.

Just Do It! Seriously!