I asked him whether the landlord would again start beating me when he discovered that he had come for schooling. His answer was so blunt that I could not believe it. He said that if the landlord ever tried to snatch him from me, he and his goons would be murdered by Naxalites. Only then did I know that Dharmanath had been sent by left extremists who had established a firm hold over his village. Poverty breeds violence and hatred.
Education breeds goodwill, peace and harmony.
Without proper education and social awareness the establishment of an egalitarian society is a distant dream. Bodh Gaya presents a paradox ignorance in the land of Enlightenment. In spite of the fact that government had declared education compulsory and free forty-five years back, not even 2 per cent of Musahar boys attend school even today. The percentage of Musahar girls going to school would not be even 0.01. The government s declaration of education for all up to ad 2000 is nothing but a mockery of education and democracy.