A letter to the Kota girl

Our collective conscience should apologise for her suicide

aasha

Aasha Khosa | April 29, 2016 | New Delhi


#IIT   #suicide   #kota   #society   #education   #IIT JEE  


Dear Beta,

I am sorry for pushing you to death. In fact, I have to apologise to you for many things:

• Each time you showed me your mark-sheet, I got angry and lectured you on how you need to do better next time. I should have accepted you as you are and celebrated instead.
 
• On the day you returned home swathed in the thrill of scoring your first goal in the football arena, I got afraid whether all play and no study would make you lag behind others.
 
• I forced you to learn formulae of chemicals by rote while you wanted to paint and dance.
 
•I snuffed the joy of living in the world of Pokemon, Doremon, Shinchen and Chhota Bheem out of your life by introducing you to monsters like IIT and IAS exams at an early age.
 
•I always saw the beauty of your smiling face, your excellent communication skills and other traits of your personality but never thought these would make you successful in life
 
• I made your life hell after your 10th standard – as a teacher, I pulled you often and appreciated you less; as a parent I compared your academic achievements to peers and found you wanting.
 
• As a teacher I made your life hell in 11th standard. Believing it would make you work ever harder, I evaluated your answer sheets strictly. I never thought this would demotivate you and dent your self-image.
 
• I forced you to attend rigorous coaching classes for medical and engineering entrance exams that went on for hours hoping you would soak in all the solutions of questions that you never quite understood.
 
• I sent you to an alien town called Kota believing it will turn you into a cramming robot and make sure your entry into an IIT. I remember you sheepishly telling me once or twice that you wanted to become an astrophysicist and I telling you – Usme koi scope nahi hai [There is no scope in it].
 
• I spent lakhs on your coaching and reminded you about it each time you wanted to give up. I made you feel guilty.

Hope you are living in a better world than this man-made one.
 
Yours,

Collective conscience of India
 

Comments

 

Other News

Four Labour Codes come into effect to simplify, streamline labour laws

Four Labour Codes - the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 have come into effect , rationalising 29 existing labour laws. By modernising labour regulations, enhancing workers` welf

Governance as ‘cyborg’: Rethinking AI rules through philosophical lens

In the world of science fiction, the cyborg, a hybrid of human and machine, often evokes fascination and fear. However, American scholar Donna Haraway conceptualises cyborg as more than a futuristic body; it is a philosophical lens, a way of thinking about identity, agency, and responsibility in a world wh

The process, not the verdict, is often the real punishment

When we talk about criminal justice in India, most people think about the final verdict — whether someone is found guilty or innocent. But for many ordinary Indians, punishment is not in the verdict, but in the process itself. The waiting, the uncertainty, the endless hearings, and the years spent be

Pollution control isn`t charity; it`s strategic economic investment

Every winter, as air pollution shrouds Indian cities from Delhi to Kolkata, public debate converges on the costs: the crores spent on air purifiers, water sprinklers and stubble management, the outlay for waste treatment plants and new green technology. Environmental clean-up is framed as a fiscal burden,

Developed countries must reach Net-Zero far earlier: India at COP30

India has strongly urged developed countries to demonstrate greater climate ambition and honour their commitments. “Developed countries must reach net zero far earlier than current target dates and deliver new, additional, and concessional climate finance at a scale of trillions,

India’s first nitric oxide wound dressing for diabetic foot ulcers rolled out

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Cologenesis Pvt. Ltd have launched ColoNoX, the country’s first nitric oxide-releasing wound dressing, aimed at improving treatment outcomes for patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Developed by scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Cen

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter