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

After Pahalgam: “All forces to maintain high vigil”

Recognizing the seriousness of the Pahalgam terrorist attack this week, India has sent out a strong signal to Pakistan to stop supporting cross-border tourism by taking a number of steps including suspending the Indus Water Treaty. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which is chaired by

How Ayurveda and Yoga can help heal common ailments

Healing Revolution: Defeat 100 Ailments with Ayurveda, Yoga and Lifestyle By Ram K. Sharma Rupa Books, 272 pages, Rs 395

Green cities: A pathway to sustainability

As the world observes Earth Day on April 22, the imperative for sustainable urban development has never been more pressing. Urban areas contribute approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (UN-Habitat Report, 2023). In India, the urban population is projected to reach 800 million by 2050 (

A unique way of looking at nature, at people, at life itself

Another Day in Landour: Looking Out from My Window By Ruskin Bond HarperCollins, 220 pages, Rs 399 Landour is a q

‘Better than the entire world’: Here’s the ‘India book’ for ages

The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India By Gopalkrishna Gandhi Aleph Books, 624 pages, Rs 999 Vet

Why the youth’s ‘affair’ with stock market is usually tragic

Nine out of 10 individual traders in the equity Futures and Options (F&O) segment have incurred net losses, according to a recent SEBI study. What’s even more striking is that a significant portion of these traders are young individuals – students, early professionals and first-time earners

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