It was around 2:30 am on 6 December 2021. I know, I was dreaming in a deep sleep. I was walking in heaven. Meanwhile, I saw Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar reading the newspaper.

I said, “Hello Sir, It’s more wonderful to see you physically than a book holding statue.”

He replied sarcastically, “Oh really!”

“Yes Sir” I answered undoubtedly and asked, “Can I have a Selfie with you Sir?

I want to put it on my Insta story”

“Yeah sure, why not buddy… ” He replied calmly. 

I took 2-3 selfies from different angles and uploaded it as my Instagram story.

I thanked him and started walking towards Mahatma Gandhi, a non-violent guy having millions of followers in the twentieth century. But suddenly Dr. Ambedkar called me back. 

“Listen son, accept this book as a gift from my side”.

I was not keen to take the book but I accepted it after looking at the faces of Nehru, Patel, Bosh and Baghat Singh who were just standing next to him.

On the same day, a 12 hour Continuous Reading Programme was arranged by Ambedkar Student Organization in Fergusson College. I participated in that program because my girlfriend wanted me to join. And I choose to read the same book gifted by Ambedkar.

He wrote,

“The lack of education is the main cause for the backwardness of poor people. I strongly believe that education should be a priority of our society and utilized for the growth of individuals with character. 

               Knowledge means light. This light lays the foundation of culture and civilization. Thus socialisation and moralization of man is the purpose of higher education. It is a base of society where the minds of the students are cultured. This is a factory of making good citizens. One should prefer humanistic education which enables a man to rediscover himself and ensure freedom rather than being a student of the church, school or the state. 

I took a sip of water and continued my reading;

                I want a type of education that not only inculcates awareness and fulfilment of human rights among citizens but also teaches human dignity, fraternity and justice. This will bring social, economic and political transformation of individuals. I’m a staunch opponent of casteism, untouchability, social discrimination, social inequality, women inequality and I consider education as an important tool to eliminate existing social inequality and injustice in Indian society. It will establish equality, brotherhood, co-existence and mutual acceptance in society. 

He added, I remember delivering a lecture on 20th July 1942 at Nagpur. I said  “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved” and even today, I want to stress the same. Being a mother, she is nearest to the children in a family, and she is the child’s first teacher. They can incorporate positive values and virtues in their children. 

The last page of the book gave me an idea of current challenges to New Education Policy (NEP), 2020. He said,

My dear follows,  

The ability to create something new, to find the answer of questions in a logical way, to express oneself with confidence, to put the inner ideas properly in front of an audience and the basic knowledge of the concepts are absent in the students. The students should be shaped as per the need and requirement of the society and nation. Thus, I suggest three main objectives for policy makers: recasting the aims and purposes of education, education as an instrument of substantive equality, and more focus on vulnerable sections of society like women, disabled, tribals and LGBT+.

I do appreciate parliamentarians for enacting Fundamental Rights to Education, 2002 and including it into Article 21A of the constitution. 

Not only this, an educated man without character and humility is more dangerous than a beast. If his education is detrimental to the welfare of the poor, the educated man is a curse to society… 

I was getting bored but meanwhile,I got a cup of tea and biscuits. I tried to imitate his library incident, but I failed. So I continued reading. 

He said-

An important aim of education is to make a person capable of earning a living or making him self-dependent. Thus,in today’s world, I emphasise technical education more and consider it necessary for the rise of the deprived classes in society. If education is provided in the child’s mother tongue then it is easy for the child to understand. But at the same time he required each student to have knowledge of at least one foreign language. So that he can understand what is happening in the whole world. 

I have great regard for my teachers. Role of a teacher in higher education is of utmost importance.  If we have good teachers, then we will be able to create a good civilization. A good teacher should have a positive and egalitarian attitude towards all sections of the society. Along with this I recommended that qualifications and other abilities of teachers should be checked exclusively while appointing them in schools or universities.

To conclude, I’m a supporter of my mentor John Dewey’s view of democratisation and universalisation of education. This will make an inclusive and peaceful society. Ultimately, our country can make progress.

After 12 hours of reading, I came back to the main gate. One note written on a piece of paper fallen from that book…

The letters written on note were-

 “…Instead of building my statutes on your campus, build a good inclusive library.

 I will be really happy to be a member of that library!”              

I remember, when I met him in a dream he was reading the newspaper’s top heading…

“After election; 5,800 Cr will be allotted for building Dr.Ambedkar’s Biggest Statue”

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References: 

1. Bhagyaya (2015) : Anupam Rashtra Bhagat. Panchjanya, April, 2015, pp. 16-20. 
2. Government of Maharashtra, (1982) : Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol. 2. 
3. Meshram, N.U. (2015) : Why is Education Important? (http://www.baiae.org/resources/articlesessays)
4. Nithiya, P. (2012) : Ambedkar‟s vision on the Empowerment of dalit education. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Educational Research. 1 (2), 47-52