There is a festive atmosphere in Diwali. It is the festival of light. The lamp flickered. It conveys hope and joy, but one should think about the darkness behind this lamp. It is true that we wish the potikas and bless the little ones in Diwali, but we need to do some brainstorming ourselves. If we solve some serious issues, we will enjoy the next Diwali or else we will be surrounded by nostalgia. Let me forewarn that today's topic is quite serious, but a burning conundrum that needs an urgent solution. Schools, colleges, coaching classes and universities that charge indiscriminate fees are not sanctuaries, they are inhumane pits churning out filthy profits. Yes, according to the official statistics released in August 2024, suicide rates among students are increasing at an alarming rate. This suicide has been termed as an 'infectious disease sweeping India'. The overall suicide rate in the country has increased by two percent, while the student rate has increased by four percent. In 2022, 53 percent of suicides were students (male). Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are at the forefront of this. Every year approximately 1100 students commit suicide on college campuses. Factors like Everest high expectations of parents, pressure from teachers make an innocent student jump to the bottom of death. Constant stress, pressure, isolation and lack of support and equality, especially the fear of failure, stifles Jijivisha. There is no hope of solution from the coffered rhinoceros skinned politicians, horse dung-wearing academics, self-indulgent sociologists and society intoxicated with ostrich life, but let's light the inspiring torches of a few living examples to pull students out of the quagmire of marks, toppers and placements. It has been proven time and again that degrees, marks or traditional education are not all or indispensable. Dipinder Goyal, the owner of a successful startup named Zomato and a company worth 4 lakh crore, gasped while reaching the fifth standard and failed in the sixth. Completed eighth grade by cheating, but realized the mistake and took education very seriously. And then history was made. A different case is Trishanit Arora from a small town in Punjab. Failed in eighth standard. Today TAC The owner of the security is a billionaire and is counted among the top richest people in India. Actor Salman Khan is a college drop-out. Today's most talented and successful actress Alia Bhatt has studied only till 12th. Her husband and superstar Ranbir Kapoor had barely reached matric. Hotshot Deepika Padukone is the twelfth pass. The one-time superstar Karisma Kapoor did not see the doors of school after the sixth standard. His co-star and 'Mr Perfectionist' Aamir Khan felt that my time in college was being wasted, so he quit the line after 12th standard. Even Arjun Kapoor didn't make it past the bar. Let's talk about the cricketer who made India laugh as much as the film. Kapil Dev Nikhanj, the 'Haryana Hurricane' who won India's first Cricket World Cup, was also a college drop-out, but the way he could knock out a good batsman-bowler on the cricket field is now legendary. The passion for boxing was so great that Mary Kom dropped out of school to master it. However, later he completed his graduation through an alternative method. And Gautambhai Adani, CEO of Adani Industries, gave up traditional education during his graduation in commerce from Gujarat University. Instead of taking over his father's textile business, he moved to Mumbai to pursue his dream and today his net worth is in the billions of American dollars. And it has increased as it is written here and you read it. If history is anything to go by, there are many such rare personalities around us today who did not value only Marx, preferred education over certificate papers, considered goal as everything instead of blind pursuit. And made such efforts to achieve it that the spider army bowed and saluted. A relatively well-known case is that of Manoj Kumar Sharma. This is a man who surpasses the imagination of how and how much struggle can be done for the fulfillment of dreams despite any circumstances and obstacles. Born in a village and back in the Chambal area with the roar of two-barrel guns. Poverty breaks out in the house. Manoj was born in Bilgaon in Jouruka taluk of Moraina district of Madhya Pradesh. In learning about Barely made it to class 10-11 from Chorichapati. Name of Manoj to do typing-fiping job after passing twelfth by copying same as before. Fully prepared to copy. But at the same time the Sub-Divisional Magistrates who came to check were determined to prevent counterfeiting. Pratap Manojbhai failed in the twelfth. But Manoj, seeing the reputation of SDM and respect for him, decided that now we will become SDM. Naturally, no one in the family was interested in teaching Manoj further and it was not financially possible. Brother started working in a flour mill. Failed in English subject and subject other than Hindi in 12th. Circumstances SDM When taken to him, he came to know that the post can be obtained only by passing the MPSC exam. He reached Gwalior with a knot in his mind. Stayed with beggars outside the temple. Sometimes he slept on an empty stomach. Became a patron in the library. By crossing the Himalayan barrier that no young man could imagine, endure or survive, he became IPS. Officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. If you can't read the book 'Twelfth Fail' written by his friend and Deputy Commissioner of Salestax Department Anurag Pathak, then watch Vidhu Vinod Chopra's movie 'Twelfth Fail' based on it. Manojji's life mantra is truly life-giving for the downtrodden: 'Hara wahi jo lada nahi.' Our Pannalal Patel, who gave immortal works like 'Malela Jeev' and 'Manavini Bhavai' online-offline, studied only four books and received the highest literary honor of the country, Jnanpith Award.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
Today: Can we learn something from Beacon of Hope?
