Valson Thampu
My connection -better still, my kinship- with the North East is indirect, or second-hand, for the most part. It is compacted of interfaces with the young men and women who studied in St. Stephen’s College, where I taught English Literature -and later served as Principal- for 42 years.
A few things, in this regard, may be briefly stated-
1. I have noticed, especially, in the last ten years, the academic potential of students from the N-E, registering a significant improvement.
2. At the same time, the educational facilities -including the stature of existing educational institutions- have not improved to the extent that explains in full the improvement I notice in the promise these students hold.
3. St. Stephen’s has always been blessed with the best talents from the N-E. The College, in turn, has had the singular privilege of nurturing administrative and political leadership all over the N-E in the last half century or more.
4. In my experience, students from the N-E are deeply affectionate, lovably spontaneous and inherently artistic. They take to four-part harmony, like fish to water. Music is the medium through which they express themselves best.
5. Barring commendable exceptions, students from the N-E do not study very hard. With a little more effort they can do a lot better. Industriousness is as much a habit as laziness is. It can be cultivated. But it needs to be incorporated as a value in the warp and woof of the culture of the N-E. It deserves to be.
6. It is customary for most young men and women, to lose themselves culturally and morally, after taking to Delhi. Students from the N-E hold their own, better than most others. But this also means that they remain a bit insular. It does not help to stay confined to one’s own small circle. It prevents us from growing up and enlarging our experiential orbits. To stay true to one’s own faith and culture, it is not necessary to marginalize oneself. It is a far greater thing to be in the midst of everything and, still, to keep the core of one’s being intact.
The observations listed above, are sketchy and incomplete. But they can convince a dispassionate observer that between the scope of the N-E and its current level of performance, there is a gulf, which needs to be bridged.
I call upon all Stephanians, and through them, all those in authority in the N-E, to take up this historic task in right earnest. This they must do, both for their own sake and for the sake of the people they are called upon to love and to serve.
Why should, let’s ask, young men and women have to come to Delhi for quality higher education? This is inexcusable, especially in respect of the states in the North Eastern region, where Christianity is the main influence. All through its history, Christianity has pioneered education. Christian priests and missionaries educated Europe. As Max Weber points out, Europe would not have woken out of its slumber of backwardness, but for the spread of Christianity. Now, it cannot be that Christianity can be a catalyst for growth and human empowerment -the spiritual and cultural Renaissance of humankind- everywhere else except in the North-East. Faith is the touchstone that proves the mettle of a people. I dare say that pockets of the N-E may be numerically Christian, but they are not as spiritually Christian as they need to be and deserve to be. As already noted, the potential of the people is truly exciting.
In my travels through the N-E, it occurred to me that a comparatively laid-back pace of life prevails everywhere. This is not a bad thing in itself. But, if, on this count, the work culture becomes lackluster, it is a problem. The day people of the N-E become hardworking, they will begin to outshine the rest of India. This much I firmly believe.
This laid back way of life is, one way or another, related to corruption. The easy-going way of life, and the proclivity to indulgence, is bred by easy money. Any gulf between work and reward corrupts and cripples. It is surprising that this is hardly understood; not only in the N-E, but in the rest of India as well. We are to live out of the sweat of our brow. Hard, honest work alone nourishes our soul and builds our stature and character. North-East needs to urgently bridge the gulf between “having” and “being,” working and earning. The time to choose is come: either you “have” much acquisitions, or you “be” good and happy human beings, which is what Jesus meant when he said, “You are the light of the world”. This light must now shine from the N-E.
Spirituality is all about being fully, richly human. It is in this light that the biblical tradition defines “purity”. To be pure or holy, is to be perfectly developed. “Be you perfect,” Jesus said, “even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Whatever falls short of this mark is ‘impure’. Most religions understand ‘impurity’ in terms of ‘actions’. Impurity is a matter of what one does, or what happens to a person. The biblical faith understands purity in terms of ‘being’. The question is not if you are doing wrong or corrupt deeds. The question is if you are mindful of your duty to be perfect. Evil and corrupt deeds will necessary overtake us, so long as we are, willfully, luxuriating in imperfection.
When I think of the N-E, it is the image of a bud that surfaces in my mind. A bud is a sign of promise. It is also a symbol of vulnerability. It can get cankered and not unfold itself into loveliness and fragrance. It can, on the contrary, blossom and spread abroad the quality of its being so as to enrich and ennoble the world around. I have firm faith that the N-E will blossom. How I wish, it happens in time for me to be able to see it!
The author is a former Principal of St. Stephen’s College and the founding member of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions and the Delhi Minority Commission.
