Usual Yet Undesirable - An Eye Opener

So, writing this travel blog after a long period of time. It was 7th of February, 2019, and I was at Gauhati University for participation in ongoing State Youth Parliament organised by MyGov after being selected in the top 5 from district level. I, along with one of my friend reached there on time, though the competition started little late. We were given four topics, on one of which we had to speak for about 4 minutes.

Participants, one after the other, started talking about their chosen topics. Initially, everyone was spreading their thought on the topic named "One Nation, One election" when the trend ended abruptly and another topic named "Swacchata - Building a mass movement" came into the trend. Some of the fellow mates spread their words on the remaining two topics as well with a view to secure their spot on the list of the top two participants who will go to Delhi to attend the National Youth Parliament. 

Halfway past the program, when my friend too spread his words among the crowd, we decided to leave the venue as we were getting late. So, he was talking with some of the participants while I made my way to the city bus stoppage. There I was waiting for him to depart together. It was quite late and everyone was returning from their classes. Gauhati University, having an open campus, has within it some stalls that sell eatables. Some were buying a packet of chips and others were settling for a cup of tea. 

Almost everyone that was buying stuffs from those stalls was a university going student and I was assuming everyone as a responsible citizen, as is expected from anyone going to higher institutions for studies. Standing beside a pavement, I was observing those sloped roads for the rainfall to make its way to the drainage system. 

Everything was fine until I saw a university going student eating something on a piece of paper while talking to his friend. I was shocked when he finished eating and irresponsibly threw the piece of paper inside the drains beside him while dustbin lied just some steps away. Littering here and there is something very common everywhere in India, but this is at least not expected from people who are going to be the face of our nation in years to come.

Especially, when you hear so much from the young people in the auditorium of the same institution, about the importance of cleanliness (Swacchata) and the way in which our own nation can be kept clean; these types of incidents from someone slightly older than the age groups present in the hall trying to spread their words up to our ears, makes us feel disappointed and we start questioning our education once again. 

There was nothing new for most of us in this incident, but the place where it was happening and who was the one doing it, made all the difference. Waste has already created a huge mess everywhere and the sole reason behind this is the improper disposing/recycling of the wastes. Government has been trying its best to make people aware of the repercussions of littering, and also initiated various schemes utilizing a huge amount of public money into it. In a poverty stricken country like India, which is on its way of becoming an economic superpower, does not, at least expect from someone falling on the 10% (Yes, only 10% of the total population in India enrolls in colleges and universities) of the population pursuing higher education, to act so irresponsibly.

No government alone can make a country great until and unless every person contributes towards its well being as a whole. We later departed from the venue travelling through the roads of the busy city where 'not-so-lucky' boys deprived of education were picking up the used plastic water bottles that reminded me once again about what we are really missing in our education. 

So, that was all. Do, let me know through comments what you think we are really missing in our education? Thank you all for reading this. Have a good night.