It isn't enough to be seekers of knowledge, one should also help those who are seeking knowledge, Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan said at the ThinkEdu Conclave 2020, held in the city today. Khan reflected on the fact that India has always been a knowledge destination and that our Indian values have been a thing of wonder even before Europe's renaissance.
People who documented the world's history, identified major civilisations — Iran for its culture, Roman for its gallantry, China for the people's obedience to law and India for its knowledge. "India has been identified as a knowledge destination but like Vivekananda said, we cannot monopolise education. We are people who worship knowledge and so we cannot make it inaccessible to people," he said. He also went on to say that those who deny knowledge to others are the villains of Saraswati, Goddess of Education.
Khan said that in Indian history, institutes like Nalanda have always been inclusive. While appreciating The New Indian Express for holding a conference on education even though it is a 'glamorous subject', Khan said that education is a real game-changer, which is why it should be discussed and debated.
He narrated a story from the Upanishads of a young boy who did not know who his father was but wanted to enrol in a school. However, since he did not know his 'gotra', he was worried about being allowed to study there. "A Brahmin is a title given to a person who wants to acquire knowledge and has succeeded in expanding his mind. So, the Rishi said that the boy was brave for asking and thus, already saw that the boy had expanded his mind and heart. So, it did not matter that he was the illegitimate child of a Brahmin," he explained.
He also said that in the Mahabharata, Kunti told the Pandavas that they should have the will and the heart to spread their knowledge to everyone.
Khan also recalled an incident from his childhood about mango groves. "The farmers decided to grow only one kind of mangoes because it was less expensive and they made good money for a couple of decades. But after 30 years, the trees died and they were told it was because they didn't have any diverse trees. Which is why I say, the more diverse we are, the more progressive," he explained.
Answering a question about when we have to give up on learning and pursue a career, Khan said that we cannot stop learning till the very last breath. On another question about how we can bring back our culture into our education and why no parliamentarian had spoken about the same, Khan said that it is not just up to the government but also society itself to try to inculcate our Indian values in children from the very beginning.
