“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
Is it awakened as the Gurudev Ravindranath Tagore desired for? Is a complex question. If we analyze about modern India, we would be left to realize that Indian society is a compartmental one. That means if the leadership is weak compartments of the same would be at sixes and sevens.
Dr. Lohiya’s ideology was based on Gandhian principles of Socialism, which means the benefits for common and the poor. If Nature denies someone from the gift of sight, that person becomes poor because the person has to depend upon many people and if that person has to go for medical treatment of himself/herself for survival without proper monitory support of the employer, it becomes an uphill task for meeting such problems in a proper manner. Conservative compartmental of the society should not come in this way. Approximately twenty or thirty blind teachers working in different Colleges/Universities under Uttar Pradesh Government but denying for medical reimbursement to such people on the ground that there is no such provision for normal teachers in this connection, shows narrow feelings of Government/Universities/Degree Colleges, because it is against the basic principles of equality amongst equals as indicated in Indian Constitution.
Dr. Lohiya believed that If human equality is disturbed, that there shall be disturbance and terrorism. Dr. Manmohan Singh on the last year independence day said, “Our basic task is to deal with poverty, ignorance and disease which still afflict millions and millions of our citizens” One cannot measure how far he is successful in his such Endeavour. Hon’ble Supreme Court Judgment that a right to life is to be given vital meaning which include better standard of living and to a meaningful extent elaborates further:-- There cannot be dispute with the said preposition that the right to health is an integral part of the meaningful right to life and any denial of the same would be in stack violation of fundamental rights of the citizens as guaranteed to them under Article 21of the Constitution of India.”
Delhi High court in one of its judgment for Government employees said, “Undoubtedly, at the same time, it is a sacred obligation of any employer in a Welfare State to adequately take care of the medical facilities of its employees. It is a Constitutional obligation of the State under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to safeguard the right to life of every person and such right to life is a right to lead healthy life and not a life of mere animal existence. Grant of medical facilities therefore is a fundamental human right to protect one’s health and such facilities should not be denied by the government to a government servant”
It is said that teachers mold the lives that they influence because the lessons learned from teachers remain with their students throughout life. We should always respect our teachers. Teachers need encouragement and support from the community to feel that their devotion to students is appreciated. A good teacher is like a candle- it consumes itself to light the way for others.
However, if the candle is not in existence what the society can expect. Therefore, medical reimbursement to all the teachers is a vital part for society to let it go forward.
It is therefore, expectation from the State is that there should be medical reimbursement to all U.P. Universities and degree Colleges teachers. However, it is very essential for the blind Universities/Degree College teachers, because in this growing cost
scenario it is difficult for a blind person even to support his family in a proper manner. Like the safety of government employees and political persons, the safety of teachers is needed to be guaranteed by a welfare State.
Dr. Udai Narain Sinha
“Associate Professor”, Ancient Indian History & Archaeology Department,
Lucknow University,
Lucknow-226007
Uttarpradesh,
India.
| Next > |
|---|
