Teacher’s Day gets a new start

September 6, 2014

September 05, marks the birthday of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the first Vice-President and the second President of India was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He is one the best known scholars in India in twentieth century. He contributed tremendously towards the new contemporary Hindu identity in the eyes of the ill-informed Westeners. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1954 and British Royal Order of Merit in 1963. He held great respect for teachers and always believed they are real nation builders and thus should always be the best minds in the country.
The day which was hitherto only confined within the individual schools and lost in formalities of the government marked by a congratulatory note from the PM and ofcourse the National Awards by the President along with the latter’s address got a new breather this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave birth to a new tradition which will be practiced henceforth. He addressed students directly at Manekshaw Hall, New Delhi. The interaction was also video-conferenced to students of other states. Students were highly encouraged and felt quite touched by the new gesture. They put to him some very interesting and some really intriguing questions which showed the enthusiasm on their faces. Mr.Modi took up each question with lot of attention, patience and carefully replied to send only good messages across. The speech, was like conversation full of anecdotes, life lessons and childhood experiences and unlike his strong toned and heavy-worded political speeches, brought out a softer angle to his personality which resonated with the young audience who seemed highly engaged.
He laid stress on girl education, cleanliness and sanitation issues which lead to a massive dropout of girl students from schools in their formative years. He also emphasized hard work , physical activity and be responsible citizens just by being excellent students. He asked students to maintain discipline in all walks of life and never compromise on cleanliness.
The new tradition which was started is a great initiative by Mr. Modi and has been hugely accepted and appreciated. However, there were as usual some voices which termed it purely a political stunt. There are times when some gestures which are good for the society should be appreciated and taken in a positive light keeping politics behind for the good of all. India does face issues which are of great and serious dimensions, but a good leader is the one who can play a good balancing act under all situations- a trait which was apparent in PM Modi’s speech and demeanor as he made two significant openings for India-The Nuke Deal with Oz and the teacher’s day speech. Both the gestures required him to present a different poise and sharpness which he definitely maintained excellently.

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