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We, the 'proud' fools



Hi! It's been a long time, hasn't it? I had actually decided to take a backseat and observe the people, and where they are actually heading. And here's what I concluded from my observations. The title may intrigue some people, while others may laugh or get angry by seeing it. But accept it or not, that is the reality; that has what reality has become, and it has been so deeply rooted that it will take many hard efforts on our part to get rid of that word, and return back to being great again. India indeed is a country of the most talented people of the the world. It's just that most of us fail to realize our talents, undermine ourselves to the lowest possible levels or even feel inferior by comparing ourselves with others. Or we proudly accept that we are fools, and wear it everywhere, even making fun of people who try to gain knowledge, and even blaming the system.

India has the largest youth population among all the other countries in this world, and hence it is called the youngest country. So what are we exactly doing being the great youth of this glorious country? Are we living upto the expectations? Or have we normalised dumbness and idiocracy? I think we have done the latter one, generalized the idiocracy. You ask me how? Come on, check the social media feeds of people, and do check out what's trending on YouTube too, you will know for yourself. We Indians have made entertainment as our life. But that's not how things are! Entertainment is just a part of life, and not vice versa. Likewise, love, traveling, parties, and other events are a part of life. We celebrate a festival, and keep on uploading stuffs related to it, or keep on discussing it for a month or two, like it is an important part of our life and it may be useful sometimes in the future. This may sound harsh to you, but the world moves on, and you have to move on with it; if you don't, then I'm sorry to say this, but you will be left behind. And if you think being left behind is something to be proud of, then how would you achieve your dreams? Oh sorry, do you have any more dreams left inside you, after getting inspired from all these memes and 'a single piece of paper can't decide my future' shits?

Backbenchers. I don't know how this word originated or which 'backbencher' became such an inspirational figure in history, that this word got so many followers. Here's an episode that I'm sharing, and after reading it, you decide what ought to be done about such people. Recently, we had our college farewell ceremony, and the soon-to-be graduates were told to share their experiences in college life. Many of them proudly claimed that they were backbenchers, they didn't attend many classes, sat under a tree the whole day, and literally passed comments on people, and did nothing, but still didn't fail in a single subject. They received many cheers and claps from the audience, maximum of whom were of course in favour of this thing. But, is it really a thing to be proud of? Mugging up stuffs before exams is not the solution to everything; how long will you go by mugging up things? Knowledge is what matters in life, nothing else does. Knowledge will take you to places, nothing else can. And you talk about not failing, do you know why you didn't fail? Because you used unfair means in examinations, and that's another thing people pride themselves with. Come on guys, use your conscience, how long are you going to use unfair means to pass exams? Has it come down to this? Is this the way the people of a country with such a glorious and brave past should follow? Be a good example, so that people will learn something from you, people will look up to you. If not for people, then do these things for you sake, for your parents; is this what you wanted to be when you were a child? Will the 10 years younger version of yourself be proud of what you have become today? Will you teach this to your kids? "No need to study everytime, just read a day before the exams, and you will not fail your exams!" or "Use unfair means in your exams, nobody gives a damn, as it all comes down to marks." Being a 'backbencher' is not something to be proud of, but something to be ashamed of, and something that needs to be changed. Can the youth stand up? Can they prove that they have the power like it is rumoured? I think they can, only when they change this mentality of theirs!

Yes, it's true that the fault for being proud of your ignorance and bashing someone who likes to read, doesn't start or end with you. It has high reaches. When the top ministers of the country can proudly claim on record that they are uneducated, and you make them win, and make them an inspiration, then of course, you ought to be proud to be uneducated. But, given the issues that they talk about, the misinformation that they spread, the little knowledge that they have, they will/have left the country in chaos. Now, you maybe illusions by 'little education', but one day truth will be out, and knowledge will win. Well, let's not make this a political piece, and I'm not taking any sides here, this was a generic remark.

Let's also talk about the persons you get motivation from, your idols. There are few people who do not deserve to be where they are on social networking sites and also on YouTube, but you keep on following them, and sharing the stuffs that they say or do, and making them your life's mantra. On the other hand, the people who really can motivate you and change you, are sidelined, and are being made fun of. You know the reason why so many people are unemployed in the country? Check out the YouTube trending page anyday, or check out their social media accounts, you will have your answers. Be a responsible citizen, at least do the duties that you need to do properly.

Now you are an adult, you are the future citizens of the country, be a good one. Imagine your parents behaving in the same way as you are doing now, will you have the same amount of respect for them, as you have for them now?
And stop calling people 'nerd'. Being knowledgeable is not something to be ashamed or booed for. That's the thing that you actually need to take inspiration from. Being ignorant won't take you anywhere; and the stories of 'backbenchers' that you keep on getting motivations from didn't get their bit of knowledge from Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram and most importantly didn't play games all day, made games their life, jumped with happiness over a trivial victory in a match, didn't spend their free time making videos or watching them on TikTok, or didn't keep on sharing stupid quotes throughout the day. The real life is not as colourful as they show in movies, YouTube videos or those stupid quotes. It is harder than that, if you don't take it seriously, then believe me, you are going to get nowhere, and the country will eventually go down and will be referred to as 'a fool's country'.

India has always been famous for its knowledge. Let it be the oldest university in the world, the Vedas, or even the vast knowledge of Gandhi, Tagore and Nehru, knowledge is what people came to India for. But, it seems as years pass by, the knowledge of India is degrading, it is going down and down. It is only through our actions, and if we stop being proud of our ignorance and foolishness, and start getting motivated from the right people, then believe me, India will be the best country of the world. Let's motivate and change the world again. Let's not misutilize our power and our brains, there's still time we can be the best examples for the world.
Cheers.

Ashutosh Acharya

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