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What the diaspora can do?
The Slate and the Chalk beckon you:
 All
Panjabis want to come to Panjab, buy a house, a car and all the
luxuries that life offers. All of you are happy at the pace of
development in Panjab. You can see reasonably good roads, the
Amritsar Airport is nearly working, more and better-looking cars are
available if you have the dough, marriages are digitally advanced,
malls and markets are eye-catching, the food is Mcdonna and you feel
at "home".
Well, almost.
The heart of some of you bleeds for "Maa de hatha dian pakkian
rotian." Some of you voice concerns for language, culture, heritage,
religious revival, education and decaying value-systems
While travelling the speed trains in the suburbs of Mumbai, as a
student, I used to see small-time Gujarati traders reading Times of
India and Gujarat Samachar. One day, I asked one of them in my
tutti-phutti Gujarati, "why two newspapers?" Pat came the reply,
"the English for business and the Gujarati to learn about Des."
I am glad that many a Sikh and Panjabi are keen to know about Des
Panjab. I am also aware that many organisations have begun
activities in the field of education. We need to coordinate the
activities of all these organisations. The present call is from the
Slate and the Chalk.
If you want to stop the Mittals and others from changing the
cultural landscape of Panjab, then this small note should serve as a
wake-up call. Many things can be done. I suggest only a few:
Adopt the primary school in your village. Adopt it as you would
adopt a child. Set up a team to take care of all its needs. The
poorest of the poor go to these schools and they need almost
everything: school books, uniform, proper teaching tools, a library,
a laboratory and basic sanitation facilities.
Set up scholarship schemes for students of your village.
Set up a team of conscientious individuals who will not allow the
school staff to stay idle and put them through a reward scheme based
on results.
Adopt bright students and set up online contact with them to ensure
that they are given the best facilities.
Libraries and Reading Rooms must be set up in every village of
Panjab.
We have spent the last fifty years doing Kar Sewa --some right and
some wrong. The next fifty years should be spent on Gyan Sewa.
21
November, 2007
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