Of critical pedagogy and rational thinking

Kshitij Pipaleshwar 

Is it their short-sightedness that they can’t see the linkage between politics and education all along?

If you are interested in encouraging critical thinking among the children, why not ask these questions?

So, it has been a while that people have been asking me to write and I was also giving it a serious thought, the only handicap being what to write on! I thank Tehelka from the bottom of my heart for giving me a break. Recently I came across a bunch of cartoons published by this Magazine in support of ‘Freedom of Expression’ in textbooks. Well, all the cartoons were amusing, but one in particular hit the nerve. This one has Ekalvya retorting to some Mr Sen’s question of ruling class deciding what goes into text books to:

‘The last time the ruling class decided who could learn what…I had to sacrifice my %&*ing thumb’.

Now, this cartoon makes me deeply uncomfortable. Ekvalya is a powerful bahujan icon. He symbolises the dalit and adivasi minority who were denied access and resources to upward mobility. He symbolises the ones who even with the “oh-so-required-merit” were crushed and kept back, so that their talent and merit doesn’t eclipse that of someone’s from the higher caste and class.

As the Telugu poet Suryavamshi writes:

You’ve power, you’ve glory, good for you

You’ve that..this..good for you

that..this..you can keep.

We’ve only Ekalavya’s

left thumb still left with us,

this is enough for us

to fight with you…

(from the poem ‘This is enough‘ as translated by Naren Bedide)

Now that you know what Eklavya stands for and how much this hero means to the bahujans, I hope you are also able to share my discomfort. The borrowing of a subaltern icon and portraying him as a mouthpiece of the ruling class is outrageous. What is it, if not, breaking the hard amassed solidarity such iconic images have been evoking among the Bahujan Masses? Let us not downplay the importance and influence of a message that a hero sends across.

And seriously, what is it with Mr. Sen in the cartoon stating ‘The Politicos are gonna decide what goes into the textbooks now!’? As if this is a new thing! As if it has not been happening all these years. Is it their short-sightedness that they can’t see the linkage between politics and education all along? Did not coming to power of a certain hindu right-wing party ensure that all our textbooks are right aligned? The syllabus that we have been studying has never been secular, otherwise why is it compulsory for students of class VI and VII (central board of secondary education, no less!) to study Ramayana and Mahabharat? My Christian friends have always wondered why we are not introduced to the Bible in a similar manner!

Who gets to study and what they study has always been under the control of ruling class upper-brahminical castes and it remains the same way even today. Obviously if I state it, you may (and you would) counter me by saying that I am not objective enough, but would you say the same to Foucault who has looked at depth at the power-knowledge nexus? Foucault outlining the same validates the statement in no time.

Having studied in a middle-class, central school, none of my history, social science or science textbooks ever arouse any strand of critical thinking ever! If anything, they cloaked many social evils and put all the blame on ‘Over population’. The concept of caste, how it is still practised and its oppressive nature never came out once! On the contrary, it was always referred to, as a thing of the past and happening in hinterlands where there is no water and electricity. We were taught that among the greatest law books is the widely celebrated book written by Manu, Manusmriti!

It took studying mass media and entering a social sciences institute to actually know all that is glorified in textbooks is not right!

Another discourse is that of rationality, why does the onus of rationality always lie with the marginalised group? Women are not rational enough, they are emotional! Dalits are not able to see anything objectively! Adivasis are too attached to their land! So again, the rational ones are the same bunch of people who had access to education! These are the same rational people who decide what goes into the textbooks and what does not. The same people decide who is represented and in which manner. If earlier, women and bahujans suffered from the problem of non–representation, now they have to face mis–representation!

When the people who had the privilege of education all these years are not expected to be rational when it comes to propagating their religious beliefs, going on a full–scale riot at every ‘critical’ portrayal of the mythical Ram, Sita and Krishna, why brand web-friendly, newly educated bahjuans irrational!

If you are interested in encouraging critical thinking among the children, why not ask these questions?

What determines merit?

Why exactly women have been considered a weaker/ inferior sex?

What kind of psyche do people who do not treat lower castes and Adivasis as humans, beat them up, deny them with basic amenities, have?

Why are women all over the world expected to do house–work, even if they are working along with their husbands?

Why does, in spite of reservation and education, there are hardly any Dalits and Adivasis in any position of power or media?

Why is manusmriti still cited as a worthy ancient text in history textbooks? (Yeah right! It talks of enslaving lower castes and women and additionally goes on to describe at great length how you punish them in case they think of educating themselves!)

Why is homosexuality still considered a disease?

Ask right questions, only then would you encourage children to think critically, try to be less influenced by the biases and prejudices that creep in, thanks to the environment that they grow in. This insertion of a cartoon or a two of marginalised leaders and women as a way to show your inclusiveness is a very shallow way. It is like treating a symptom and not a problem.

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Further Reading

‘Whipping up ‘critical pedagogy’: Uncritical defense of NCERT’s violence’ at Savari or Round Table India.

‘The cartoon controversy: Inside the mind of one ‘fanatic’ Dalit’ here, at Round Table India.

‘The Cartoon, the Classroom and the Idea of India‘, here, at Round Table India.

Kshitij Pipaleshwar is pursuing Masters in Media and Cultural studies at Tata Institute Of Social Sciences (TISS) and is a photography and travel enthusiast. She blogs here.