Bonafide Urban Chick

{Disclaimer: This post is based on pure observation over the past year, regular interaction with several people affected and does not intend to offend or hurt anyone or anyone's sensibilities.}

A few days back, a converstaion with my extended family got my brain wheels churning at a crazy RPM!

I don't know how many readers are aware of the fact that a feeling of continued helplessness is one of the major causes of depression. But yes, it is true! In Gujarat there have been repeated riots, cultural and communal division and general widespread peer pressure. Most people go through a feeling of helplessness without being able to actually find a conclusive solution, or even really being aware of its repercussions.

What really blew my mind, was the fact that the Gujarat Board actually makes the 10th and 12th examinations easy! Yes, the really pressure years for normal people are "no sweat" here! Why? There have been observed cases of students submitting their lives to the sabarmati river (suicide) if they fail, or don't get the desired/expected score.

Can you believe it? The government did not bother to counsel students, eradicate peer pressure at the school level, or even take PTA meetings to discuss how the problem can be dealt with. No! They simply made the exams easy! The way when Hindus and Muslims had rifts, they simply allotted them separate dedicated areas to live in, so that there was no interaction.

Due to these facts, Gujaratis have developed a tendency to take the easy way out, succumb to peer pressure excessively and above all, not be fighters. They will not challenge the trend, so much so, that if many people are doing something wrong, no one will have the gumption to stand up against it. How is this the Gandhian way? A state that celebrates Gandhi, can barely live up to the one principle he lived by, 'challenging the situation and moving above it'!

This is at an elementary level as well. School students tend to stupidly mug things up, because when they don't understand something (which is most of the times) they are too afraid to stand up an ask questions. They are made to feel stupid by the teachers as well. How do I know this? Several parents discuss their children's low self confidence with me! The cases are almost identical here!

This ends up putting even more pressure on the students leading them to simply hate education. Because the parental generation went through the same, they don't encourage the children either. The lack of education based understanding and ability to think logically with a positive approach, further increases the depressive ways here. They wouldn't even consult a psychologist, they rather just take pills to elevate thier mood, or allow them to sleep. This is not just in case of depression. A person suffering from a viral cold isn't instructed by the doctor to sleep and drink fluids, they are simply prescribed sleeping pills with antibiotics.

There are several exceptions. But here, we dont focus on exceptions, we focus on the rule. And honestly, the rule is blasphemous. How will this place truly develop when the people still live primitively? If the generations cannot stand up, how will the state go higher?

Too many questions, one observer! I hope people notice and, atleast try, to make a change!