Articles
Bogus Degrees: Dr. Ambedkar on Gnana (knowledge) and Sheela (character)
Dt: 17/6/15
Bogus Degrees:
Dr. Ambedkar on Gnana (knowledge) and Sheela (character)
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Dr B.R.Ambedkar speaking on the amendment for Representation of People Act that stipulated a minimum educational qualification ruled it out by saying :
“ now it seems to me that education can hardly be the sole qualification for membership of this House. If I may use the words of Buddha, he said that man requires two things, one is gnan and the other is sheel . Gnan without sheel is very dangerous: it must be accompanied by sheel, by which we mean character, moral courage, ability to be independent of any kind of temptation, truthful to one’s ideals. Coming to the question of education, I do not wish to be understood that I regard ignorance to be a virtue : let that be quite clear. I regard education to be a very necessary qualification for possessing that degree of competence which is very necessary for the performance of one’s duty. In this House, there are people who although they are not educated are very competent to voice the grievances of the class whom they represent. I am sure about it”.
2. In the context of the bogus claims of University degrees and doctorates from within India and abroad by persons like Sonia Gandhi, Smruthi Irani, Jintender Singh Tomar (AAP in Delhi), Mamata Benerjee and many others, it is relevant to recall and remember the late Sri Kamaraja Nadar was the Chief Minister of Madras Province and later President of the Indian National Congress. He did not have any degree from any university and not much education either. But the whole country knows how competent a Chief Minister he was and how great a President of the Congress he was and how wise a man he was.
3. The great sheel that Kamaraj had gave him integrity and wisdom both of which are the constituents of true gnan. So, without formal education Kamaraj was a gnani and a person with sheel, character sheel.
4. Swami Vivekananda, Rama Krishna Paramahamsa and Swamy Dayananda Saraswati, (founder of Arya Samaj) did not have any university degrees but is not the world acknowledging them as the wise and great philosophers?
5. What unfortunately we are seeing is, that criminals are becoming ministers and ministers are becoming criminals by misusing government power. This is because our education has failed to produce men of character; may be some of the educated are skilled in cheating, in manipulating, in misleading and not getting caught. Making money and becoming rich and using the riches to buy position of power and prominence are what many a so called young are trained to be in “schools and colleges”, especially in the private and corporate sector.
6. Our public life is polluted with career politicians skilled in buying and selling votes, MLAs, MPs, jobs, transfers and getting bank loans an d defaulting on repayment with impunity refctification and reform should begin with education which inculcates Buddhi (righteousness, rectitude, integrity, selflessness) along with gnana ( knowledge). Power in the hands of characterless persons leads to national disaster. (503 words)
END