Imagine: you are on vacation in Agra, one of India's most beautiful cities and home of the Taj Mahal, or the “wonder of India.” The loud, perseverant food vendors, beautiful silk shops, and commotion of the streets energize you everywhere you go. Walking down the path to the Taj Mahal through the blistering heat, you cannot help but admire its beauty. While on the way back to your hotel outside of town, you see miles of slums with hundreds of innocent children, who rush to the street to see a foreigner wearing western clothing. They stare wide-eyed at your branded shoes and clothing. The world has failed them, as a lack of resources and a need to tend to their villages to stay afloat has prevented them from learning how to read or write. Most of these kids do not know the history of the wonder that stands nearby, the Taj Mahal.
A national phenomenon, and one you have likely heard of, these people have fallen victim to India’s education inequality. The question needed to solve this problem remains unanswered: who is to blame for India’s widespread education inequality? “Responsibility falls purely on India’s neglectful government!” some say, noting the widespread corruption that has plagued Indian society. However, societal attitudes, such as corruption, discrimination, and negligence from Indian citizens, are primarily to blame. Though I concede that there are problems with the way the government addresses education inequality, without a coordinated effort from Indians to address the prevalent discrimination and corruption in society, such a disparity will forever scar this beautiful country.
Gender discrimination is a societal issue that contributes heavily to education equality. In the article “How Education Equality also helps Gender Inequality” by Petrina Darrah, she explains how deep-rooted sexism causes a lot of girls, especially in poorer villages, to miss many of the education opportunities boys have. A lack of resources allows poor families to only send one or two kids to school, so many parents educate their boys while leaving girls uneducated and training them in homemaking, creating an endless cycle of inopportunity and discrimination.
Interestingly, in recent times this system of discrimination has negatively affected many rural men. As Anu Upneja, Direction of Youth Activities at the charity Ekal Vidyalaya, states, “Recently, there has been a reversal in the roles of girls and boys. Boys have become more spoiled so they’re less focused and don’t make the most out of their education, while girls, previously having limited opportunity, are more focused and are more likely to fulfill their academic potential.” Most girls take better advantage of their more limited opportunities, and with the shift in India’s culture and a rise in women’s fights, women are doing better than ever before. However, a lot of societal structures still need to change to give women true equality, and everyone in India must do their part to stop casual sexism and unequal opportunity. A rise in progressive change positively affect gender and education equality.
The primary reason people jump to blaming the Indian government for education inequality is a problem that plagues every level of Indian society: corruption. In my interview with Anu Upneja, she described, “Corruption is widespread throughout India, and money is taken by politicians at every level.” When I asked her if money from American charities like Ekal can also be misplaced by corrupt officials, she claimed that while she feels certain that no tampering has ever taken place, she has “no idea” whether American charities are losing money due to corruption. If secure foreign organizations are at risk of losing money to corrupt officials, one can only imagine the severity of the situation in India.
Corruption also occurs in private entities, as farmers who take loans for their farms often get bombarded by hidden fees and high rates by greedy lenders. My cousin, Sachin Misra, works in Kolkata, a city with some of India’s largest slums. After many interactions with poor villagers, he shared an alarming discovery: “Every year, thousands of farmers commit suicide because of the social pressure of not being able to repay the loans they had taken for their crops, after a season or two of bad harvest.” Corruption remains prevalent throughout society and it is the job of the people to end their system of complacency and fight against it. With a decrease in corruption, agriculture could give poor villages higher economic value, leading in investments towards better education.
The final argument relates to the role of the Indian people in donating to and working with charities fighting education inequality. On one hand, an argument In the Stanford article “Giving Back to India” by Menezes, Patel, and Pike, states that Indian culture generally is not as philanthropic as others, leading to a lack of outside funding to tackle issues like education inequality. I will admit that the government is partly at fault in this situation, as fears of charities working with terrorists has caused the government to create restrictive laws preventing charities from fully operating, as detailed in the article “Indian Charities Battle for Survival After Government Crackdown” by Amy Kazmin. In addition, in the aforementioned Stanford article, Menezes, Patel, and Pike claim that Indian citizens are reluctant to donate because of the country’s widespread corruption, which I discussed previously. Addressing the corruption problem might bolster donations, but more action towards charity by the Indian people is essential to fight education inequality.
There are many scapegoats for the devastating and widespread issue of education inequality in India, and the government has become the greatest villain of them all. However, while the government can do things to improve, the biggest issue is India as a whole, societally and culturally. If every Indian American does their part to end abominable practices such as gender discrimination, industrial greed, and corruption, the blight of education inequality will decrease dramatically. Children in the slums, forgotten by society, will finally have an opportunity to shine, as they are the real wonders of modern India.