Stop using the school going kids as political tools

EKLO BRIHASPATI JHUTHO is a popular Nepali saying whose literal meaning is that even if an individual speaks the truth, the society doesn’s believe. It’s corollary would be that if the same truth is being spelt out by many a members of the society, the others, in our case the society itself, accept it as a truth and hence becomes binding on all.

To come to the point, we had been pointing out time and again that the school-going children and the grown up students in the higher or plus two levels must not be made a political tool by the political parties has, fortunately, been accepted by our professional colleagues in the recent days.

The fact is that our media colleagues were apparently taken aback when they saw a few days back the small kids in their uniforms were being portrayed as a part of the political demonstrations under the aegis of some known political organizations of the country. The fact is that the kids in their uniforms have not even come of their age to understand as to what could be the meaning behind theirs being dragged into a procession? I doubt, the kids or the students of the plus two level have yet matured the nitty-gritty’s of Nepal’s absolutely dirty politics which inevitably has revolved around either elevating oneself to power or bringing down the other from power. This is all about of the Nepali politics.

The students in Mangalsen, Achham district—a district devastated completely by the Maoist attack last year, reportedly engage themselves the whole morning in catching fishes and selling in the local market so that they could continue their studies.

Last week when I was on my way to Hetaunda-Biratnagar via the most infamous road called "By-Road"( TRIBHUWAN RAJPATH built by the Indians in the 50s) , I could see one boy not even in his teens becoming a matter of laughter among his compatriots of the same age for his not attending to the school. When I asked as to why he preferred not to go to the school, he then had his ready made answer with him which is what we have been listening every now and then. " My parents can’t afford the school fees"!

Just imagine the mental psychology of the boy who was being ridiculed by his own play-mates? Just imagine the poverty factor that blocked the future of that particular boy. If this is the case with that particular illiterate boy in the near by village, then right here in Kathmandu, the parents of the school-going kids do not get offended when their own siblings are forced to become a part of some political demonstrations. This is really a paradox.

In effect, the parents or for that matter the school administration should have objected to this trend currently being initiated by some political stalwarts.

Not very surprisingly then, the Kathmandu Post, Monday printed a cartoon which invites all the students who appeared in this year’s School Leaving Certificate examinations to pleasingly accept the party membership.

The cartoon though is small in its size, but the message contained therein is as big as the size of the Himalayas. While I must congratulate the cartoonist, Mr. Rajesh K.C, I also consider it a bounden duty to suggest the political creatures not to spoil the future career of the tender and delicate kids whom they have been using as their political tools, which they were not and should be not. That’s all.

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