Nicolaus Copernicus. Heliocentric model of the universe. :). Chatrapathi Shivaji.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin says: the Yunus regime tried to overthrow the president till the very last. Yunus, the Chief Adviser, did not follow any provision of the Constitution. Yunus goes to Yunus Centre, after retiring as Chief Adviser, with the new Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman, BNP, taking charge.
We have now a new undergraduate programme at IIT Madras – BS in Management and Data Science. Open to anyone who has completed Class 12 (no age limit, no seat cap!). The programme follows a flexible hybrid format with recorded lectures, live sessions, and exams scheduled on Sundays — making it accessible alongside work or other studies. Full academic recognition. Can we pick this up and do it? Or something like this? Even in PG, PhD or Post-doc so that we remain current in our abilities, sharpened intelligence?
Social justice. In the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges. Without social mobility barriers; safety nets; pay as per the work. With freedom to life-living-livelihood, liberty of conscience, freedom of association, legal rights, liberties, and entitlements. Fairness, compassion, and dignity. Environmental ethics and climate justice. Just a world, where all members have basic human rights and equal access to the benefits.
Mother Language. Can we promote language diversity? Mother tongue-based education?
‘Merit’ as we practice today, is it the merit? Is it measuring our raw intelligence, or the function of our genes, our environment, our culture, our family, our siblings, our friends and so on? Are we measuring the merit that is required for the ‘purpose’, work, job, assignment? Is there anything called absolute merit? Are we what we are despite our suppressed curiosity, creativity and opportunities could not be used, or because of the avenues we received to blossom? Are we prevented to learn, practice, show et al, or are we encouraged to persist despite not doing well? Could we learn in our mother tongue? Could we get a tuition, a tutor? Are we deprived? Are we going through enforced incompetence? Are we part of day-in and day-out struggles, violence, or are we part of literature, books, music, and so on? Is it one ‘accent’, language, or many languages that we are immersed in? Are we learning as we grow up as infants upwards, or do we have to unlearn a lot to begin the learning later? What is natural ability then?
Is it the merit that is taking us forward? Is it something else? Is it the merit that is occupying intellectual, power, ruling, elite, celebratory, positions? We may call it ‘merit’ but we know what it is. When someone says ‘on merit’, are they not filtering already through generations of unequal preparation, unequal schooling, unequal exposure to the cultural forms that get rewarded as merit? In Employment, in Academics. Even in prestigious institutes. Let us appreciate the merit of the burdened, double burdened, triple burdened, quadruple burdened. In their genes, in their cultures, in their families, in their upbringing, in their places of stay. In their locations, areas, regions. In this generation, over generation after generation. Let us reward that merit. At least in a small way, to begin with.
Can we take merit, real merit forward? Can we be kind to all of us forward? Can we be inclusive?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. Free life, living, livelihood. In N? sagunayoga for 7L.