A teacher must never take his anger, religious bigotry, caste, political views and pre-conceived notions into the classroom.
(Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s Speech on the occasion of Teachers’ Day at Chintan Bhavan on September 5, 2015)
Part II
We want to provide world class education to our Sikkimese students. The poor children must have free access to such education. The government provides needed opportunities but it is the teachers, parents and society that must do the hand-holding to make those opportunities benefit the target group – namely students. We are working towards opening our own State University. We want all our children to study the subjects of their choice. We will not let the dreams of our education – our aspirations, remain unfulfilled.
Nowadays, I have been visiting with students all over Sikkim. My main focus behind these tours has been to see the students and honour teachers. This is not election time and I am not in a campaigning mood. There is therefore no political agenda. Setting aside all other tasks, I am going around the state with the aim of contributing something to help our students.
Dear Teachers, please guide and counsel your students without any prejudice. Let us work together for the interests of our students and the state. We are working hard, hoping to secure the future of Sikkim and nurture knowledge in our society.
Each period is of 40-45 minutes. You could devote 5-10 minutes towards counselling them. You can update them on world affairs, comparative analysis of Sikkim and other places, the environment, employment, responsibilities, capabilities, the meaning of our life, communities, racial issues, religion, gender, education, politics, democracy, elections and so on. Lift students above racial hatred. Our problem is our lack of sense of being human. If we had that sense, the world would not have needed its armies and nuclear weapons. In the contemporary world, man is divided into caste, skin colour, class, religion, selfishness and politics. But what does a man really need? Air, water and food. Life cannot exist without them. Even animals and plants need them.
| Prosperity means making purposeful use of wealth in life. Prosperity is when we acquire things that give us real contentment, peace and happiness. |
With a view to providing all Sikkimese citizens with pure air, pure water and pure food we embarked on the organic farming mission. Everybody has a role to play in this ambitious project. When the state turns fully organic, the air, water and food will be purified. When we stop the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides the air and water will be automatically purified. Our agricultural produce will be pure and clean. But the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides adds toxins to the water and environment which will, in turn, also affect our bio-diversity. It snowballs into an ecological imbalance. The Basmati rice available in the market has arsenic poison in it. The River Ganga has arsenic poison in it. The crops cultivated on the land irrigated by such water are bound to have toxins in them. The food items that come from outside contain arsenic poison. We therefore want our home grown vegetables, fruits and food grains to be organic. This will go a long way towards securing good health for all.
Prosperity means making purposeful use of wealth in life. Prosperity is when we acquire things that give us real contentment, peace and happiness. Why are young people suffering from diseases in their kidneys, heart, etc.? Our food is full of chemicals and it is destroying us.
Our desire is that all men and women may enjoy their natural, political and birth rights.
Finally here are my suggestions for you:
Never indulge in negative thinking. Never indulge in backbiting. It is a sign of weakness. In the olden times, women who were made weak by their social structure were said to have resorted to backbiting. They were said to have talked against other people at the well and padhera.
Never harbour or nurse ill-feelings or hurtful matters. Share them openly.
In this present age, man’s greatness doesn’t lie in his caste but in his knowledge and skill.
Knowledge has no gender. Women, never lose heart. The suppressed womanhood which indwells you must be expressed openly and brought forth. Women can be wiser than men because I personally believe that women are blessed with a higher degree of forbearance, tolerance, commitment, love and adaptability. Women have bigger hearts than men. Great people have big hearts. This world is made by the world and it is they who gave us birth to bring us here. Women can therefore liberate Sikkim from communalism. Lady teachers, please continue to work hard with these objectives. I am going to be there for another three and half years as Chief Minister. You are welcome to put forward your suggestions to make women empowerment, educational upliftment and the upliftment of Sikkim more successful. I have been thinking all alone up until now. Teachers must join me in this process as academic leaders. Thank you. (Concluded)
“Each period is of 40-45 minutes. You could devote 5-10 minutes towards counselling them. You can update them on world affairs, comparative analysis of Sikkim and other places, the environment, employment, responsibilities, capabilities, the meaning of our life, communities, racial issues, religion, gender, education, politics, democracy, elections and so on. Lift students above racial hatred. Our problem is our lack of sense of being human. If we had that sense, the world would not have needed its armies and nuclear weapons. In the contemporary world, man is divided into caste, skin colour, class, religion, selfishness and politics.”