O P I N I O N S

Fifty Fifty
In UK, Asian education is the beacon
Kishwar Desai
In the UK, one of the biggest problems has been the steady decline in good grades in school. On the other hand, the British media often carries reports about how Asian children tend to do better than their white counterparts. Now, British parents are being advised to follow the tough attitude of Asian parents. The hope is that it might make British kids and education systems perform better. This suggestion was given by Sir Michael Barber, an education expert at Pearson, based on his understanding of global data which now ranks the education systems of South Korea, followed by Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong right on top.

on record
‘Rise of Hindu fundamentalism worrisome’
Nonika Singh talks to 
Anand Patwardhan, celebrated documentary filmmaker
Nation’s conscience-keeper, messenger of bad news, Michael Moore of India... choose your own epithet to describe India’s most celebrated documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. His foray into filmmaking began as a means of social and political intervention. While his films such as “Ram Ke Naam” have tackled hydra-headed issues like communalism, he has often locked horns with the government, challenged Doordarshan and stood his ground when film cuts were demanded. In a career spanning four decades, his films like “War and Peace” have won many an honour like Grand Prize, International Critics Award, Sydney Film Festival, International Jury Prize and Mumbai International Film Festival, 2002.

Fifty Fifty
In UK, Asian education is the beacon
Kishwar Desai

In the UK, one of the biggest problems has been the steady decline in good grades in school. On the other hand, the British media often carries reports about how Asian children tend to do better than their white counterparts. Now, British parents are being advised to follow the tough attitude of Asian parents. The hope is that it might make British kids and education systems perform better. This suggestion was given by Sir Michael Barber, an education expert at Pearson, based on his understanding of global data which now ranks the education systems of South Korea, followed by Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong right on top.

Indian education has its merits.

Even though India does not feature in this top ranking, we know that all Asian parents share the same attitude towards their children’s education. But those of us who have been through the Indian ‘system’ know that it’s not that simple and just by becoming tiger moms and dads one cannot turn underachievers into geniuses. Sir Michael, on the other hand, says if you even withhold the compliments (especially not telling children how clever they are!), their performances might improve.

But does all the credit belong to Asian parents alone? In India, any success in education also belongs to our terrible habit of learning by rote, and the manner in which teachers tend to repeat lessons year upon year without fail. At least when I grew up, many schools were production houses geared to churn out children who could all score high percentiles.

Thinking back, I wonder if this was any good for the creative imagination, even though we did survive it? Wouldn’t this kind of teaching and learning be terribly dull, both for the teacher and her students? Or in fact, did the tough environment actually encourage us to try harder to achieve the marks, and also somehow find our own creative niche as well? Did the ‘ragdo-ing’ (there is no other word to describe it and I don’t quite know the equivalent word in English to tell harried British parents) actually make us all into high achievers, despite all the drawbacks?

And often this did not stop in school alone. The same system existed in my own college where one of the teachers conducted lectures which were monotonous beyond belief. In fact, there was no need to attend her class; we could just ‘mug’ the notes. Yes, for us ‘mugging’ had a completely differently meaning than being robbed of your belongings on a shady street by some goons. And so we ‘mugged’ and ‘rattakaro-ed’ as it was called often without understanding. But it built up memory and learning skills, all of which were important to us because we knew that without the required marks we would not get admission to the college of our choice, or get a job we liked. In a competitive environment, our education was often all we had. It taught us to work extremely hard right from nursery.

This is the system, or rather the kind of ‘learning’ that the British are keen to emulate. Because, essentially Asian parents carry the same practices with them. And it serves them in good stead.

I still remember that when my own children were young — and I had a choice of their studying (at the school level) abroad or studying in India — I actually chose to keep them in India only because I knew that the standards we have in our schools, and the tough environment cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world. A middle-class school in India gives you the best coping skills you will ever have. How can British parents or schools ever replicate that environment? Is there any point telling parents to take more interest in their studies (as Asian parents do) and constantly check their homework and so on? I want to tell well-meaning educationists like Sir Michael that these are all myths. The real reason Asian children do well is not because our parents over invest in us, but because it is ingrained in us early that life is a long struggle, and we are aware of inequalities. After all, if even nursery admission is a nightmare, children understand early that there are as many roadblocks as there are dreams. This nurtures humility and oddly enough, ambition.

Perhaps it is the nurturing of this last quality which makes me almost agree with Sir Michael. Parents who manage to evoke in their children an appreciation that education is only a bridge to a better future and show them the possibilities which lie ahead are the kind of Asian parents that British parents can aspire to be. Just teach them the value of education (tough in a society where all children can go to reasonably good schools automatically) and perhaps the rest will follow?

on record
‘Rise of Hindu fundamentalism worrisome’
Nonika Singh talks to 
Anand Patwardhan, celebrated documentary filmmaker

Anand Patwardhan

Nation’s conscience-keeper, messenger of bad news, Michael Moore of India... choose your own epithet to describe India’s most celebrated documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. His foray into filmmaking began as a means of social and political intervention. While his films such as “Ram Ke Naam” have tackled hydra-headed issues like communalism, he has often locked horns with the government, challenged Doordarshan and stood his ground when film cuts were demanded. In a career spanning four decades, his films like “War and Peace” have won many an honour like Grand Prize, International Critics Award, Sydney Film Festival, International Jury Prize and Mumbai International Film Festival, 2002. Yet when he makes films, he neither seeks favour nor funding. He is a man for whom the line between activism and documentary filmmaking is not merely thin, but almost non-existent. Excerpts

How do you find the gumption to take on the powers that be?

It’s not a question of guts. It’s part of the same process that drives me to make films. I want my voice and those who speak out in my films to be heard widely and so have often taken Doordarshan to court when it refused to show my films despite their winning national awards.

You are called the messenger of bad news. India tends to shoot messengers. How often have you been shot at?

Figuratively many times. It is easier to repress the voice of already repressed classes, people like the subaltern cultural activists of Kabir Kala Manch whose journey I filmed in “Jai Bhim Comrade”, a film on Dalit protests made over a period of 14 years. Right now they are behind bars while the film won a national award! That is the irony of our class and caste divided system.

Once you said a filmmaker has to be a lawyer too.

I have to be well-versed with legalities as more often than not, whether for the right to screen my films or to protect the rights of those on the margins, we end up in court.

Is communalism your biggest worry?

Yes, right now it is. Ideally I should be out with my camera filming. But with the prospect of Modi coming to power, I decided to eschew filmmaking for direct campaigning in favour of secular parties who can defeat the BJP.

Why do Hindu fundamentalists bother you more?

If I was a Pakistani or Bangladeshi Muslim, I would have concentrated on fighting Islamic jihadis. As a Hindu living in a Hindu-dominated India, it is my duty to protect minorities, be they Muslim, Christian, Dalit or ‘adivasi’. I must criticise my own before I earn the right to criticise others.

In your films one often finds voices of sanity. Are there very many of them?

Yes, even in abject conditions, they speak out with no holds barred. The economically deprived might not be armed with education but are no less intelligent and in comparison with the elite classes, they are often much less cynical or obsessed with their own well-being.

What was the catalyst for your film “In Memory of Friends” on communal harmony in Punjab?

The same as for my other films — the rise of communalism. In the Punjab of the 1980s, I saw Bhagat Singh was being held as a hero both by Sikh separatists and by the government. No one remembered his actual writings which clearly spoke of class solidarity across religious lines. It was this appropriation of the symbol of the great martyr without understanding his ideology that perturbed me. Today the same is happening to Vallabhbhai Patel. The man who banned the RSS is being owned by the same group. We forget history and then rewrite it. That is why documenting it becomes important, for then it is on record and you can’t look away.

Can documentary films change mindsets?

They can play a vital role, provided they are seen widely enough. But even today, the distribution of these films remains the biggest hurdle for filmmakers.

Have social networking sites helped the cause of documentary filmmakers?

These cater to a small elite. I would rather my films are telecast on Doordarshan that reaches millions. The masses that watch this channel are the ones I want to address. That is why I force the government to show my films on DD. I find government-run channels and festivals like Mumbai International Film Festival far more palatable than private festivals or distribution companies who are driven by profit.

Your film “War and Peace” was released theatrically. Do you see this as a viable option?

“War and Peace” was not released by any company. We hired two multiplexes for a week and drew house-full shows. But we had to hire the video projectors and do our own publicity, so we just about broke even. Still the potential exists.

You have won many honours. Do awards help?

Only in the sense that they create a buzz. Awarded films attract audiences but if the film has no real merit, or is made in too abstract a manner, the audience may walk out and the buzz can die.

Songs are an integral part of your films.

I almost never get songs written for my films. What I use are existing songs, people’s expressions like those of Kabir Kala Manch, and hence these are as necessary to document and put on record as interviews.

Are you religious?

Most likely man created God and not the other way around. But I have an open mind about this which makes me an agnostic. Whether God exists or not I will only find out after my death. I am not saying that religious and cultural backgrounds should not be valued and do not shape our identity, but the ultimate identity has to be of being a good human.