Acharya Tulsi
Every year new and new years are observed in international horizon. One year ends, new calendar is printed. Old calendar is brought down. It is then of no use. Simply it is used as waste-paper. Whether is it not the fate of international years? Once it is youth-year or women-year or year of peace or year of inl1abitation—something and something. When these years end, what do they leave behind? Sometimes it so happens that several people of many countries are not aware of the year so levelled as international and the type of year so being celebrated now.
Questions which arise regarding the implementation of prescribed programmes during international year always remain unanswered. Whether anything is done or not, it certainly happens that whenever any year is celebrated, an atmosphere covers the entire world. The foremost formula for the success of organizing any movement is to create a conducive atmosphere. The year 1990 is being celebrated as the year of literacy around the world.
At present the population of the world is something more than five hundred millions. As per a survey, ninety cores people in the world are illiterate. Out of these ninety cores eleven cores of people are illiterate in India. In comparison to the proportion of illiteracy in other countries of the world, this number is the highest. On one hand new schemes are being formulated for the development of Science and Technology and on the other cores of people are suffering from the curse of illiteracy. Unless the campaign for literacy is not carried out properly, the concept of higher education merely remains as a dream.
In order to abolish the curse of illiteracy in the country, primary efforts are being made by the Government. But the mess as observed in this exercise, pains me. Fund sanctioned by the Government lapses, but no work is initiated. In this context once Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had said, “The Government invests money on public-welfare schemes, but it is doubtful whether even thirteen percent of the same is made available to the people.” By this statement it may be concluded that such work cannot be done only by means of money.
So far as the question of literacy is concerned, -neither it is possible that each person of the country becomes literate and nor this work is so important. One poet has written –
साक्षर विपरीतत्वे राक्षसत्वं प्रपद्दयते ।
सरस: विपरीतत्वे सरसत्वं न मुच्यते ॥
(There are three letters in the word — साक्षर. If it is reversed, it becomes राक्षस. Another word is-सरस. Even if it is written reversely, it will remain सरस.)
I am of the opinion that person should be textured mellifluous as well as he should be literate. Three factors are essential for mellifluence—to get rid of evil habits, building-up healthy and good habits and concentration. Jain Viswa Bharti has launched the literacy campaign from 28th March, 1990. I trust that the trained functionaries of Viswa Bharti will make their campaign more meaningful by linking the above three factors with public life.
