"In school during my lunch break I noticed that there were children who brought only "dhal-chawal" for lunch almost every day."
"At schools we celebrate several days, it would be great if all schools celebrated World Religion Day as well and took up religious understanding as an integral part of learning."
This incident got me thinking about what goes on in the minds of children and the bias that they carry. Very often while speaking to children they have told me that they had a very different image about a Muslim, not a very healthy one I must add. Suggestions from families, media and society have a big impact on the minds of children.
I grew up in a typical middle class Muslim family of Bangalore . Non vegetarian food was very much a part of our daily diet. As a kid I was told that there were some people who were very poor and they could not afford to eat meat, they had to survive only on "dhal-chawal". In school during my lunch break I noticed that there were children who brought only "dhal-chawal" for lunch almost every day. I used to feel bad for them and I remember telling my mother that a few of my friends are very poor. It was much later that I realized that my friends were vegetarians and that was their staple diet; it had nothing to do with their financial status. Innocent as it may seem, but that was a bias that existed in my mind and its genesis was very unintentional.
As teachers and educationists we carry our own biases. Often while dealing with children we tend to pass on our biases and prejudices to them unintentionally. Religious and regional divide is a real issue in our world. It also means that it is a real issue for our children and they are all encountering it at their own levels in their own worlds. Exposure to various media and family interaction prompts children to come up with very pertinent questions to get more clarity on these divides. Unfortunately what we see around us is that often questions either go unanswered or they get an answer that is filled with bias and prejudice.
The 3 rd Sunday of January is celebrated across the world as World Religion Day to foster the establishment of interfaith understanding and harmony by emphasizing the common denominators underlying all religions. The message of World Religion Day is that, mankind, which has stemmed from one origin, must now strive towards the reconciliation of that which has been split up. Visit www.worldreligionday.org to get information about various faiths and their common threads.
The world we live in is filled with negativity and prejudices, if there is one ray of hope it is 'our children'. It is very important that educationists and educational institutions step in. Let us do our bit to make this world a peaceful place, lets bring up children who are more sensible and understanding towards the diversity existing in our world. At schools we celebrate several days, it would be great if all schools celebrated World Religion Day as well and took up religious understanding as an integral part of learning.
sultan@activitiyindia.com |
