World Interfaith Harmony Week: Keval of The Karuna Trust on education for the marginalised
World Interfaith Harmony Week takes place over the first week of February to provide a platform for interfaith groups and other groups of goodwill to show the world what a powerful movement they are. This week allows for these groups to become aware of each other and to strengthen the movement by building ties and avoiding duplicating each other国产视频檚 efforts. The initiative is based on the commandments Love of God and Love of the Neighbour and this has been extended to include 国产视频淟ove of the Good and Love of the Neighbour国产视频 to apply to anyone 国产视频 regardless of religion. To mark this occasion, the Global Faiths Coalition for Education, in collaboration with Beydaar Society and Echo Change, will publish a series called Young Perspectives: Articles on Faith & Global Education 国产视频 written by young advocates for education of different faiths.
The fifth article in this series is by聽Keval Shah, a 28-year-old聽Gujarati living in a Buddhist community in London.
I am a follower of the Buddha. I care about education.
The central teaching of the Buddhist tradition is that everything arises in dependence upon causes and conditions. There is no phenomenon for which this is not true. For the Buddha, most importantly, this fact is true of human suffering. In our time, I see this is true of the poverty and exploitation that exists in the world today.
The Buddha said to change something, you must look at the causes, not just the symptoms: 国产视频This being, that becomes;国产视频 On the arising of this, that arises.国产视频═his not being, that does not become;国产视频 On the cessation of this, that ceases.国产视频
That国产视频檚 why I work for The Karuna Trust. Inspired by Buddhist values, Karuna supports grassroots projects throughout India. These projects are run by local leaders who come from the same 国产视频渓ow-caste国产视频 and 国产视频渢ribal国产视频 communities that they are working with. Well over half of our projects are educational interventions with children from these backgrounds.
Pictures: Facebook/The Karuna Trust
When I lived in India, I remember seeing the massive disparity between the wealthy and the poor, between the exploiters and the exploited. I studied law because I wanted to affect the system positively, but afterwards I realised that legislation can only do so much. When people do not have access to decent education, they know neither their rights, nor their alternatives in life, if they even have any. They are easily taken advantage of, abused and quickly end up in the same cycles of suffering that have bound their families for generations.
In India, the poorest tend to come from the lowest castes (who call themselves 国产视频淒alits国产视频 in some parts of India), or 国产视频渢ribal国产视频 communities. For those at the bottom of the caste hierarchy, traditional South Asian society has systematically excluded them from participation in society on all but the most humiliating terms. They were always excluded from 国产视频渓earning国产视频 and 国产视频渃ulture国产视频 of the dominant castes, their very presence considered polluting. This discrimination and exclusion continues today.
India has excellent laws. Free and compulsory education is a fundamental right under the constitution, as underlined by the Right to Education Act 2010. However, there are other causes to consider why the most marginalised cannot access decent education. These include: poor quality schools; absent teachers; poverty in the home; the need to work; and, most importantly, attitudes throughout society (including in their families) that education is 国产视频渘ot for them国产视频. The situation is particularly dire for girls living in rural and urban poverty in India, who are often confined to their family homes only to later become domestic slaves in the families of their in-laws.
This is why working for education means working to change these deep-seated attitudes about who should be educated and who should not. The Buddha was a revolutionary in teaching that every human being can reach their highest potential 国产视频 not just those from particular castes and certainly not just men. To encourage education for all in this way requires holistic interventions that address every aspect of society 国产视频 the causes and conditions, as well as the children and the schools.
Dr Ambedkar, the first law minister of India and a Dalit, famously embraced Buddhism in 1956. He encouraged his followers to 国产视频淓ducate, Organise, Agitate国产视频. Education is the first step in changing this unequal society for the better 国产视频 a change that must focus on causes rather than symptoms and must involve a movement from the bottom up.
But the Buddhist view of education has another element. Karuna supports 20 hostels, which provide a nurturing environment for children from rural poverty so they can take advantage of decent quality education. Here children from different castes mix, study and play together. They learn that they have the same wishes for life. The same thing happens with the children from Muslim and Hindu manual scavenging communities we support in Madhya Pradesh.
That国产视频檚 why I国产视频檓 a Buddhist and why I work for Karuna. Because I believe, more than anything, we all need to be educated in our common humanity. As we do this, we can all help each other to make meaningful quality education for all a reality and not just a 国产视频渞ight国产视频.
Keval is a Gujarati living in a Buddhist community in London. He works at The Karuna Trust, a Buddhist-inspired charity which has been supporting grassroots projects in India for 30 years. Keval is also currently pursuing a Master国产视频檚 degree in South Asian Area Studies at SOAS University.
Read more blogs about World Interfaith Harmony Week on our Global Faiths Coalition for Education page.