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How do you define literacy?
Is it the ability to sign your name on deeds? Is this rendition of the term of any significance other than being superficial? To just be able to sign it instead of putting a thumb imprint , could that actually make them aware of the subtle clauses in the deed/document and put an end to cons?
Well the answer was positive according to ministers in 90’s. Saksharta or literacy was synonymous with that in that era.
The more appropriate question would be : How aware the top brass wanted the masses to be?
That was the period when BJP was at its prime. The qualification of a leader was not a M.A. in Political Science/Public Administration or even Metric certificate. Vote banks were swayed by the part of nameplate which spelt Yadav , Sharma ,Choudhary et.al.
For that to work out the above definition of Literacy fit the bill.
Times changed, the hourglass had to be upturned many times. The sand became denser and denser till it became impossible for it to pass through the small aperture between the 2 containers. It was then , staring at the proceedings that a wise one somewhere decided to dump the relic for a 24.00 LED clock that illuminated the vicinity apart from just showing the time ; the tides swept ashore a revolution.
When intellectual leaders began to show up in the legislature they needed a corresponding demographic of people that could actually understand their ramblings , analyze it , run articles about it, publicize it and maybe support it.
Now the old Literacy definition had to give way for a new one . One where people were selectively aware . They needed to see the tip of the iceberg projected by them and yet ignore the morbid chunk beneath , sneaking up on them.
It worked for a while. Till the debris cleaned away and people saw the impending peril at hand. Now the definition is evolving once again to incorporate the mindset of people. The dynamics of this never fails to amaze me.