Fiction & Nonfiction

Anu's Struggle

Case-Study
Area of Expertise: Life Style

Literacy, the key to the upliftment of rural India.

Life style in sociology refers to typical individual attitudes, values and world-view. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. A rural environment has different life style compared to that of an urban metropolis. Socio-economic structures, resources and opportunities, and many more aspects life play a role in shaping someone's lifestyle.

This case study is based on Anuradha Rathore, a twenty-year-old medic, who fought against odds to realize her dream and establish her individual identity, despite a physical disability and financial obstacles. It is a strong proof of the fact that there is nothing we cannot achieve if we make a continuous and concentrated effort. Anuradha was born and brought up in Kansera, a remote village in Rajasthan, the largest state in India. Twenty years ago, girls were not allowed to go beyond the elementary school in her village. Hers was a large family. Her father was a tea maker in a canteen and could hardly afford to educate all his three daughters. When Anu was two years old, she was affected by polio, due to lack of proper medical care. Luckily, her father having realized her need to be in a place that offered her a chance for higher education moved the family to Jodhpur. New horizons had opened for Anu since then, and she could find equal opportunities for girls and boys to study anything they want. She was happy because she knew that back in her village, girls would be married instead of studying in a college.

Rohit Agarwal in an essay on Girls Education in India, writes,
“Despite all tall claims by the government and nagging by voluntary organizations, a vast majority of the girls are yet illiterate in India.”
Millions of villagers in India are living examples of the above observation.

In addition to general lack of literacy, a study on literacy in India further informs,
“There is a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate in India: effective literacy rates (age 7 and above) in 2011 were 82.14% for men and 65.46% for women. [8] The low female literacy rate has had a dramatically negative impact on family planning and population stabilization efforts in India.” 

It was during her sister’s illness that Anu decided to become a doctor. She worked to achieve her goal on a steady footing. One very striking feature of this girl is her confidence. She says,  “…just because there is a physical short coming, one should not underestimate her. We should take one step at a time, and one day we will leave others behind.”

An example of a physically handicapped doctor strengthened her decision to hang on to her dream of becoming a doctor, and to serve in a village. Family support and sympathy played an important role in paving way to Anuradha’s success. Her mom has always been a pillar of moral and physical strength for her. Her uncle who stood by her at every turn of life taught her to be independent. He taught her to drive a scooter so she could be mobile at anytime she wanted. She says,

“I worked very hard day and night and finally sat for medical entrance exam. When I failed the entrance test I was disappointed. I felt there was nothing to look forward to. I knew this was my last chance. My father has taken many loans for my education. I had to pass no matter what. When results came out, I was first among others. My formula was successful. I had admission to one of the best medical colleges of Jodhpur. To reach anywhere in life, you have to have the confidence to take the first step. If you believe in yourself, then every dream you have becomes easy to achieve.”

Her professors at the medical college applauded her efforts. They felt she worked very hard to achieve success, and that she will make a great doctor. Today, as a full-fledged doctor, Anuradha feels that education is very important. If we have education, she says, people forget about what we can’t do and remember only what we have achieved.

It is, however an ironical truth that while Indian economy booms, rural India is chained to illiteracy, superstition and ignorance and above all, poverty. The author of “Life in an Indian Village” says,
“The villagers are illiterate. Most of them do not know how to write their names. There are no suitable arrangements for their education. Their ignorance makes them superstitious and conservative. Majority of them is content with older methods of cultivation and they do not like scientific methods.”

Under the above kind of circumstances, it is necessary for more girls and boys to have better opportunities first, for elementary education and then for higher education. Emphasis should be on building more schools and hospitals in remote rural areas and have qualified staff to run them well.

Anuradha aspires to open a hospital in her village and name it after her grandfather. Very few medics opt to work in villages due to lack of amenities. Yet, eighty percent of India’s population lives in villages, and is in dire need of health care and sanitation. Unless more people like Anuradha decide on serving as doctors in rural areas, it would be a tough challenge for India to become a developed country.

Anuradha was able to achieve success through sheer will and planning and trying the next step with care and concentration. She didn’t have “talent” or “natural ability” but she had the will to avail the chances that life offered.
She says, in a YouTube video, 
“The world has opened its doors for me, and I am at a point where I know I can achieve anything I want to.”

We can understand through cases like those of Anuradha, why education is the most empowering aspect of anyone’s life, more so for people who live in villages and small towns.
The story of Anuradha Rathore, on the one hand, proves Coyle’s assumption of capturing failure and turning it into a skill. Like the deep practicing participants of Coyle’s “The Sweet Spot,” exhibiting a mixture of equal parts of “speed, power and grace” as against “slow, fitful struggle,” Anuradha too had started well with her efforts to pursue higher education. She encountered failure at the medical entrance exam, and her efforts to succeed have slowed down. She had to struggle to get back to the track leading to success. On the other hand, her story shows how acute is the need for education and equal opportunities for girls in rural India.

Education, in general improves the quality of life for rural citizens of India by empowering them to progress in problematic areas like implementing family planning, practicing modern methods of agriculture, and getting medical facilities and educational institutions, getting rid of age-old and unhealthy social practices like childhood marriages, and caste system. Above all, it inspires and supports them to eradicate poverty and thus contributes to achieve an improved life style for all.

References:
Coyle Daniel. The Talent Code. New York: Bantam Dell. May 2009.
http://www.preservearticles.com/201104145390/girls-education-essay.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/15/girl.education/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9HTXyVbcOk
http://aman.hubpages.com/hub/Life-in-an-Indian-Village”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_India