Human life must be cherished and valued for its very nature and not be weighed against numbers
Our age epitomizes the sharp divisions among people. The stark binaries colligate with diverse aspects of human life ranging from economic to social and from political to religious ones. One such aspect where humans are identified with distinct watertight compartments is the result of the annual examinations, especially of 10th and 12th standards. The results when announced are made to serve as foundations for constructing the categories of ‘successful’ and ‘failed’ students. A war-like atmosphere is created where there are victorious and where there are defeated. This phenomenon has particularly materialised and intensified through social media platforms. The hue and cry about somebody getting so many marks necessarily creates unbearable and haunting silence and scenes at the other end. I through this write up would attempt to elaborate on certain things which are often overlooked and therefore distort reality. This assumes significance in the present context when 12th class results have been announced and those of the 10th are coming up.
Firstly, our society considers ‘success’ and “failure’ as essentially belonging to an individual devoid of any socio-economic linkages. The circumstances which condition everybody’s choices and prospects are missed in calculations. An achievement or otherwise is strictly attached to an individual without giving due regard to the contingencies and conditions of human life. This is highly problematic reasoning. We as humans are ‘situated’ somewhere and our peculiar circumstances condition and determine our choices and prospects. Because the conditions of life vary from individual to individual and because we are situated in distinctive circumstances, our choices, our opportunities, and our prospects are entirely different from each other. Who has what and who achieves what is reflective of where one is placed. Applying the same standards to different entities is both unjust and unfounded. I do not entirely negate the importance of ‘agency’ in an individual, I also do not nullify the importance of effort, these are important considerations but negating the social, economic, political, and familial aspects of an individual is equally misleading and deceptive.
Secondly, there is every reason that students must be encouraged for higher grades but at the same time, we must not forget that life prospects and grades in examinations are not necessarily related. There are instances where a person was not good at fetching marks but has been phenomenal in their achievements. What one does in one’s life is a qualitative and subjective aspect and must be appreciated in qualitative and numbers do not have a direct bearing on it. The 10th and 12th standards marks can’t provide us with an objective and holistic picture of an individual’s capabilities. Therefore, it is pertinent to embrace and encourage the students who for some reason could not score much. Alienating them will run the danger of ruining and wrecking their potential.
Apart from this, there is another and more important reason for accepting and embracing students who could not perform well, this has to do with the essential beauty and value of human life. Human life has an intrinsic value that must not be violated and transgressed. The alienation of underperformers essentially jeopardizes the dignity and beauty of human life. Respect and dignity for human life do not come from its utility but from its intrinsic nature. To quote Laura Hillenbrand, “Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food and oxygen”. Family in particular and society in general must ensure that no student experiences helplessness, dissatisfaction with life and denial of dignity to the extent that he/she prefers death over life. A person can balance himself if he stumbles but a life cannot be brought back once lost.
How often do we hear about young students committing/attempting suicide in our valley? It is embarrassing and shameful for a society where people embrace death for whatever reason. The dissatisfaction with life to a great extent is a social phenomenon more than an individual one. An individual, particularly the young ones, if denied the dignity naturally feel exhausted and tired and some conceive of extreme solutions as a way of escaping the ‘unworthy’ lives.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize the importance of recognising the differences in the life conditions of different individuals. We must not overstate and exaggerate the individualistic nature of achievements and otherwise but give due regard to socio-economic conditions and other factors that act as limiting factors in an individual’s choices. We are not placed in the condition of equal and fair opportunities. Society and families must become more accommodative and not become the reason that anybody feels alienated. Students must be encouraged and appreciated for doing good but we must also give chances and opportunities to those who could not perform well for the time being. Human life must be cherished and valued for its very nature and must not be weighed against numbers. Such conditions must be created so that a person after stumbling finds an environment where he develops a passion to balance himself and progress and not a haunting atmosphere where he chooses to quit.
The author is pursuing MA in Political Science from the University of Kashmir and can be reached at im*************@***il.com