CAN WE FLY LITERACY FLAG ON INDEPENDENCE DAY?

CAN WE FLY LITERACY FLAG ON INDEPENDENCE DAY?

On August 15, we all shall fly our Tricolour and celebrate once again that our country is a Sovereign, Secular Democratic Republic as envisaged by our Freedom Fighters and makers of India. But somewhere, there is a bit of ugly feeling that many of our fellow citizens are not having the basic Roti, Kapada , Makan and, above all, ajeevika. We also have many people still illiterate especially our women as today; the female literacy levels according to the Literacy Rate 2011 census are 65.46% where the male literacy rate is over 80%.  The female literacy among the Scheduled tribes in Odisha is 42.5%- much below the national average. . Despite having Total Literacy Campaigns and many other kinds of efforts, the percentage of female literacy has not significantly improved. In the entire country, the female literacy has needed special attention and hence Saakshar Bharat Programme has been launched with a lot of hope and positive visualisation. The Government and Civil Society Organisations have been seriously engaged but can we set another example in the Country and din the World that our female literacy rate is comparable to the developed countries!

The National Literacy Mission has designed a Literacy Flag and has formulate a pledge so that after hoisting the National Flag, the Literacy Flag is hoisted in every Gram Panchayat and men and women take the pledge. We all who are concerned with the issues of low female literacy must hoist the Literacy Flag and take ledge to make all women literate and send all the girls to school.

The Adult Literacy for  the poor and the toiling mass have been visualised  by leading thinkers and practitioners like great  Mahatma Gandhi, Antonio  Gramsci, Paulo Freire.  They have demonstrated that the Empowerment and Literacy go hand in hand resulting in the breaking the shackles of poverty and marginalisation.  On Independence Day, we have to revisit the Pedagogy of the Oppressed and evolve suitable strategies to combat illiteracy in the changing contexts of our society.

I am attaching the Literacy Flag and the Text of the Pledge. Our friends will hopefully respond to my request of hoisting the Flag and take the Pledge.