“If Sonam Wangchuk’s fast results only in a ministerial reshuffle, India will have reduced an extraordinary act of conviction to an ordinary political outcome. More important than replacing a Minister is building an education system worthy of our children. India has expanded access to education but missed out on excellence. As long as examinations reward memory, schools will teach memory; if they reward thinking, schools will cultivate thinkers. We need to dismantle the coaching culture, build the world’s best teachers, restore trust in government schools, and ensure educational reform outlives electoral cycles. Education must become India’s first genuinely bipartisan national mission. If this sacrifice awakens the nation to that purpose, history will remember it as the beginning of an education renaissance.”
- Gitanjali J. Angmo, The Hindu, (17/7)
"Population fears often generate more heat than light, fuelling harmful rhetoric instead of practical solutions. The real challenge is not population growth or decline itself, but how societies adapt to demographic change through balanced, evidence-based policies. India can manage ageing and future workforce pressures through technological advances, greater female workforce participation, and smarter public policy rather than alarmist calls for higher fertility. Balancing economic and demographic power will be essential, while reducing educational costs and easing the burden on families may ultimately do more to influence fertility choices than appeals for larger families."
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