Food for thought: Real upliftment can come only from education rooted in real values
Frankness and rudeness; courage and rebelliousness; force of strength and force that is violent – each of these pairs of qualities have their origin in similar tendencies. One can be mistaken for another. It requires wisdom to distinguish between them. This is approximately what Confucius is believed to have said, in answer to the question: “Why should we get an education?”
I would like to ask: Where would one place the proponents of the ‘beef party’ that was recently arranged in Hyderabad, India? Was it a show of courage? Or was it a need to rebel? Does it have its origin in a strong conviction or in a desire to engineer a provocation?
*Beef is considered taboo by followers of the Hindu religion, as pork is considered taboo by followers of Islam. That fat from cattle and pig was used to grease the cartridges for the rifles of the British Indian army was a major provocation for the rebellion of 1857, when the Indian soldiers mutinied, and presented a major threat to the East India Company’s hold over India. The ‘beef fest’ was held in Osmania University, Hyderabad, on April 14, 2012 to question the Hindu origins of the belief that beef is forbidden by the religion.
