Pariksha Pe Charcha: Pearls of wisdom from PM Modi

 Duina Barbaruah

(She can be contacted at dwinakashyap@gmail.com)

Pariksha Pe Charcha' (Discussion on Examinations), an annual event held every year since 2018, has turned out to be very popular among the students. Like Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' this programme is being looked forward to with bated breath by students, teachers and parents from across the country. The Prime Minister, in his own inimitable style, assumes the role of a mentor, guide and philosopher and shares valuable practical tips on how to take board and entrance exams in a relaxed and stress-free manner.

The first edition of 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' was held on February 16, 2018; the second edition on January 29, 2019; the third on January 20, 2020; the fourth on April 7, 2021; the fifth edition on April 1, 2022, and the latest edition on January 27 this year.

This annual event has gained popularity over the years in terms of its participation. With his baritone voice and brilliant oratorical skills, Prime Minister Modi casts a magical spell on the students as well as teachers and parents and makes the interactive programme a very lively and engaging one as they are often interspersed with humour and anecdotes. The students listen to Modi's words of wisdom and advice with rapt attention. The Prime Minister ensures that students get a chance to pose questions to him without inhibition and clears whatever doubts assail the young minds.

We have witnessed how peer pressure and other factors put tremendous pressure on their wards and make them nervous as well as befuddled when examination appears around the corner. Many a student succumbs to parental or peer pressure and fails to come out with flying colours despite having the potential to do so. They are unable to come out of the mindset that success or failure in exams does not determine everything. Out of sheer disillusionment and abject failure, some resort to extreme steps of snuffing out their lives.

Moreover, we have seen how the lack of proper counselling coupled with peer pressure that their wards must become doctors and engineers, IAS and IPS, forced scores of students to opt for a stream that they are not willing to pursue. The end result is there for all to see. These students end up nowhere! Their careers are doomed for no fault of theirs. Some later change the stream they wanted to take up but the results are not on the expected lines as much water has flowed since then.

Giving the students the right sense of direction and the opportunity to blossom and excel matching their inherent talents must be the driving force behind the Pariksha Pe Charcha programme. This programme is not about exams alone but about how to cope with problems in life.

I have been closely watching some earlier editions as well as the latest one and feel amazed as to how our young minds on whose shoulders the future of our country hinges come out with finesse in expressing their opinions on a wide gamut of issues confronting them. And how they feel contented with being appreciated and being answered. It makes me feel that Prime Minister Modi, the brain behind it all, has been able to connect directly with the students and make them a confident lot ready to take on the examinations without any fear or pressure and also the world by storm.

During the latest edition of 'Pariksha Pe Charcha', the Prime Minister, while speaking at length about how students could cope with exam-related stress, advised parents and teachers to pitch in their efforts to help reduce the pressure on the students. Modi encouraged students to go on 'digital fasting' once a week.

Terming digital slavery a "disease", Modi said that families were increasingly communicating with each other within the confines of the same house through WhatsApp and therefore children must look at demarcating an area within the household as a "no technology zone" so that they could enjoy life to the brim.

This piece of invaluable advice will go down well with both parents and their wards as 'digital fasting' will enable them to spend quality time and address key issues facing them. We have witnessed how in today's fast-paced world with mobile phones, TV and electronic gadgets taking centre stage in our lives, the breakdown of communication between parents and their wards has compounded matters and alienated them from one another.

There comes another good piece of advice from the Prime Minister to the students to make an attempt to learn languages other than their mother tongue. The Prime Minister added that these languages should be learnt without it being treated as a burden, and rightly so. Learning other languages will give the students an edge over others and the much-needed confidence, as they will be able to learn many things which will enable them to stand in good stead.

Replying to a question by a student on the issue of malpractice during exams, the Prime Minister urged the students to refrain from wasting time in finding ways and preparing cheating material and instead devote that time to learning. "In these changing times, when life around us is changing, you have to face exams on every step. If such students are guided to spend the same effort and time on studies, they would do well in their academics as well," he quipped.

Exhorting upon the students not to take to shortcuts as it will 'cut you short', Prime Minister Modi stressed hard work and perseverance for attaining success in exams and in life.

Asserting that exam results are not the end of life, "Exam toh aate jaate hain, humme zindagi jeeni hain, jeette jeette jinni hain (exams come and go, but we have to live our lives and win)." This piece of advice will certainly act as a stress buster for the students that exams are the be-all and end-all of everything. There is life beyond that...

As a nation, we have a formidable younger population on whose shoulders the future of our country depends. India's population is among the youngest in an ageing world. In 2022, the median age in India was 28 years; in comparison, it was 37 in China and the United States, 45 in western Europe, and 49 in Japan. India's working-age population has numerically outstripped its non-working-age population. Their unbounded energies need to be tapped to make our country vibrant and resilient, as our founding fathers dreamt of. Translating this dream into reality is only by way of giving our youth the right direction in life. And this is what Pariksha Pe Charcha is all about! Prime Minister Narendra Modi with many years of experience in the political realm and most importantly his humble background in which he has faced many struggles, knows well that if India has to shine in the global firmament, then its young people have to be moulded and shaped in a way that they all contribute their might towards nation building at a time when we have commenced our journey into Amrit Kaal vis-a-vis giving direction to the world.

Infusing the young minds with oodles of confidence and igniting their minds have been Prime Minister Modi's sole mantra. Not only in Pariksha Pe Charcha, but even in his popular Mann Ki Baat programme, the Prime Minister accords top priority to the youth. The incredible feats of our youth from nook and corner of the country are brought to the fore and being applauded by none other than our Prime Minister.

That is not all. 'Exam Warriors' authored by Prime Minister Modi in 2018 has been a great hit with students. Considering its phenomenal success the book is being published in 11 Indian languages i.e. Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Hindi and English revised editions have also been published. With a demographic dividend of a young population and a Prime Minister like Modi's stature at the helm of affairs, ever willing to guide them all along with his pearls of wisdom, India is again on the threshold of becoming a 'Vishwa Guru' - teacher to the entire world - be it social, economic, and spiritual.