Teachers' Day, Good Governance Day, now Ryan International: Following the same Modi syllabus

There’s no evidence - despite Congress leader Manish Tewari sounding the alarm bells- of Ryan International being part of a grand conspiracy aimed at the “saffronization” of education. There’s no evidence either that Grace Pinto, the chairperson of Ryan International is any kind of saffron warrior. In fact, a report in Tehelka paints her as an equal opportunity schmoozer. It alleges that when the UPA was in power Pinto was trying to get into Sonia Gandhi’s charmed circle, vying for a Padmashree award for herself and a minority commission post for her husband. [caption id=“attachment_2162895” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ryan international school[/caption] Now the winds have shifted, and Pinto like many others may have shifted with them. She is currently General Secretary of the Mahila Morcha and according to Tehelka eyeing a Rajya Sabha seat as a Christian minority member. There’s nothing to indicate she was following the bidding of the PMO or BJP central headquarters or they were even aware of her little membership drive. This might all be the unbridled enthusiasm of the newly converted to prove her loyalty and usefulness to the party in power. What Pinto and Ryan International is accused of doing is exhorting students and teachers at the school to become members of the BJP. There are other reports and allegations of salaries being held back. There are conflicting reports about whether the students and staff were encouraged or requested or required to join the BJP. Was it mandatory or voluntary? It does not matter because fundamentally a school has no business even suggesting, let alone demanding, its students or teachers join any political party of any hue. Does that mean schools do not play ball with the party in power? Of course not. They need to be on the good side of the powers-that-be. That does not mean they get to use the school as a recruiting ground for a political party. Ryan International understands that now. After initial reports trying to hair-split between “voluntary” and “mandatory”, Niti Srinivasan, a senior executive with Ryan International in Mumbai has issued a categorical denial . “No drive asking students and teachers to join BJP was initiated in any of the group’s schools.” Whether that’s true or not, probes will tell. And if indeed anything is found amiss or contrary to that assertion hopefully Niti Srinivasan will take appropriate action. All Ryan International is willing to concede right now, is that the school had only supported the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. But the way this entire episode has unfolded oddly resembles another moment when the government blundered into the classroom. The whole Teachers’ Day pep talk by Narendra Modi quickly got stuck in a similar controversy of voluntary vs mandatory. There too it first sounded as if schools were being required to make arrangements to ensure that students were assembled to witness the live telecast of the PM’s address. Then the government denied it was mandatory. The nationally telecast event was a PR triumph for Modi who took something as dusty and well-worn as Teachers’ Day and turned into the day’s top news story centred around himself. As the Prime Minister he had every right to address the nation’s future citizens just as Chacha Nehru once did and Modi presented himself as the Prime Minister of India rather than the leader of the BJP when he interacted with those students. But it was the appearance of co-opting Teacher’s Day that belonged to teachers to project his own image that rankled. Modi’s national Teacher’s Day telecast was also quite simply an exercise in power. He was not just the kindly PM stopping by for a meet-and-greet with students at a particular school. When the PM gives Teacher’s Day a makeover in his own image it sends a signal. And if Ms Pinto did try to use her clout at school to buttress the BJP’s ranks, she was no doubt hoping that would win her good favour with the PMO. While Modi might carefully try to separate the powers of party and state, PM versus BJP leader, those around him clearly see that as a distinction without a difference. That’s why the Good Governance Day vs Christmas affair unfolded in exactly the same way. Again there was a report that the Christmas holiday had been replaced by Good Governance Day. There was an outcry followed by the same denial about an essay competition about good governance being online and voluntary not mandatory. Smriti Irani complained about “mischief” makers trying to stir up trouble even though it sounded more like the clumsy efforts of someone tripping while trying to curry favour. All of this might be the teething pains of a Delhi that is still trying to grapple with the new sheriff in town and falling over itself as it tries to get in his good books. But it is not unrelated to the Prime Minister’s larger than life image and his enthusiasm to leave his stamp on everything. Whether it’s Swachh Bharat or Teachers’ Day every project is so tied up with the persona of Narendra Modi, everything he touches becomes political. And the enthusiasm of those around him trying to sidle up to the new powers makes it clear they see little distinction between Modi the BJP leader and Modi the PM. Now with the AAP-led Delhi government initiating a probe it all becomes even more of a political fireball which is everything a school should not be. Grace Pinto hopefully has a good and credible explanation about what happened or did not happen at her school, otherwise she’ll have a tough time saving private (school) Ryan.