By Joseph Teron, SDB
The second world war came as no respite to these escalating challenges. Today, faced with covid-19 pandemic, we know how much the economy and education have taken a beating in the last two or three years. Imagine the consequences of a world war, where some were compelled to join the war and others sent to detention camps if they belonged to enemy camp.
“Twin celebrations –a Half and a Century,” published in The Shillong Times (February 2, 2022) by Albert Thyrniang was quite an interesting reading, given the fact that the critic also belongs to the group that he holds out on a platter to decapitate. The article begins with an introductory government-bashing which, of course, is harmless and provides some traction for the key subject that follows, which is a critique of the activities of the Salesians of Don Bosco in the past 100 years as they mark the centenary of their selfless service to the people of Northeast India.
There are always two sides to a coin and the binary adds meaning and significance to its opposite; one can therefore safely say that light has no significance and meaning if there was no darkness, its binary opposite. It is therefore appreciable that the author has taken time and pains to research into the activities of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The author, however trains his critical telescope upon the works left undone rather than look at the works which have been done, thereby being prejudiced, partial and partisan in the approach itself. If the Salesians have opened a hundred schools in northeast, you can always ask why did you not open a hundred and one? Did you not have the money or did you not have the men? He seems to imply that the Salesians were incompetent or complacent or outright lazy. Let us look at some of their achievements.
There are three provinces for the Salesians of Don Bosco in Northeast India today. Together, they run 95 schools, 10 colleges and one university with Grade A accreditation by NAAC and a museum. In 100 years, one school every year, almost. Besides these, there are numerous professional colleges (Engineering, MSW, B.Ed.), Technical schools, Junior colleges, social service centres, youth animation and skills training centres, health centres etc. It must be borne in mind that the Salesians did not come to do the work of education, they came as missionaries to do the work of evangelization, their aptitude and orientation was all geared towards that one goal. Educational services were only ancillary and not primary. In the course of 100 years, there are 15 Catholic dioceses where there was none when they came and the light of Christian faith has been proclaimed to every nook and corner of this marvelous land notwithstanding the hazardous terrain and the grueling clime.
The second world war came as no respite to these escalating challenges. Today, faced with covid-19 pandemic, we know how much the economy and education have taken a beating in the last two or three years. Imagine the consequences of a world war, where some were compelled to join the war and others sent to detention camps if they belonged to enemy camp. I’m not offering excuses for complacency or mediocrity, if there was any, but presenting a precarious situation for our understanding and argue that the men on the ground braved all these punishing situations and did a marvelous job nonetheless. The language was not known to them, the climate, as mentioned earlier, was unmerciful, the food, like the language was unfamiliar, any infrastructure was non-existent and men and means were scarce. Malaria and other illnesses followed them like a shadow. To top it all, there was hostility from the government and vested interests. I wonder what marvelous things would have been achieved by the author in these circumstances if he was at the helm of affairs then!
St. Anthony’s college was opened in 1934 and it continues its marvelous work to this day. The need of the time obviously was not for colleges and universities and institutions of higher education, but for basic and elementary education. Does the author know what the literacy rate in Assam was in 1922? It was 12% in India at the time of independence in 1947. It was, of course, far less than that in Assam in 1922 and any educated fraction of population was confined to the city of Shillong where a few were educated by the British to do their sundry works.
Today, in India, education is a right. The Union Government passed the Right To Education (RTE) Act in 2009. This implies that it is incumbent upon the government to provide education to all. The author has been accelerating his criticism to the last couple of decades of the Salesian work. It is here that he may be reminded that the missionaries have educated those now in the government. It is the duty of the central and state governments in Meghalaya as elsewhere to continue to provide quality education as well as other basic amenities of life. Even as the Salesians have happily handed over many parishes and seminaries in Khasi Hills to the diocesan clergy who have nurtured and empowered them, it is time to hand over the reins of education to the government; but continue to participate in the process of education culture and community building and work alongside with the government and like-minded NGOs and others for a better future for all.
The centenary of the arrival of the Salesians to Northeast India is of course a moment of introspection and retrospection for the Salesians and the beneficiaries of their services. So critical appreciation is always welcome. The author is invited to share his vision with responsible members of his congregation and begin to appreciate the faith he received and the language he speaks as a gift of the Salesians themselves. The three provinces of the northeast, involving the entire Salesian family including the past pupils introspected in the last three years how to best celebrate the achievements in the last 100 years through symposia, spiritual retreats and other animation programmes and are resolved to forge ahead to better the second century by being by the side of youth without “slowing down”. And finally it is good to know that today our seminaries are filled with candidates opting to follow their religious calling.