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Habbit of Reading is hanging in "State of Oblivion"



There is no scope of celebrated academic pursuit. This is the easiest way to colour every single event as useful for knowledge. Knowledge has various dimensions; like ethics, logics, metaphysics, epistemology, and many more. These streams have been in the development much before Greek civilization came into being. And every single civilization which gave importance to the imagination over status quo deserves their name to be remembered for being a stepping stone for the knowledge and liberation from the ignorance; which is inherent in our collective psyche. Academic pursuit is all about breaking the hierarchy of authority and ensuring a level playing field for every single being. For communication plays a decisive role. The role of debate, discussion, and criticism to the accepted believes are key in the progress and development of knowledge. One of the keys of this progress is nothing but the habit of reading the available literatures. 

I remember, in one of the conversations with Prof. Upendra Baxi, I came to know the commitment of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar towards academic pursuit. When Prof. Baxi was a student of LL.B. at Government Law College, Mumbai. He used to read books at the GLC library. But he was unhappy with the physical conditions of the books, as most of the pages of those books were marked by pen. He immediately made a complaint to the librarian about the sorry state of affairs of the books. However, librarian in reply suggested that  "it was Dr. Ambedkar who did this. Because, as a Principal of this College he was fond of books, and read almost all the books available here. He used to say that only labour creates value".
Dr. Ambedkar was one of the best scholars our country ever produced, especially till that point of time when we were engrossed in framing of the Indian Constitution. Because, he believed in the idea of friction between "text and context", to refer the term coined by Prof. Baxi. 

In one of the conversations with Prof. Noam Chomsky through mail I asked him about the role of social media and the development of Citizenry. He was critical about the symbolic conversation we often have through technology. The authenticity is missing from our life style. A bond of fraternity is seldom visible. It is must to revive the culture of reading books. Because, it is one of the best methods of communication between you and the scholars around the world, transcending the limitation of time and space. Reading makes us aware about the lives and thinking of others which help us in the development of perspective and better adaptabilities towards co-citizens. This culture is hanging in the state of oblivion. The symbol is apprant everywhere. To my mind, a good book is a great teacher. It must not loose its relevance in the age of "Simulacra and Simulation", to refer a term coined by the celebrated post modernist thinker, Jean Boudrillard.

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