By Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh
Ever since the exam results of class X and XII have been declared, the state has been witnessing felicitations of successful students on a daily basis in the past one or so month. All districts, constituencies, sub divisions and localities in the state are organizing felicitations of meritorious students in various localities. The trend will continue for another one or two weeks after which preparation for next year’s exams will take over. If we look at the larger picture, a felicitation programme has its own charm and benefits towards the society. It acts as an encouragement for the toppers to work harder and achieve more, it also encourages the others to compete with the toppers and supersede them. In both the instances the society emerges the winner. Felicitation as such puts the winners upon a pedestal and encourages the others to simulate the toppers, which in all cases should be the basic idea of a felicitation programme. Felicitation just for the sake of felicitation would not serve any purpose; it would just be a loss of valuable time and energy. It should encourage the meritorious students to work harder and either repeat or better their previous feats in the future, while encouraging others to follow in their footsteps. Any diversion from this would not serve the purpose of organizing such functions.
The organizers of such programmes as well as all the participants should also understand that the spotlight should be on the ones being felicitated. The platform should be solely theirs. All dignitaries on the dais should also be able to understand that they have several other platforms where they could highlight their achievements and promises. Everyone should understand that the main highlight of the day should be providing encouragement to the students who we all deemed as the future pillars of the society. Instead of blaring through the microphone about assurances on development works, the dignitaries who are as of now responsible for the society should impart upon the young minds simple and encouraging experiences of truth, sincerity and other moralistic values and guide them towards a better tomorrow.
Like it or not, all of those who are on the dais are today’s leaders, they are responsible for our today, while the felicitated students are all waiting to be tomorrow’s leaders. Felicitation programmes provide a common platform to both today’s leaders and those in the waiting. And as such it should be shared between the two. Though we believe that those at the helm of things today should guide those in the waiting, we also believe that the voices of tomorrow should also be heard. While the dignitaries could provide encouragement and laud the efforts of the students, the students should also be able to point out the hindrances that they had to face in their endeavour, so that the former could clear them and provide a safe path for the latter to pursue their goals uninterrupted. The keyword however remains that only words are not enough, words and assurances should be followed immediately by actions.
In between all this, those who have missed out from this years’ scheme of felicitation programmes should not be disheartened and believe in the popular maxim ‘we can do it’. They can still work hard and earn their own entities. The world is big enough for all kinds of people.