Page 112 - https://ia800806.us.archive.org/12/items/mwk-eng-book/Leading-a-Spiritual-Life.pdf

We Require Intellectual Crusades

whole struggle was centred on rights-activism. This
strategy made the whole society a rights-conscious
society, while a better society is one whose members are
duty-conscious.
In the pre-Independence period, the equation was
between Indians and foreign occupiers. At that time,
rights-based action seemed to be a valid form of activism
and, therefore, it naturally worked. But, in the post-
Independence period, the equation was between Indians
and Indians. Now it has become essential to change our
strategy from being rights-based to being duty-based.
But, in this regard, we have completely failed. No single
movement has produced duty-conscious people. The
Constitution of India was drafted by India’s best brains.
When it first came into effect all its clauses were about
rights: no single clause referred to duties.

There is no use in blaming others. It is better to
blame ourselves. Now is the time to launch a new
struggle, under the banner of ‘intellectual crusades’.
By intellectual crusades, I mean educational crusades,
not in terms of formal education but in the sense of
informal education.
Formal education is not going to help us with this,
because it is totally based on professionalism. Anyone
who seeks formal education knows that this is the age
of professionalism and that he or she should gain a
professional degree to secure a place in the job market.
The whole structuring of formal education is based
on the concept of making oneself qualified in the
professional market, rather than on making oneself a
good member of society. To build a better society in

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