Anglo-Indian Schools have a proud place in education as they are the pioneers of modern education, said N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu , while inaugurating The Anglo-Indian Schools Tamil Nadu State Athletic Meet - 2011, here on Saturday.
They brought in values of enlightenment, rationality and science. India is a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual society. The Constitution guarantees equality for all, which means no group is more or less equal than the other. It also does not mean that the majority is more equal than the minority.
Sports is a great leveller which brings everybody together. Nothing except individual skill and technique matters in it, he said.
Mr. Ram commended the students who took out a march past. “It was wonderful watching the students march by. They were smart, marched aesthetically and the whole thing appeared as if it were a choreographed event.”
India's record in sports was a mixed bag. Though the country had performed reasonably well in the past decade, compared to China, South Korea it had a long way to go. “We have a chess champion in Viswanathan Anand, our cricket team enjoys the number one ranking among Test playing nations and Abhinav Bindra has performed well in shooting. But in track and field events and football, India has a long way to go.”
It is necessary and crucial to lay a broad-based foundation for development of sports in the country.
Referring to the Common Wealth Games scam and the doping scandal, he said it was a matter of shame that the athletes had resorted to such unethical practices. The blame game was on and the malaise was deeprooted.
There is a need to eradicate such practices, Mr. Ram said, and added that there were no shortcuts to achievements in sports. And if there were any, they would be found out sooner than later. Schools must instil a sense of fair play among students.
He called for the launch of a sports development programme. He told the students that though winning in sports was important, what was most important was playing the game by the rules.
Llewellyn Xavier, Principal, Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Mercy Oommen, Correspondent, Stanes AIHSS, and Philip R.J. Fowler, Chairman, Stanes AIHSS, were present.
