Knowledge is Enlightenment:
“A fool’s brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education.” – by George Bernard Shaw.
Superstitions continue to spread their cloud of darkness even on the minds of the learned. In order to clear these clouds of confusion, and to enlighten those minds with the light of science & knowledge, here’s presenting the story of Mantu Kumar-a social worker through Education NGO.
Mantu Kumar’s early struggles
India is a beautiful country full of religious diversity. Superstition has also pretty much crept in many homes in villages, towns, and cities for generations. In such a scenario, to bring about a profound change was indeed a challenging task!
A life-changing decision for Mantu:
There was a point in life where Mantu’s education was at risk. His family had no money to pay his and his sibling’s school fees. They had to sell their land, living a hand to mouth existence. His father lost all his money in gambling on lottery tickets. Yet his father didn’t show any signs of improvement. At that point, Mantu’s mom had to take a tough decision. She took her kids and went to stay at her parent’s house. Simultaneously she got them admitted to a government-run school thus ensuring the continuation of their education.
Mantu Kumar’s motivation:
These life-changing incidents had a deep & profound impact on Mantu’s early childhood. From then on, he swore to eradicate superstition from the minds of Indians.
Mantu completed his education in 2006. Later, he visited The Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations (FIRA) in Mangaluru. There he got a wonderful chance to meet Prof. Dr. Narendra Naik, current president of FIRA. The professor became his mentor also. He trained Mantu on the science involved behind the so-called miracles. He also increased Mantu’s interest in the field of science in a step-by-step way.
Mantu’s journey to spread awareness begins here…
In 2006, Mantu and 20 others started an education NGO ‘Success Science for Society’ in his hometown. The NGO was officially registered in 2009. Mantu and his friends at the education NGO began touring villages. They also organized stage shows to teach people how the self-proclaimed sadhus and babas are fooling them. He showed them tricks of the trade like inserting a spear through the tongue. The spear has a U-shaped gap for the tongue to go through hidden by the palms.
When Mantu advocates seeing is believing:
Mantu also explained the science behind certain tricks. For eg: the lemon turning red after cutting is a common practice among the sadhus. But according to Mantu, the trick behind this is that the knife is coated beforehand with hibiscus juice or potassium permanganate and not some magic! The coating reacts with the lemon, thereby turning it red. Another myth practiced widely in many places was an exorcism. People believed that exorcism can cure a snake or dog bite. The so-called sadhus and babas bashed the victim with a bunch of leaves. Unfortunately, it was tough to make them understand that the victim needs timely treatment in the hospital.
For Mantu his persistence pays off steadily:
Mantu and his education NGO has been persistently striving for more than 16 years to eradicate superstitions by traveling across India and holding many such stage shows or street plays. “The journey is not simple, yet we will keep persevering”- says Mantu. He and his friends have been gravely threatened many times by the fake babas who earned huge income through these tricks.
Mantu’s selfless deeds:
The education NGO is not profiting from these shows. The satisfaction of removing the cob-webs on closed minds is their victory. In fact, Mantu spends his own money on organizing these shows. Changing one mind at a time is a big step towards achieving the goal of completely eradicating superstitions.
His belief:
Mantu deeply believes that educating against superstitions should begin at the school level. In this light, he has also held many experimental shows in village schools to teach students. This will help them make their elders understand the truth – shares Mantu. His education NGO has also taken an active role in other goodwill events such as ‘Swacch Bharat’, ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padao’ & Women Empowerment, Child Labour Eradication.
Mantu’s contribution being recognized:
Mantu Kumar’s inclination towards social service began in his childhood itself. During school days he had joined The Bharat Scouts and Guides. In 2006 he received The Bharat Scouts and Guides version of the Rashtrapati Award which he received from the hands of the then Honourable President, Late Shri Abdul Kalam Ji.
Awards won by Mantu in 2008:
- An award by N Navachandra Singh the Director of Song and Drama Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- Award by Dr. JV Kulkarni at the seventh National Child Rights Convention held in Dhanbad.
- Award by Director Ravindra Ram at 30th Jawaharlal Nehru Children’s Science Exhibition organized by State Education Research.
- Award at an event organized on International Biodiversity Day in Ahmedabad.
- A prize at the hands of scientist BK Tyagi at the solar eclipse camp at Kanyakumari.
The list of Mantu Kumar’s awards keeps increasing every year:
- 2012 – Mantu received an award for scientific display at Aligarh Muslim University by renowned scientist Prof. Yashpal.
- 2015 – The National Youth Award.
- In 2018 – Mantu also received the National Youth Award and a check of 50000, jointly given by the Honorable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and Union Youth Program and Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
- 2018 – Also the Golden Book of World Record and Karmaveer Chakra at Delhi for his outstanding work and contribution.
- 2018 – Also received the National Youth Gaurav Samman in Delhi, jointly given by the Union Minister for Statistics and Program Implementation Vijay Goel and Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale.
- The now Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji has also congratulated Mantu Kumar on video conferencing for his National Youth Award.
Mantu Kumar’s message to all:
Mantu Kumar’s perseverance makes us believe that the light of correct knowledge and guidance can truly conquer evil. Infact, one should not blindly believe in everything that we see or hear but try and understand why and how. We should not forget our cultural heritage, but also not get swept away in the hypocritical and blind faiths. The youth of today, like Mantu Kumar, is the source of light to take our caged minds to the freedom of bright knowledge.
Our Storyteller – Nivi Kishore
An avid reader from childhood, Nivedita Karnad (pen name Nivi) has kept her passion for writing poems and life experiences since her college days. Her drive to write comes from her adventures and experiences. She also feels that through writing one can express one’s inner feelings, making one free from the burden of life. Thus, she began a new journey in content / creative writing with www.storyofsouls.com
She left her thriving career in business development in interior design to dedicate her time to homeschooling her children and follow her passion for writing. In her free time, her love for languages inspired Nivi to start Sanskrit Fun Learn classes from home. This further led to parents asking her to teach other subjects similarly. Today she has about 15 students, each one unique, who show passion towards learning new things differently.
Nivi believes that learning should be fun and is dedicated to making tough boring subjects, interesting to learn by using engaging methods with her students. She encourages her students as well, to read and write in different languages, just as her teachers had inspired her to. Reach Nivi at her Linkedin Id.
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