The Backbencher

The Backbencher

Are you a backbencher? Or have you ever been a backbencher? The so called “underdog”, the “black horse”? So many terms determining an individual with almost nigh confidence levels, intelligent, creative but not having the courage to own up to credits and/or brick brats.

This term probably came into usage because of some over enthusiastic students in school, the overzealous ones with all the answers at their fingertips and thus the teacher’s favorite. The one’s who do not answer the question in lesser time than the favorite is termed unintelligent and basically shifted down the ranks. In many ways than not, the blame lies with the education system.

India has always been the land of knowledge. According to the Vedas, one can leave behind knowledge and thus remain immortal; thus making knowledge the greatest wealth ever. And Indian parents follow this adage to the T. Every parent wants his or her child to be at the top of the competition. As a result the child is reared in the best of the schools, colleges, coaching classes; and is expected to excel in all the co-curricular activities too; be it cricket, dramatics, music… however what one forgets in this process is that ultimately the child is only educated and has not gained knowledge!

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan in one of his films has driven this point home by incidentally portraying a character of a back bencher. In this dog eats dog world we are losing ourselves to competition and forgetting the true back bencher within us. I say set him/her free and let him/her guide us to see the world without fear, without insecurities, without unhealthy competition. For where fear and insecurity resides, knowledge does not and where knowledge does not reside, HE does not.