Diversity in Unity

Every morning I see loads of children standing for their school buses, chatting or laughing. One such school bus stop is near my bus stop and I was waiting for the bus as usual. I noticed two girls standing next to me. They belonged to a very prestigious school in the city.Their uniforms were 'Cool' as the kids of today call, with a short tie and short skirts exposing almost one-third of their legs. They were chatting with each other in their best English. At the same time, another bunch of kids came to the same bus stop, but for the regular bus. They must have belonged to some sort of a Government school which has a sky blue shirt and navy blue skirt as a uniform. It consisted of two elder girls, maybe high school and five to six younger children of middle or primary school.

The girls started passing comments on the faded and extra long uniforms of these children and started laughing at them, called them names. I gather one of the girls knew them, she was asking them whether the uniform belonged to their mother while she was going to school and such things. By that time, they got their school bus and took leave. I too got my bus.

In the bus I remembered a lesson I had read in my school regarding the purpose of uniforms in school. It was required so that the children get a sense of uniformity and do not poison their minds with the feeling of high or low with respect to caste, economic status etc. But, nowadays it is not the case. The schools itself are causing this divide. The students of a high society school are always treated better than students of a low society school. Does that require a name called 'Uniform' even now?

I just hope in the future, there should also be a uniformity in the uniforms of different schools too. Only then will the children learn the real purpose of a 'Uniform'.