Shilpa Raj

I am an elephant chaser’s daughter. After spending years as an illicit liquor brewer, my father took up the job of chasing away wild elephants from the village to protect sugar cane fields and homes. He has narrated to me and my siblings so many stories of his encounters with wild elephants and I admire his courage.

Education is the answer. I strongly believe that lack of proper upbringing and poor quality education are the reasons for many of the problems faced by our society and the nation. It is not sufficient that only a few from well-to-do families can avail the opportunity of a good education. We must figure out how the nation as a whole can offer it to everyone.
A good education brings about an enlightened population and productive workers. In turn, it will uplift families, bring about better understanding between different segments of the society, and make economic progress. But most importantly, a quality education with a holistic developmental approach will help raise individuals with a deep value system and a social conscience. They will question the wrongs in our society and bring about positive changes.