Well done, Phinguwagarh!

Readers of this newspaper must have noticed a small box-item news on the front page on its Sunday edition, about how students of Phinguwagarh High School in Bajali sub-division of Barpeta district condoled the death of a tree in the school campus a couple of days ago. According to the news item, the students of the little-known rural area in Barpeta had not only planted a number of trees in their school campus a few years ago, but had also taken such care of them that the trees soon grew up to provide them much-needed shade. The morning prayers of the school always took place in the shade provided by these trees, while the students did not have any problem playing in the open field because it had enough shade as well as green cover and fresh air that protected them from direct sunlight. On September 16 however, a high-velocity storm that swept Phinguwagarh and its adjoining villages, uprooted one of the several trees that the students of the High School had planted and had begun loving so much over the years. Such was the grief of losing a tree – yes, just one of the several trees – that the students of Phinguwgarh High School not only organized a condolence prayer for the departed tree, but also flew their school flag at half mast as a mark of respect for the uprooted tree. And then, going beyond that, the students and teachers of the school also took a pledge to plant ten fresh saplings to fill the void caused by the death of one full-grown tree. The news of Phinguwgarh High School comes at a time when hundreds and thousands of school students and youth across the globe took part in strike on Friday against government inaction and failure of the leaders on the climate change crisis facing the planet. There was news in the media that a large number of schools in India, including a few in Guwahati too, took part in that global strike. It took place in New Delhi, in Mumbai, in Berlin, in New York, in Kenya, in Manila, in Hamburg, in Lahore, in Brussels, in Ottawa, in Kampala, in Rio de Janeiro, in Sydney, in Melbourne and so many other cities across the globe. Hundreds and thousands of posts were made on social media about climate change, with people demanding action against climate change, and particularly demanding action from leaders and governments against climate change. But then, while people across the globe only took part in rallies, shouting slogans and causing noise pollution over climate change, what the students of this obscure village in a remote corner of Assam did was totally different, realistic and practical – one that the media, the ‘national’ and world media, miserably failed to notice. The students of Phinguwagarh did not raise slogans, did not display banners and posters, did not abstain from class, did not condemn anybody, and did not disrupt traffic. They prayed silently, and pledged to plant ten more trees to compensate for the single tree that was so dear to them was uprooted and lost. The students of Phinguwagarh may not have created headlines and may not have found any mention in social media. But then, they did something extraordinary, something exemplary, something practical, something positive. There are lots of people who chant slogans like ‘What Kolkata thinks today, India thinks tomorrow’. There were also people – in Assam – who used to copy that Kolkata slogan and say, ‘What Cotton (College) thinks today, Assam thinks tomorrow’. But then, here is an example set by the students of Phinguwagarh, which stands out; and it can be easily surmised as – What Phinguwagarh has done today, the world will do tomorrow. Congratulations, Phinguwagarh High School. You have done something great.

Also Read: Finguagarh High School at Bajali Condoles ‘Death’ of A Tree…

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