Not dreaming is crime

Dreaming is good, particularly for students. But dreams must be supported by action, balance and continuous learning. These two sentences have been picked up from a speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his interaction with students as part of his ‘Pariksha pe Charcha’, a highly innovative and immensely popular programme which has already changed lives of thousands of students across the country in the recent few years. The Prime Minister, who has been highly concerned about the future of students, particularly of the high school level, also stated that education should focus on holistic life development rather than merely scoring marks in examinations. Interestingly, the Prime Minister has also described students preparing for the high school board examinations as “exam warriors”, and asked them to prepare for the war like real soldiers. Dreaming, he said, is essential for achieving success. But then, success comes only through action-oriented thinking. Not dreaming, according to him, is a crime. He is absolutely right. While one should dream, one should not merely indulge in humming about dreams, because that never works or brings results. Dreams are turned true only through action, and action should be considered paramount in life, he said. Focusing on the need to maintain a balance, the Prime Minister also asked students to manage studies, rest, skills and hobbies together, and warned that leaning too much towards one aspect can lead to imbalance. Taking a cue from what the Prime Minister said, one can say that it is very important for students to be imparted skills – both life skills as well as professional skills. While both these skills go hand in hand, it is also equally important to keep in mind that while skills begin with knowledge, skills cannot be acquired without learning, observation and application. Dreaming is essential for career building as it provides a clear, motivating roadmap for goals, fuels persistence through challenges, and fosters creativity. By allowing individuals to envision their ideal future, dreams turn into actionable, long-term goals, transforming routine work into a purposeful, fulfilling path. As experts say, a clear dream keeps students focused, and helps them overcome obstacles and maintain daily discipline. Simultaneously, dreaming allows for “visioning,” and enables individuals to set specific goals and create a roadmap to achieve them, in the process making dreams “goals with a date”. Dreaming also encourages thinking beyond the ordinary, which in turn leads to innovative ideas and leadership. Moreover, those who pursue a dream develop the grit that is necessary to handle setbacks. It also helps in navigating changing circumstances, allowing career paths to evolve as personal goals shift over time. In this context, it is also important to note that parents and teachers too have a crucial role in helping students dream. Teachers in particular have to be open-minded, observant, and be able to observe and motivate individual students according to the latter’s capabilities. As India dreams of becoming a viswa-guru, and occupying a spot among the top five global superpowers, teachers cannot afford to remain laid-back, and have to think out of the box in order to help the country achieve this goal.