NEW DELHI:  Former deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia,  has written a letter from Tihar Jail, questioning why education has been sidelined in India in spite of  its crucial importance.  He said that every child in the country would have had access to high-quality schools like those in industrialised nations if politics had invested its time and effort in advancing education.

He compared the politics of jail to the politics of education, mentioning that it is easier to silence dissent by imprisoning critics than to set up  quality educational institutions for all children in the country. He said that if every child has an education and grows up to be a responsible citizen, the nation will advance because education politics empower the country, not the particular leader.

He added that Punjabi voters had been persuaded by Delhi's educational achievements to support higher education, public colleges, and schools. State administrations that are not affiliated with the BJP or the Congress have begun to share education-related experiences and experiments. Even BJP-ruled states, which have poorly run public institutions, have begun to advertise education on television.
Sisodia thinks that education politics, not incarceration politics, hold the key to India's future. He emphasised that politics and education are intertwined and that India will become a global leader not because of the power of its prisons but rather because of the power of its educational system. He is optimistic that education would overtake the politics of jail, despite their current supremacy in Indian politics.

Sisodia also referenced incidents in the letter where people were threatened with incarceration for expressing disapproval. He questioned why those in positions of authority had not created top-notch institutions of higher learning for the nation's youth.

Sisodia said that the issue with the politics of education is that it takes a lot of endeavours to motivate children, parents, and teachers. On the contrary, in prison politics, it is easy to pressure investigating agencies to send someone to jail.

Sisodia ends his letter by expressing his desire that education will rise in importance on a national level, together with the marginalisation of prison politics and the beginning of jail closures.

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