I’m pretty sure replacing the men in Parliament with women is the only way to get it to function with some degree of intelligence. I say this in the aftermath of directives related to online learning, when parents everywhere have been forced to confront the reality that India doesn’t have a clue about how to manage education. If you don’t believe me, have a chat with the parents of any school-going children you happen to know. Ask them if they have been satisfied with what their child’s school has been doing, and if they believe they could have done a better job.

Let’s put aside the fact that millions of children across our country have no access to computers, let alone printers, scanners, Internet connections, routers, or any kind of software necessary for online learning. Looking at how middle-class Indians are struggling, despite access to some of these things, is enough to make anyone with an iota of common sense wonder how we can refer to ourselves as a developing nation while keeping a straight face. If it takes a pandemic to make us realise that we spend less on infrastructure than we do on tall statues of politicians, we should all have our heads examined.