Tuesday 03 Jun 2025

From literacy to action: What Goa’s milestone really means

Melville X D'Souza, Mumbai | JUNE 01, 2025, 12:05 AM IST

Goa achieves historical goal, declared fully literate state - The Goan Everyday - May 31, 2025. Firstly, congratulations to the people of Goa for achieving this landmark of becoming the second fully literate state after Mizoram. Certainly sounds so very pleasing to the ears. So, where do we go from here?

Yes, literacy is very important. Illiterate people are often looked down upon by the so-called elite of society. A couple of questions arise: what does being literate mean in daily life? What is the impact of being literate? Does it help in the quality of life? Does it help in our way of thinking, our thoughts with regard to the environment, etc.?

For instance, is there any difference between the literate and the illiterate when it comes to taking or demanding those thin, single-use plastic bags from the market vendor? Being literate should mean much more than just being literate! We need to see that literacy is put into action on the ground.


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