There is a profound linguistic coincidence that captures the heartbreak of millions of Indian youth today. The word is "Shiksha". In Sanskrit, it represents the sacred pursuit of education and knowledge. But to a Malayalam speaker, the exact same phonetic word means punishment or penalty. Looking at the endless loop of leaked question papers, abrupt exam cancellations, and the desperate student protests filling our streets, it feels like we have completely replaced the Sanskrit definition with the Malayalam one. Why are our youth being punished for wanting to learn? Why is honesty penalized while institutional corruption goes unchecked? It's time to stop turning our students' dreams into their greatest sentence.
REKHA SARIN, Benaulim
