Avadhani and anna daanam: Defending the hungry child’s right to learn
Garikapati Narasimha Rao is a celebrated Avadhani, recipient of the Padma Shri, and renowned for his discourses on Hindu epics across Telugu media. His reputation rests on scholarship, dharmic culture, and personality development. He is admired for bringing classical traditions into public life and for inspiring audiences with his command of language and literature. He drew social media attention and sparked intellectual debate when he ridiculed the distribution of essentials like textbooks, uniforms, and mid day meals to poor children in government schools, even though sociologists like Pierre Bourdieu have shown that these supports build cultural capital and create the conditions for genuine learning.
Dharma and democracy in education:
When Garikapati underestimates food for poor children and mocks the mid day meal scheme, the contradiction with Hindu dharmic wisdom is stark. The scriptures proclaim anna daanam param danam—the gift of food is the highest virtue. They remind us that paropakaram idam shariram—this body exists to serve others—and that Raja Dharma obliges leaders to protect the vulnerable first. True scholarship should echo these values, for sympathy and service are central to Hindu thought. As the Telugu saying goes, “sajjanundu paluku challagaanu”—the words of the wise must soothe and uplift.
In modern India, unlike ancient times when Brahmins monopolised temples of learning, education is no longer a privilege of the few but a right of all. It has become the most powerful path of empowerment for socially and economically marginalized sections, including SCs, STs, OBCs and religious minorities, who now claim their rightful place in classrooms. No traditional hierarchy can obstruct this progress.
In a democratic society, schools must stand as spaces of shared learning, dignity, and equality, where every child’s hunger for knowledge is met without prejudice.
Essential provisions and
fundamental rights:
The basic needs of human beings are universally recognized as food, clothing and shelter. In this context, provision of free textbooks and uniforms for poor children is not merely a welfare measure but part of supplying essential resources that Pierre Bourdieu identifies as cultural capital, necessary to create a conducive atmosphere for learning. Education cannot be reduced to mere attendance; genuine learning extends beyond schooling and emerges from the dynamic interplay of economic, cultural, and social capitals.
Government schools in the Telugu states serve over 60 lakh children, most from poor families and often first generation learners. For them, the mid day meal is not a perk but a lifeline; without it, many would drop out into child labour or early marriage. Enrollment and retention rose sharply after its introduction, proving that hunger is the greatest barrier to learning and food is the medicine. The program was expanded nationwide after the Supreme Court’s 2001 directive, which recognized the right to food as integral to the right to life under Article 21. By mandating cooked meals in all government and aided schools, the court transformed classrooms into spaces where learning and nutrition intersect, a constitutional intervention against malnutrition and inequality.
Do eggs on the plate guarantee quality of food?
Eggs were introduced in the mid-2000s in several states, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as part of efforts to improve protein intake. Nutritionists argued that vegetarian meals alone were insufficient to tackle widespread protein-energy malnutrition. Eggs, being affordable, culturally acceptable to most, and nutritionally dense, became a pragmatic choice. Telangana today provides eggs five days a week, a policy backed by pediatricians and public health experts. Suffice to say that eggs are a scientifically validated intervention.
Government audits and media investigations reveal mixed results. Some schools serve wholesome meals, while others struggle with poor infrastructure or irregular supplies. Yet despite these challenges, the scheme has demonstrably improved attendance, retention, and learning outcomes. In Andhra Pradesh, dropout rates fell significantly after mid-day meals were introduced. Anemia and stunting levels show measurable declines, where eggs are consistently served. The scheme is imperfect, but its impact is undeniable.
Caste politics of food in schools:
The controversy is not only about nutrition but also about caste. Reports show that some upper caste children refuse to eat meals cooked by Scheduled Caste (SC) women. These practices reveal that untouchability still exists in today’s classrooms. The mid day meal scheme, therefore, is not only about feeding children; it is also about breaking caste barriers. When SC women cook for all children, the act itself becomes a practical lesson in equality, a living example before their eyes.
Sociologists like Émile Durkheim and John Dewey remind us that schools are miniature societies where democratic values are rehearsed. If children learn to eat together, irrespective of caste or class, they internalize equality. Schools reproduce inequality instead of dismantling it.
An avadhani’s misplaced responsibility:
Why does an avadhani invoke food cultures to undermine welfare rather than reinforce dharmic values? A scholar who regularly expounds on epics should know that true wisdom lies in compassion and justice. If Garikapati truly wished to help the poor, he could have suggested constructive measures to ensure effective implementation of mid-day meals, with better monitoring and improved infrastructure. And in doing so, he would also affirm that no caste feeling or discrimination has any place in schools. That would align his scholarship with service, and his public stature with responsibility.
His analogy of children as “grooms on their wedding night” who enjoy without effort makes light of poverty. It assumes education is a privilege rather than a right, and that welfare breeds laziness. But evidence is unambiguous. Mid-day meals increase enrollment, reduce dropouts, and improve nutrition. Far from making children complacent, they enable them to learn. His dismissal of eggs ignores the scientific consensus on their nutritional value. His critique of free food ignores the constitutional mandate for equality.
A scholar who speaks of values from revered texts now rejects the very foundation that keeps millions of children in school. Such remarks on food practices and the act of serving them reveal a troubling disconnect between scholarship and social responsibility in modern India, where education is a constitutional right and hunger remains a lived reality.
For government school children in the Telugu states, especially bahujans and girls, textbooks, uniforms, and the mid day meal are the backbone of their schooling. Eggs on the plate are not luxury but necessity. And when SC women cook for all children, it is not just food—it is democracy served hot.
If schools are miniature societies, then equality must be tasted, not just taught. In modern India, the true test of scholarship is not memory feats or televised discourses, but the courage to defend the hungry child’s right to learn.
(The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Banaras Hindu University. The views expressed are his personal)
