Why Sainik School ? That’s a question faced by most parents who have opted for their child to study there. Many pronounced it as Chinese school as the hindi word sainik never made much sense to the Tamilians. Karunanidhi, in circa 1969, as chief guest for the annual day function called it Paasarai palli (பாசறை பள்ளி ) but the term never gained currency.
Why Sainik School and why not a local day school ? The most socially acceptable reply would be that a child learns discipline there. There are some friends and relatives who just assume the boy to have gone totally beyond the control of the parents and so he required external force to reign him in much like a wild horse needs special efforts to be broken in. I have personally heard someone asking my brother about me in a low voice , “is he that violent “ or words to that effect. The Tamil word is “muradu” (முரடு) ; one of those untranslatable words.
The school did foster discipline with activities like drill and PT , with the whole hierarchy of juniors, Seniors, prefects, captains, house master etc. One just could not stray out of step or display his individuality without treading on some some toes to disastrous results.
But the moot point is that, is such enforced discipline sustainable ? I doubt. It never worked in my case at least. Be it getting up early in the morning or be it the spit and polish military turnout, it never lasted beyond the school campus. Yes, today I do get up early in the morning, go for a two hours walk ; but it is more out of self discipline after rebelling against and breaking out of the enforced discipline. Opinions will differ, but personally I feel that such kind of training should be reserved for dogs and horses.
If Discipline is given so much importance, can Punishments be far behind? There were punishments of all kinds; by the students to the students, by the teachers and by the whole system to enforce uniformity and discipline. The common offenses were not making bed, not polishing the shoes properly , insolent behaviour with a boy one class senior ; nothing much really to write home about. The less these punishments are talked about , the better it is. Most children grew stronger and became aware of the unlimited capacity to take abuse and yet survive. Some children unable to deal with such an environment may develop psychological problems. It would require experts in the field ,to come to a definite conclusion ,after a proper study of data.
Whatever be, major crimes like lying and stealing were actually encouraged indirectly as all is fair if you have the right answer. A good response to “why are you late” can get you off the hook if you can come up with a plausible lie spontaneously. Of course the golden rule here was DO NOT EVER GET CAUGHT. Other terms which feel all wrong but work all right is “beg, borrow , steal” and “by hook or crook”. Personally I would rather be in torn clothes than beg ,borrow or steal to be dressed smartly in new clothes. These are typical war time values when the ends are more important than the means. That was the kind of training given to children of Sparta to ensure a citizenry always fit for war and survival. One thing I am convinced; Punishments may foster short term discipline but robs one of dignity and a sense of self-worth,which I feel is more important in the long run.
The school did produce smart boys who could survive in any kind of environment. That can be seen from the way the alumni have proved themselves successful in all walks of life. I would say that, how this smartness was channelized depended more on the upbringing at home and of course personal efforts ; after all, to use a computer analogy, human beings are endowed with the capacity to boot up on their own.
Coming back to the original question of Why Sainik School , I would say, “The school produces smart boys fit to take on the rough and tumble and come out successful in any walk of life” .