‘Indianisation of education’ is need of the hour: Gujarat governor Kohli
Governor Says, India resisted Muslims culturally, but surrendered to Western onslaught on our values over the years
India needs to discard Western education and embrace education that is rooted in Indian culture. The crux of Indian culture lies in spirituality which is universal, eternal and relevant to all ages, Gujarat governor OP Kohli said here on Saturday.
He was addressing a gathering of educationists, intellectuals and scholars at a two-day seminar entitled ‘National Ethos in Bhartiya Tradition of Education and Contemporary Context’ organised by Prabhodhan Manch, Pune, the educational think tank of the RSS. According to Kohli, the educational foundation of a nation must be rooted in nationalism and culture. “ If that is missing then education becomes anti-national in its tenor and tone. Education must be freed from Western values and become Indianised to preserve nationalism and the rich Indian culture and tradition ,” he added.
He reiterated that Indianisation of education is essential and there is a need to link it to the rich cultural traditions of the country. “ The work of Indianisation of education is incomplete and needs to be completed,” he said.
He blamed Western education for creating inferiority complex in the Indian populace resulting in loss of cultural values. Education, according to him, has been de-linked culturally which has thrown up many challenges. “Besides, there is a need to build national consciousness in education,” he said.
While Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar who was to chair the event was not present, Maharashtra’s education minister Vinod Tawde is scheduled to chair the seminar on Sunday.
Held at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), the university vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar, was the guest of honour at the inaugural session on Saturday.Kohli in his speech, criticised Muslim rule in India, and said “ During the 950 years of Muslim rule, we were able to resist their cultural imposition on Indian ethos. Although we lost to the Muslims politically, we won in the mental battle against them. Unfortunately, during the past 200 years of British rule, we have surrendered both mentally and politically to the Western onslaught of our values,” he added. Underlying the declining standards of present day intellectuals , he said instead of quoting strategists like Panini and Chanakya, we are quoting foreigners in our works.
He stressed that Indianisation of education is the need of the hour and there is a need to protect it from getting completely transformed by the Western ideals and thought processes.
Although India has gained political independence, the people are still “mental slaves” and need to be freed and for that Indianisation of education is necessary. Academic disciplines especially humanities and psychology need to be infused with Indian thought, Kohli said.
The two-day seminar will discuss the traditional Indian education system and will try to come up with solutions for the identified challenges before it.