Colonial Syndrome - The Videshi Mindset in Modern India

3

Education in India
and Indian Education

We continue in a large measure the colonial system we inherited from the British. One would expect “education in India” and “Indian education” to be coequal and synonymous expressions. As things stand now, this, however, is not the case. The current educational theories and practices in the country for the most part are not native and indigenous. Being non-autochthon and borrowed, the existing system of education fails to be a natural fit with India’s native ethos, and therefore a cause for national concern. Indian education has a hoary history. It embodies not merely Indian culture, it is indeed its culture. This was the case with what is considered now ancient system of education, which lasted until the beginning of thirteenth century ce and the advent of Muslim rule in the country.

Somewhat eclipsed during medieval period and the Mogul rule, Indian education lost its moorings completely during the British colonial rule. The education we now have in India is essentially a colonial transplant; and it is significantly different from the classical system of Indian education as well as education in India during the Islamic rule. One wonders whether this fact is responsible for the present lacklustre state of education in the country and the paucity of significant original contributions by Indian scholars and scientists. Not one of the many universities in the country ranks among the top 200 in the world.

We will discuss first theories and practices of education in India until the end of the twelfth century, which we consider as constituting the core of Indian education. There are excellent accounts of the state of education under the rubric of ancient Indian education (Altekar 1934; Ghosh 2001; Mookerji 1947). We limit ourselves to pointing out the salient features of education in India from the Vedic times to about the beginning of thirteenth century when the Muhammadan rule began its dominance, drawing primarily from the scholars mentioned above. Then, we will move on to discuss briefly the state of education during the medieval period followed by Indian education during and after the British rule.

Ancient Indian Education

Ancient Indian education during the period mentioned above covers a large period of time from the pre-Aryan to the advent of Muslim rule. It may be conveniently divided into the following: (1) pre-Vedic, (2) Vedic, and (3) the post-Vedic. The post-Vedic period may be further divided into (a) the rise and challenge of unorthodox systems, and (b) the response to them by Hindu thinkers. Suresh Chandra Ghosh (2001) has competently surveyed these different stages and we follow him very closely.

Pre-Vedic Period

What is not known until recent times is the fact that some 5,000 years ago a highly-advanced civilization had flourished in the Indus Valley, the north-eastern part of India. It was only since the excavations at Moheôjo-DaÃo in Sind and HaÃappÀ in Punjab beginning from 1924 revealed that there existed a great and glorious civilization that lasted for a long period of time. There is now sufficient evidence that there were towns and cities built with elaborate planning. The people had skills to build sophisticated houses with kiln-burnt bricks, some having two or more floors with doors, windows and staircases. There were wells, drains and bathrooms. Though they were primarily agricultural people, who cultivated wheat and barley, they were also skilled weavers. They made artistic jewellery with gold, silver, copper and ivory with inlaid precious and semi-precious stones. They produced vessels for cooking. They used wheeled carts and chairs. They traded with other countries in Asia. They worshipped nature, stones and animals, as well as Œiva and Œakti.

It is not clear, however, how these people acquired the impressive skills implied in planning and building the cities and make vessels out of copper and jewellery from gold and silver. We do not know what kind of system was in place to provide the necessary training. It is also not known whether the knowledge and technology involved is native or borrowed from other countries. We may note that at about the time there was an equally flourishing civilization in the Nile Valley of Egypt and in Mesopotamia. However, because of the lack of understanding of the meaning of the pictorial writings on the seals recovered from Moheôjo-DaÃo and HaÃappÀ we are unable to say precisely what exactly is the genesis of the knowledge of the people of Indus Valley Civilization. We do not yet know what educational methods they adopted to give the necessary training and knowledge needed to enable the successive generations to perform these skills.

Vedic Period

With the arrival of Aryans in the north-west begins the Vedic period. Fast moving with their horses and superior weaponry, they had little difficulty in subduing the locals and establish their supremacy over them. The Aryan invasion did not happen at a single point in time. It took place over a period of several hundred years. It is unlikely that all Aryans were of the same race or spoke the same language. They probably involved many tribes. The people whom they conquered were dark skinned, unlike them. They were called DÀsas or Dasyus. As they began mixing with the natives, they tended to lay greater stress on keeping the purity of Aryan blood. However, there was already a mixture of blood. By the end of the †gvedic period, the society was stratified with a fourfold division – brÀhmaõas, kÈatriyas, vaiœyas and œÂdras; and this division received religious sanction. The brÀhmaõas are the priestly class; the hymns composed by them constitute the †gveda. These hymns were carefully preserved and passed on from generation to generation. What is interesting is that even after writing was invented and available, they were orally transmitted from mouth to mouth. Their chanting was sanctified and jealously preserved for centuries.

The †gveda is the most important of all the Vedas containing the significant part of Hindu thought. Available evidence suggests that the †gveda was composed between 1500 and 1000 bce. Indic scholars are generally of the opinion that the hymns of †gveda were composed over a period of several centuries. The quintessence of the †gveda is pursuit of truth and its realization in one’s being. When the highest knowledge is revealed one attains liberation and freedom from all kinds of existential bondage.

Several centuries after the compilation of the †gveda, three more Vedas were complied. The SÀmaveda is the compilation of hymns to be recited at yajðas, sacrificial rituals. The Yajurveda deals with rituals to be performed on different ceremonial occasions. The Atharvaveda is a work in the area of medicine and refers to various herbs that can be used to cure different diseases. With strict instructions on pronunciation of the hymns, the tradition emphasizes that mere chanting without realization of the implied truth has little or no value. The emphasis on correct pronunciation is to clearly convey the meaning of the hymn.

It took twelve years to the students to study and learn from the Vedas. During this period the student should observe strict discipline and exercise self-control, physical as well as spiritual. He was known as a brahmacÀrÁ. A brahmacÀrÁ was expected to practise self-restraint, concentration and consecration. Brahmacarya was not limited to men. Women were also given courses in the Vedas. Further, Vedic learning was not limited to the priestly class of brÀhmaõas. People belonging to the kÈatriya and vaiœya were also admitted to the Vedic schools. The Yajurveda is explicit that Vedic knowledge should be imparted to all classes. Similarly, the Atharvaveda mentions that people of all classes have equal rights to study the Vedas.

During the Vedic period education was imparted in small domestic schools. The students adhered to strict physical and spiritual discipline. After leaving the school, the earnest student continued his pursuit of truth by focused concentration and meditation on what he had learnt in the school. In most cases the thirst for knowledge and knowing truth continued. They engaged themselves in debates and discussions testing their proficiency. In this process, as S.C. Ghosh (2001) observes, knowledge is created, preserved and transmitted to the posterity.

With changes in the conditions and the lives of Aryans, there was further addition to Vedic knowledge in BrÀhmaõas, °raõyakas and UpaniÈads. BrÀhmaõas are books dealing with rituals. They deal primarily with the worship of the supreme, the Brahman by devotion and prayer. °raõyakas involve the pursuit of the Brahman in the solitude of the forests. UpaniÈads abstract and crystallize the knowledge of the Vedas. There are over 100 UpaniÈads. The prominent are B¦hadÀraõyaka, ChÀndogya, KaÇha and ŒvetÀœvatara among others. The Brahman is the subject matter of the UpaniÈads. They go beyond positing the existence of the all-pervasive Brahman; they emphasize the need to be continuously conscious of it and realize it...