Education for Nation Building
Convocation Address, Bharathidasan University, Trichy,
Dec.9, 2021
Prof.P.Kanagasabapathi
Chairman in charge, Indian Council for Social Science
Research,
New Delhi
At the outset, let me
congratulate all the achievers, rank-holders, medal- winners and the new doctorates,
post-graduates and graduates of this major university in our state of Tamil
Nadu.
Ours is an ancient
civilization with a very long history. National poet Subramania Bharathi noted:
” தொன்று நிகழ்ந்த தனைத்து முணர்ந்திடு
சூழ்கலை வாணர்களும் - இவள்
என்று பிறந்தவள் என்றுண ராத
இயல்பினளாம் எங்கள் தாய்”
(The
greatness of our motherland is such that even those experts who find out
everything about antiquity are not able to comprehend her period of origin)
Such
a civilization could not have continued so long without strong fundamentals.
Evidences show that we remained a powerful nation with higher levels of
prosperity and achievements of the highest order, since the ancient periods.
Education
is always considered essential for life in our tradition and hence it was
emphasized as the most precious wealth. One of the greatest sons of Tamil Nadu,
the philosopher-poet Thiruvalluvar wrote:
கேடில் விழுச்செல்வம் கல்வி யொருவற்கு
மாடல்ல மற்றை யவை
(Education
is the only wealth that cannot be destroyed; All other things do not have that
much significance)
Hence
our forefathers created institutions and made arrangements to impart education
from the earlier times. Takshashila university established around 2700 years
ago is considered to be the oldest in the world, with students from distant lands
of the world. Nalanda university was a very prestigious institution much sought
after by students of different countries, particularly from the Asian region. Radha
Kumud Mookerjee notes: “The success of Nalanda as a seat of learning is
singularly demonstrated by the demand of foreign countries for the services of
its trained scholars.”1
School
education must have remained strong and widespread for higher education to
flourish. Quoting the surveys undertaken
by the British between 1820s-30s, the noted Gandhian Dharampal in his book The
Beautiful Tree mentions that every village had at least one school and even
in 1800, Indian schooling was ‘extensive.’ 2 As a result, the
educated population was very high. Makkhan Lal and Rajendra Dixit note: “Literacy
was widespread; it was probably as high as 75 per cent at the beginning of the
eighteenth century. In the contemporary world, no other country had such a high
percentage of literate population.3”
Thus
India was a pioneer in education and hence we excelled in diverse fields of
knowledge. Wide spread and quality education enabled India towards all round progress
and development. British economist Angus Maddison who documented the economic
history of the world during the past two thousand years, notes that India was making
the highest contribution to the global GDP with an astonishing share of 32.9
per cent. 4
We
were the wealthiest nation in the world with almost one- third of global GDP before
2020 years. The figures provided by Maddison clearly prove that India and China
were the two major economic powers, with India dominating the majority of the
time, for over 85 per cent of the period during the previous two millennia. India
continued to maintain her supremacy to a large extent, over several centuries
in spite of severe disturbances.
The
entry of the Europeans into India completely altered the situation. The British
replaced the time-tested native education system with a new one, based on Macaulay’s
Minute dated Feb.2, 1835. With the result, the field of education witnessed drastic
changes. The literacy levels declined continuously over the years. American
historian Will Durant noted in 1930: “Only 7% of the boys and 1.5 % of the
girls receive schooling, i.e. 4% of the whole. Such schools as the Government
has established are not free, but exact a tuition fee….”5 Besides,
the new system began creating a wide gap between the educated and the
society.
Distressed
by the impact of British education on India, Mahatma Gandhi openly declared in
London in 1931 that the Indian education system was like a “beautiful tree” before
the arrival of the British, but they saw to it that it perished. To quote: “I
say without fear of my fingers being challenged successfully, that today India
is more illiterate than it was fifty years or a hundred years ago, and so is
Burma, because the British administrators, when they came to India, instead of
taking hold of things as they were, began to root them out. They scratched the
soil and began to look at the root, and left the root like that, and the
beautiful tree perished.” 6
There
are strong reasons to believe that the ancient Indian education system was
deeply connected to the local societies at the micro levels and the nation states
at the macro levels. With the result they were constantly engaged in
contributing to the nation-building process. The destruction of such an education
led to the decline in other fields of activities. Besides the other critical sectors
such as agriculture, industry and trade were also targeted by the British
systematically. Thus India suffered losses on multiple fronts.
Dadabhai
Naoroji mentions the non-economic losses, including the loss of wisdom, and the
weakening of the society as a whole. To quote: “India also suffered
non-economic losses, such as the moral loss, the loss of wisdom, experience and
capacity and the stunting and emasculation of the entire people.”7 As
a result India had to lose her superior status, with societies becoming weaker
and millions of people losing lives due to poverty and hunger.
Hence
at the time of Independence, we were a poor, under- developed and less-
literate country. Maddison notes that by 1950, India’s share of global GDP was
reduced to a mere 4.2%8. Experts note that of all the different fields
attacked by the British, the impact of their influence on education was so
severe that it affected the thought process of Indians over many generations, leading
to loss of their originality and higher contributions.
Over
the last seventy plus years after independence, India has been moving ahead in
different fields, in spite of difficulties and limitations. The literacy rate
of India had already crossed 74% during 2011, while that of Tamil Nadu was more
than that of the national average, with more than 80% of the literate
population 9. An increasing number of graduates of our universities
are occupying the top positions at the international level in academics and the
corporate world.
The
economic development of India after independence has been significant, though there
is a long way to go. International Monetary Fund notes that India is the third
largest economy in the world with a GDP of above $10.2 trillion in PPP terms 10.
There is no other country in the world that has made such a U turn from being
an under-developed to the third largest in a period of just seven decades in
contemporary history. Besides, many of the international agencies and research
bodies acknowledge India as the most potential nation in the world. Few years
back, London Business School had estimated that India had about 85 million
entrepreneurs, perhaps the largest number in the World.
The
major reason for many of our developments at the economic, social and other fronts
remains our inherent strengths. It is these strengths such as the family
system, community orientation, social capital, higher levels of
entrepreneurship, self-dependent nature and the age-old culture that have been
driving us to move forward, in spite of problems and challenges.
We
possess a higher resolve to manage even the serious challenges efficiently.
Since 2020, the nation has been able to successfully manage COVID. With the
result, India has the highest number of vaccinated persons in the world. Besides,
we have helped many nations during this pandemic, as a true friend in times of
difficulties.
Thus
as a society and nation, we have several advantages that most other countries do
not have. The higher number of youth population is another advantage of our
times. We have to make use of all the positive factors to build our nation as a
much better one. In this connection, education plays the most crucial role.
Based on our experiences, it is our duty to take corrective steps and make it more
meaningful.
The
purpose education is basically two- fold. The first one is what Swami
Vivekananda called ‘man-making.’ We should see that the education system
enables students to inculcate higher value systems and develop a healthy body
and sound mind. The second purpose is to help them to bring out the best out of
each of them for their personal and national progress.
For
education to be meaningful, it has to be nation-centric. It is time that the
education system is connected to the ground realities. Many of the social
science theories that are taught in our class rooms are not really suitable to the
local conditions, as they originated in distant countries based on the
situation prevailing in their societies several decades ago. Societies are
different and dynamic. Each nation has its own unique characteristics. Hence
much of the ‘universal models’ developed in the West have proved to be failures
and they need not be taken as the guiding paths in the Indian situation.
Tamil
Nadu is an economically and industrially advanced state. We have many
well-functioning industrial and business centres, called clusters, performing
at the national and international levels. The share of clusters such as
Sivakasi, Coimbatore, Namakkal and Sangakiri are very significant at the
national levels, while the clusters such as Tirupur and Karur are
internationally known with ready markets around the world.
Most
of these clusters are self-made, with the ordinary sections of the society
taking the lead to promote them. It is due to their enormous entrepreneurial
abilities and the innate economic wisdom, they have built these centres. To achieve
their objectives, they develop systems and innovate mechanisms, based on the
local resources. When finance was not easily available earlier, the
entrepreneurs from the southern parts of the state developed a native mechanism
called mahamai, using their relationship base. It is a unique method that
propelled them and the region to emerge economically, ultimately leading to the
development of the state and the nation.
Studies
show that it is the success of these clusters, comprising of the micro, small
and medium enterprises, that enable that states such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat,
Punjab and others to grow industrially. Their development models are localized
and native-centric. No existing theory could explain their functioning and
success. But do we take steps to study such ‘functioning models’, understand and
discuss them in class-rooms? They are happening right in front of our eyes, but
we tend to ignore them.
This
is just an example. There are wide areas that remain to be studied in different
fields of social sciences. The hiatus created by the British between the
educational system and the society has widened over the decades. As a result,
we are not able to look at our localities, state and the nation from objective
points of view even now. It is pertinent to note here that already the foreign
universities have started studying the Indian systems, societies, business
practices and even the cultural festivals. Some of them are setting up India
centres.
For
educational institutions to understand ourselves at the local, state and
national levels, they have to connect with the local societies. Social sciences
have to be studied through the local and nation-centric paradigms for
meaningful understanding of subjects. For too long, we have been looking at
India from only from the western prisms.
As
educated citizens, it is our duty to contribute to our localities, states and
the nation for a better future. When we start studying India objectively, we
will be able to understand and appreciate our societies better. Once the
educational institutions understand the ground realities, then they will be
able to participate in the progress of their regions and the nation, through
meaningful interventions. The universities and educational institutions should develop
the expertise to contribute to the policy making process, based on their field
studies.
As
the western theories fail, many of their approaches are increasingly becoming
redundant. During the recent periods, we witness the re-emergence of China,
India and the Asian region. The time has come to us to develop our own theories
and models, based on the realities. Discussing in the context of management
models, the noted management expert Chakraborty argues that we may have to
challenge the western models and develop new ones based on our civilizational
backgrounds. He states: “India has never
been a mercenary or colonial culture like many western nations. Materialistic
cultures may be glamorous, but not happy. … Courage is required to go to the
root of the matter and construct or re-construct our own models.”11
Impactful
Policy Research in Social Sciences (IMPRESS) is a recent initiative of the Ministry of Education,
Govt. of India, being implemented by the Indian Council for Social Science
Research (ICSSR). It aims to encourage social science research in policy
relevant areas so as to provide vital inputs in policy formulation,
implementation and evaluation. Thus it plans to promote coordination between
the academics and policy makers. For this purpose, all the major areas such as
economy, society, governance, environment, health, culture, technology, media
and law have been identified.
I
appeal to the young graduates and scholars to start studying India from the
native perspectives. You will learn many lessons, as the society is the biggest
open-air university. Post- Graduate and Doctoral candidates have to see that
they take up the socially relevant and useful themes for their research work,
so that they would be useful in the policy making process. Many senior academics
complain that a number of the doctoral dissertations during the recent periods are
not up to the standard. We have to reverse the trend and set up higher bench
marks for our own research works.
The
National Education Policy 2020 envisages an education system rooted in Indian
ethos contributing to the transformation of our nation by providing
opportunities to all. With regards to higher education, it provides a new and
forward- looking vision for taking it to the higher levels. It covers all the areas
of higher education namely institutional restructuring, holistic and
multi-disciplinary education, optimal learning environment for students, quality
and engagement of faculty, equity and inclusion, teacher education, vocational
education, quality research through new National Research Foundation,
transformation of the regulatory system and effective governance and leadership.
Besides, the importance given to the mother-tongue and the Indian languages and
commitment of higher funds for education are path breaking steps.
You
are all going out of the university to enter the outside world as young
graduates, post-graduates and doctorates. It is going to be challenging as well
as fascinating. India is fast emerging
as a powerful nation at the international levels during the recent periods. There
are enormous opportunities in front of you. Make use of them to the full extent,
work hard and make all of us proud. The way you lead your life is going to
decide the future of you and the nation.
On
this momentous occasion, let me suggest you to take a resolve to lead a
meaningful life, making your families, university and the society feel happy. We
are the inheritors of a great civilization that remained as the light-house for
societies across the world. Let us all join together to contribute our efforts
to make India a global power.
Thank
you
References
1. Radha Kumud Mookerjee, Ancient Indian Education,
4th edition, Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi, 1969, p.575
2. Dharampal, The Beautiful Tree, 2nd
edition, Keerthi Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., and AVP Printers and Publishers
Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore, 1995
3. Makkhan Lal and Rajendra Dixit, Educating to
Confuse and Disrupt, 1st edition, India First Foundation, New
Delhi, 2005, p.64
4. Angus Maddison, The World Economy: A Millennial
Perspective, Indian edition, Academic Foundation, New Delhi in arrangement
with the Organization for Economic Development, Paris, 2007
5. Will Durant, The Case for India, Simon and
Schuster, New York, 1930, p. 44
6. Gandhi ji quoted in Dharampal, op.cit., p.vi
7. Dadabhai Naoroji, Poverty and the Un-British Rule
in India, 2nd edition, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,
Govt. of India, 1966, p.vii
8. Angus Maddison, op.cit.,
9. Census of India 2021, https://censusofindia.com/ Literacy Rate Of India 2021
10.
World Economic
Outlook Database, International Monetary Fund, April 2021
11.
S.K.Chakraborty, Management
by Values – Towards Cultural Congruence, Oxford University Press, New
Delhi, 1991, p.16)
