On Sunday, July 27, the vice chancellors and faculty of several universities across Kerala attended a national education conclave in Ernakulam, organised by the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN), the education wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The conference focused mainly on two topics: “Indianisation in education to reclaim the value of Indian education from colonial influence”, and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The four-day event titled ‘Gyan Sabha’ (Knowledge Conclave), with a focus on the theme ‘Education for a Developed India’, started on July 25, and will conclude on July 28.
Mohan Bhagwat, Arlekar speak
A public session held on the third day of the conclave was presided over by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. The session was a discussion on the “Indian and Kerala perspectives in education” and was aimed at “formulating transformative strategies for nation-building through education”.
Speaking at the event, Mohan Bhagavat stated that an education model rooted in Indian philosophy is vital for India’s development, as an alternative to the “colonial influences” on the country’s current education system. He replaced Indianisation with “Bharatiyaness,” stressing that there is no need to translate Bharat into India.
In a similar vein, Governor Arlekar called NEP the “first step to decolonise” India’s education system. He claimed that India had once been the world’s teacher (vishwa guru) with the information the region possessed. He said, “We were vishwa gurus back in the day, and we are vishwa gurus now. The only thing is, we have to assert it properly. That assertion was not done after Independence.”
This story was originally published in thenewsminute.com. Read the full story here.
