[Reader-list] Indian Govt Proposals for Re-Writing Indian History

[Avishek Ganguly]

http://www.geocities.com/ifihhome/reports/nationalismworkingpaper.html

Working Paper from the National Seminar on Philosophy
of Indian Nationalism & Value-Oriented Education

conducted on 23-25 February 2003 at Jadavpur
University Campus, Kolkata

Organized by : International Forum for India’s
Heritage in collaboration with Sri Sri Sitaramdas
Omkarnath Samskrita Siksha Samsad (Kolkata)

Sponsored by : Indian Council of Philosophical
Research (New Delhi),Indian Institute of Advanced
Study (Shimla),& Indian Council of Historical Research
(New Delhi)


This three-day National Seminar, initiated and
co-organized by the International Forum for India’s
Heritage (IFIH), brought together a number of eminent
scholars from all over India (also from the U.S.A. and
Switzerland). The central theme of Indian Nationalism
was treated from historical, cultural, traditional as
well as educational viewpoints, and this provided a
rich variety of presentations and debates.

Chaired by Prof. Ramaranjan Mukherji, the concluding
session on 25 February focussed on educational aspects
of Indian Nationalism. It featured two young speakers,
Shri M. Pramod Kumar, who spoke on “How to Make
Nationalist Values Inspiring to Students”, and Ms.
Chitwan Jaipuria, who spoke on “The Inadequacies of
the Indian School Curriculum”. A discussion followed,
moderated by a panel consisting, besides the
chairperson, of Prof. Kapil Kapoor, Dr. Somesh Kumar
Mishra, Dr. Ashok Mitra and Shri Michel Danino.

The following points emerged, and it was agreed that a
working paper, based on the central themes dealt with
during the Seminar and ensuing discussions, would be
submitted to the Government of India, incorporating
practical proposals to make necessary improvements in
the educational policy. This has now been done on
behalf of both the Indian Council of Philosophical
Research & International Forum for India’s Heritage.
This paper is also being sent to a number of
educational agencies, State boards of education, the
media etc.

*   *   *

At the outset, it was noted that the Constitutional
Amendment N°51-A (b) makes it a “fundamental duty of
citizens” to “cherish and follow the noble ideals
which inspired our national struggle for freedom.”
Moreover, the recent Supreme Court judgement (12
September 2002) on the National Curriculum Framework
for School Education reiterated the S. B. Chawan
Committee’ report of 1996, which stated that “

national values can be imparted indirectly at the
primary stage, while at the middle and secondary
level, these can be included in the curriculum” (p.
30).*

It was also noted that the present system of education
has failed to inspire such values in students, mainly
because of an overburdened syllabus and a dry,
mechanical teaching of history in the form of largely
irrelevant facts and dates that are forgotten soon
after the examinations are over.

The panel then agreed on the following
recommendations:

1.The lives of the great early exponents of Indian
Nationalism, for instance Swami Vivekananda, Bal
Gangadhar Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Sister Nivedita,
Subramania Bharati and others, must be taught in an
inspiring manner.

2.A collection of brief extracts from inspirational
writings by a wide selection of Indian Nationalists
and freedom fighters, from all regions of India,
should be made available to students as supplementary
reading material.

3.The historical role and significance of the Bande
Mataram national song by Bankim Chandra should be
highlighted from the secondary level.

4.A certain number of misconceptions still plague the
way in which the freedom movement is taught; for
instance, the notion that the Indian nation came into
existence only thanks to the colonial masters; the
failure to highlight the distinctive features of
Indian Nationalism as compared to Western types of
nationalism; the eclipse of a number of important
early pioneers of the freedom movement, their values,
thoughts, action and role; the depiction of some
freedom fighters as “terrorists”; party considerations
in highlighting one group of leaders resulting in
sacrificing the importance of the contributions of
other leaders. A fair and objective account of the
freedom movement, devoid of any ideological bias, is
yet to be written.

5.Innovative methods making use of India’s rich
heritage — art forms, folk songs, drama, literary
wealth, etc. — must be promoted in place of the
present system of learning by rote, also modern
multimedia resources (for example films from the early
decades of the twentieth century, documentaries...).
Creative re-enactments of important stages or events
or characters of the freedom movement in the form of
dramas, exhibitions, etc., should be encouraged,
especially with an interdisciplinary approach
combining history, language skills and art forms.

6.For the purpose, the Central or State Governments
should develop well-equipped National Resource Centres
in a number of cities, where such material will be
available to students, teachers and the general public
in print and electronic medium and in the form of
permanent exhibitions.

7.Such new material and methods will be in consonance
with the approach that sees the student not as a mere
recipient of academic learning, but as a soul to be
ignited.

8.Students should be taken at least once a year to
places of historical importance with regard to Indian
Nationalism. Kanyakumari’s Rock Memorial, the Andaman
penitentiary or the Alipore Jail, memorials to Tilak,
Bankim or Subramania Bharati and hundreds of other
such places, dot the country and should remain in the
consciousness of present and future generations.

9.Keeping in mind the cultural roots of Indian
Nationalism, which are far more ancient than the
colonial era, Sanskrit should be taught at primary,
middle and secondary levels. In particular, the two
great Indian Epics, which have long played a
considerable role in culturally unifying the nation,
must be studied, preferably through innovative methods
such as those outlined above. Here again, reference
may be made to the recent Supreme Court judgement,
which explicitly “emphasized the importance of
Sanskrit study and declared the omission of Sanskrit
from CBSE syllabus as unjustified” (p. 44).

10.The above recommendations are, in fact, part of a
process of decolonization of the Indian mind, an
indispensable process if students are to become truly
Indian, conscious of what India has stood for
throughout history and can still offer to humanity
today and tomorrow.

April 2003



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* Page numbers of the Supreme Court Judgement refer to
the edition brought out by the NCERT.


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