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

[Lehar ..]

so what are we going to do about this rewriting of
history?

--- Avishek Ganguly <avishek_ganguly at yahoo.co.in>
wrote:
> 
>
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
> 
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------
> 
> * Page numbers of the Supreme Court Judgement refer
> to
> the edition brought out by the NCERT.
> 
> 
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