PaRCha - JNU - ABVP - 2004 ID-557
.
\ .
AKHIL BHARATIYA VIDYARTHI PARISHAD.
DECOLONIZING OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM 02/1 1/2004 Friends, Decolonizing the Indian mind is the ABVP.
's foremost agenda in the realm of education,. .
A nation's.
freedom, or even its nationalism, cannot be deemed to be constituted of political independence alone : it has to.
imply an ind'igenization of the core of its systems of knowledge and ways of life. The dominant discourse on what.
constitutes knowledge' .
in India -which operates from a few elite institutions but dominates the media andtextbooks -not only separates a small elite from the masses of India, but also makes this small modernized elite.
pride itself in imitating the West. .
colonial states policy to educate a handful of Indians in western thought, literature etc., with English as the mediumof instruction. The aim of this venture was clearly hegemonic : having established political control over India, the Our e'ducation system is still based on the colonial model, and can be seen as a direct off-shoot of the .
of notions of colonizers were 'Britnow ishseesupkinerig oto rityperpetuate the Raj through moral, social and cultural control; through a projection.
' which were being sought to be established by the deculturization of Indians.
through the institutionalization of alien modes and forms of knowledge. The knowledge system thus imposed had.
an epistemological basis in the '.
time. Enlightenment' discourse -the dominant intellectual tradition in Europe at thatThe categories constructed by this European intellectual tradition -.
'scientiticity', such as 'progress',.
'secularism', etc. -made their way into India and have unfortunate.ly become uncontested'rationality',us. 'truths' forIt was through this process of colonial imposition that the discourse of modernity intellectually colonized.
India. .
Modernity as a complex of ideas and social processes may have symbolized a significant step in thematerial and intellectual culture of humankind, but it cannot be denied that the era of colonial expansion and.
conquests coincided with the 'Enlightenment'.
'rationality', 1SCientificity' and and the triumphant march of modernity. Enlightenment ideas of.
.
'progress', the proud possession of the colonizers, not only sought to culturallyhegemonize and homogenize the whole world, but also shaped the European self-image of 'progress.
'civilization', which was used to dub the colonized people as 'irrational', 'barbaric', and '' and.
thetical terms to the colonizers' self-image. retrogressive', or in anti-.
Seen in this light, modernity not only redefined the west but alsodefined lands like India which were seen in opposition to it and were to be 'rescued' by the introduction of western.
thought and institutions. Its pretensions of universality made it blind to the existence in the colonized lands of.
alternative cultures, which had their own specific historical roots. Any departure from the modern west was.
simplistically viewed as a sign of backwardness.The repeated, unquestioned use of Enlightenment categories in the pedagogical process, and in thepolitical discourse, makes them uncontested symbols of.
instance, ''knowledge' for students, as also for policy makers. For.
secularism', originally meaning separation of the church and the state -a very relevant concept in.
Europe -was made a 'symbol' with its content altered drastically. It became 'Sarva Pantha Sarna Bhava' -an.
idea that was already part of our civilizational ethos, which had always stood for the nurturing of diverse beliefs; for.
.
the ideal of '.
tradition. Thus, though Indian .
.
Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti', and not for the kind of rigid codification characteristic of the Semi1ic.
'secularism' is not undesirable in itself, it need not be labeled 'secularism' at all.VVe wish to inform our Marxist friends that enslavement to such symbols of intellectualism is no longergoing to work in India. An alternative, indigenous system of knowledge has to be structured through a questioningof these categories and the construction of alternative categories, which have indigenous roots; which are anoutcome of a comprehensive and critical study of our own schools of thought and cultural values. We urge thestudents of JNU to support this agenda of ours and give us a decisive mandate in tile coming JNUSU elections. .
~-.
-.
CENTRAL PAN E L.
DHANANJAY SINGH -PRESIDENT.
ANKITA BHATIACHARJEE.
PRITISH KUMAR SAHU -VICE-PRESIDENT.
-GEN-SECRETARY.
.
MANOJ PANT .
-JOINT-SECRETARY.
SL SIS sss .
.
San,skrlt Centre.
BHARTI TANWAR .
ARIJIT RAKSHIT RAJEEV NARAYAN.
DZHKHA KARUNA SAURABJYOTISARMA RAKESH RANJAN .
VIKAS SHARMA.
.
NAVNEET RADHAY SHYAM.
PUSP RANJAN .
.
VIKAS ANAND.
SATISH VIVEK KUMAR OJHA .
.
II -.
~--.
VANDE MATARAM! .
Sd/-Ran VijayCentral Campaign Coordi'nator .
.
PaRCha - JNU - ABVP - 2004 ID-557
.
\ .
AKHIL BHARATIYA VIDYARTHI PARISHAD.
DECOLONIZING OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM 02/1 1/2004 Friends, Decolonizing the Indian mind is the ABVP.
's foremost agenda in the realm of education,. .
A nation's.
freedom, or even its nationalism, cannot be deemed to be constituted of political independence alone : it has to.
imply an ind'igenization of the core of its systems of knowledge and ways of life. The dominant discourse on what.
constitutes knowledge' .
in India -which operates from a few elite institutions but dominates the media andtextbooks -not only separates a small elite from the masses of India, but also makes this small modernized elite.
pride itself in imitating the West. .
colonial states policy to educate a handful of Indians in western thought, literature etc., with English as the mediumof instruction. The aim of this venture was clearly hegemonic : having established political control over India, the Our e'ducation system is still based on the colonial model, and can be seen as a direct off-shoot of the .
of notions of colonizers were 'Britnow ishseesupkinerig oto rityperpetuate the Raj through moral, social and cultural control; through a projection.
' which were being sought to be established by the deculturization of Indians.
through the institutionalization of alien modes and forms of knowledge. The knowledge system thus imposed had.
an epistemological basis in the '.
time. Enlightenment' discourse -the dominant intellectual tradition in Europe at thatThe categories constructed by this European intellectual tradition -.
'scientiticity', such as 'progress',.
'secularism', etc. -made their way into India and have unfortunate.ly become uncontested'rationality',us. 'truths' forIt was through this process of colonial imposition that the discourse of modernity intellectually colonized.
India. .
Modernity as a complex of ideas and social processes may have symbolized a significant step in thematerial and intellectual culture of humankind, but it cannot be denied that the era of colonial expansion and.
conquests coincided with the 'Enlightenment'.
'rationality', 1SCientificity' and and the triumphant march of modernity. Enlightenment ideas of.
.
'progress', the proud possession of the colonizers, not only sought to culturallyhegemonize and homogenize the whole world, but also shaped the European self-image of 'progress.
'civilization', which was used to dub the colonized people as 'irrational', 'barbaric', and '' and.
thetical terms to the colonizers' self-image. retrogressive', or in anti-.
Seen in this light, modernity not only redefined the west but alsodefined lands like India which were seen in opposition to it and were to be 'rescued' by the introduction of western.
thought and institutions. Its pretensions of universality made it blind to the existence in the colonized lands of.
alternative cultures, which had their own specific historical roots. Any departure from the modern west was.
simplistically viewed as a sign of backwardness.The repeated, unquestioned use of Enlightenment categories in the pedagogical process, and in thepolitical discourse, makes them uncontested symbols of.
instance, ''knowledge' for students, as also for policy makers. For.
secularism', originally meaning separation of the church and the state -a very relevant concept in.
Europe -was made a 'symbol' with its content altered drastically. It became 'Sarva Pantha Sarna Bhava' -an.
idea that was already part of our civilizational ethos, which had always stood for the nurturing of diverse beliefs; for.
.
the ideal of '.
tradition. Thus, though Indian .
.
Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti', and not for the kind of rigid codification characteristic of the Semi1ic.
'secularism' is not undesirable in itself, it need not be labeled 'secularism' at all.VVe wish to inform our Marxist friends that enslavement to such symbols of intellectualism is no longergoing to work in India. An alternative, indigenous system of knowledge has to be structured through a questioningof these categories and the construction of alternative categories, which have indigenous roots; which are anoutcome of a comprehensive and critical study of our own schools of thought and cultural values. We urge thestudents of JNU to support this agenda of ours and give us a decisive mandate in tile coming JNUSU elections. .
~-.
-.
CENTRAL PAN E L.
DHANANJAY SINGH -PRESIDENT.
ANKITA BHATIACHARJEE.
PRITISH KUMAR SAHU -VICE-PRESIDENT.
-GEN-SECRETARY.
.
MANOJ PANT .
-JOINT-SECRETARY.
SL SIS sss .
.
San,skrlt Centre.
BHARTI TANWAR .
ARIJIT RAKSHIT RAJEEV NARAYAN.
DZHKHA KARUNA SAURABJYOTISARMA RAKESH RANJAN .
VIKAS SHARMA.
.
NAVNEET RADHAY SHYAM.
PUSP RANJAN .
.
VIKAS ANAND.
SATISH VIVEK KUMAR OJHA .
.
II -.
~--.
VANDE MATARAM! .
Sd/-Ran VijayCentral Campaign Coordi'nator .
.