Author: Rajesh Ramachandran
Publication: The Times of India
Date: December 2, 2001
Amidst a raging controversy over
the 'saffronisation' of education, Union human resources minister Murli
Manohar Joshi, speaking from a Sangh Parivar platform on Saturday, announced
an "intellectual freedom struggle" and pledged to continue with his programme
of changing the curricula until the country became "intellectually free".
Launching an offensive on critics
of the Centre's education policy, he said, "Sangh Parivar leaders have
taken the expression saffronisation as a compliment because saffron is
sacred and denotes renunciation and penance."
Inaugurating a two-day 'national
education conference' organised by the RSS-affiliate Vidya Bharati here
on Saturday, Mr Joshi attacked Marxists and followers of Macaulay, accusing
them of denigrating ancient Indian scholar. He emphasised that children
must be taught about the country's past glory
A resolution supporting Mr Joshi's
programme was passed by about 30 former and serving vice-chancellors from
various universities of the country and a host of senior officials from
institutions like the National Council for Educational Research and Training
(NCERT), the National Council for Teacher Education, the National Institute
for Educational Planning and Administration and the National Open School.
At a closed-door meeting on Sunday,
the officials will discuss "how to change and what to change" further in
the curricula. Speaking to this newspaper, general secretary of Vidya Bharti
Dinanath Batra said it would be an informal discussion at which members
would discuss ways to channelise the energy of youth.
The resolution passed at the meeting
said the national education conference supported the efforts of the Centre
to rewrite the curricula against all odds in order to bring about harmony
between Indian education and the sources of Indian culture. Another resolution-on
the orientation for value education at the higher learning institutes of
India-was also passed. A third, on university education, which was slated
to be passed on Saturday, had to be re-phrased and will now be released
on Sunday.
In his hour-long speech, Mr Joshi
gave instances to show that ancient Indian scholarship had been forgotten
by the Marxists who, he said, believed that India did not have a history.
Speaking about the Lithuanian President reciting the Bhagvad Gita to him,
Mr Joshi wondered if the Indian President would be able to do so. Alluding
to Aryabhatta's contribution to the study of gravitational force, Bhaskaracharya's
on calculus and Charaka's and Sushruta's on medicine and surgery, Mr Joshi
said, "When we can be reminded of our defeats, we can also be reminded
of the achievement of our ancient scholarship. It was Macaulay who devised
a way to defeat the will of the country by teaching Indians that we had
no learning and achievement."
He then rounded up with the assertion,
"If talking about the Rig Veda and the Gita is saffronisation, then I am
saffronising education."
