Westernised education concept dealt a blow to Indian culture: Rajnath Singh

[prasad1]

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today held westernised education concept brought by Britishers responsible for dealing a severe blow to the values and culture of the country and said present system was not fulfilling the main objective of education.


Singh, while addressing a gathering at the Chopsani Schools centenary celebrations here said the main objective of the education is "comprehensive development of the personality" and lamented that the present education system was not fulfilling this objective.


Holding the westernised educational concept brought in by the Britishers, Singh said "this education system has dealt a severe blow to the values and culture of the country, for which, India has been recognised across the globe."


Terming Indian culture to be unparallelled, Singh said only Indian culture and value model is such rich and holistic that it thinks not only about the human being but everything on the earth, be it lifeless. The Union minister said everyone has unique talent and ability and there was a need to provide an opportunity to them.
"Unfortunately everyone does not have access to this opportunity," he said while assuring that his government would provide the opportunity to all to identify and harness the talents and abilities of the students in the interest of the nation.


Singh said that we will have to realise the malicious intentions of nipping this value and cultural model behind introducing this westernised educational model and never treat us as inferior, which the education system of present time seem to be instilling in the new generations.


"Had these assurances converted into reality, the country would have been a recognised super power and a prosperous nation," he said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...-blow-to-indian-culture-rajnath-singh-2026529
Is this True?

I think Pakistan , Afganistan, Sudan and other countries did not have European education and look how much they have advanced. South Korea, Singapore had the same European education and it did not hurt there advancement.
Indians run almost entire worlds information, IIT alumni are in all Top companies of the world.
What is that Mr. singh does not understand?

 

[vgane]

The English education system that belittles the natives is of no use...A combination of English education with Indian value system is what is required for us..It should expose Indians to our own cultural heritage which is missing currently...Then no one will have an axe to grind against English...

 

[renuka]

Was Mr Rajnath Singh speaking in English when he said all these?

 

[sangom]

This glorification of "Indian values" and decrying of the "western education system" is one of the permanent lamentations of the hindutvaa lobbyists. Let them now show the courage to completely eliminate this so-called western education from the land and, instead, bring in whatever they think is the the values and culture of the country which the present system was not fulfilling.

I personally feel this is a typical case of नाच न जाने, आंगन टेडा (nāca na jāne, āṃgana ṭeḍā = For one who does not know how to dance, the courtyard is always wonky!). The british never compelled Indians to learn english or study in their english schools but they offered the incentive of government jobs to those who studied so. If even a small percentage of our people had this hindutvaa/BJP viewpoints, they would definitely have/they ought to have kept the english schools out of their agenda and taught their children in the ancient ways; but this did not happen. Even Savarkar went to England to study!

 

[auh]

I believe it may have more to do with the approach towards education, type of subjects, points of interest in history, and personality development.

Whether we like it or not, there are a lot of Indians, away from home, who try to ape the west or have a fascination for the "whites" just so. This, obviously "may" not have come in a majority of the cases had the west not been glorified.

Reading, or, learning english, is different from having a servile attitude to their ways and customs.

 

[Vaagmi]

This glorification of "Indian values" and decrying of the "western education system" is one of the permanent lamentations of the hindutvaa lobbyists. Let them now show the courage to completely eliminate this so-called western education from the land and, instead, bring in whatever they think is the the values and culture of the country which the present system was not fulfilling.
I personally feel this is a typical case of नाच न जाने, आंगन टेडा (nāca na jāne, āṃgana ṭeḍā = For one who does not know how to dance, the courtyard is always wonky!). The british never compelled Indians to learn english or study in their english schools but they offered the incentive of government jobs to those who studied so. If even a small percentage of our people had this hindutvaa/BJP viewpoints, they would definitely have/they ought to have kept the english schools out of their agenda and taught their children in the ancient ways; but this did not happen. Even Savarkar went to England to study!

Dear Sri Sangom sir,

I am not a "Hindutva" (the context in which it is used frequently and understood) enthusiast. but facts are facts and they have to be recognized as such.

1. If teachers are the fulcrum in the system of education, our western method of "managing" educational institutions and education itself has produced teachers who are horrible creatures to occupy that respected position. a teacher who stamps on the cigarette but which he had just smoked, a teacher who gropes the girl students using their innocence and his respected position, a teacher who does not read at all and hence is miserably poor in the understanding of the subject which he is teaching, a teacher who opens up the text book, rework on the black board the worked out examples in the text book and finishes the class with the satisfaction that he has imparted knowledge on the subject to the students--these are some of the products of the modern education management system. These monsters help students come out with flying colors in the exam-I wonder how these flying colors came and get the answer that the ability to mug up is the key to the success. I have come across students who can write out an entire worked out example of a sum in the text book without leaving even a letter. It is no wonder that they get a H grade in the exam and come out with flying colors. It is an industry which produces repeater machines and not Engineers or scientists. These "Engineers", as long as they occupy a position in an Electricity Board office adding an initial to a cheque, or in the Municipal sewerage Board clearing indents for purchase of dustbins it is okay. when they design a bridge it invariably crashes.

Having identified the problem, should we not discuss a possible solution?

I believe that 1) education should be decentralized. There should be a national standards authority which should set standards of excellence acceptable at various stages of education like-5th Std., 10th std (SSLC) Pre-degree course, graduate level, PG level, Diploma level/certificate level etc.,
2) Considering the cost the State Government should fund the schools by releasing money on a per head basis on the number of students who clear a level from that school. For this the examinations should be centralised and conducted by a national authority. Starting and running a school should be left to Individual effort and enterprise. Graduate and PG level education should be funded by Central Government again on the basis of selection after a national level examination conducted by a central authority.
3)The syllabus and level of knowledge acauisition should all be determined at national level. Thus a student who has cleared 5th std in a remote village in Tamilnadu will have no difficulty in continuing his studies further if he goes to a mountainous village in the North East Meghalaya state.
4)The SC/ST who are the real down-trodden in this country should be given some enabling concessions. No other reservation will be available to any one else on the basis of caste, creed, religion, region, disability etc.,
5)There should be no reservation in the selection and appointment of teachers.

If this is what any politician talks about while touching educational reforms in this country I will support him.

 

[prasad1]

It gets me worried when political leaders propagate a certain way of living. This seems like a propaganda to push their style of thinking primarily. The BJP leaders, more often than not, refer to the Manu-smriti inspired ways of living which is only but a part (& not the best thing) about our cultural heritage. Interestingly none of these leaders refer to the ills of the society ( or media ignore them) like dowry or caste or mistreatment of women in their speeches.


Moreover, culture is an evolving thing and every generation will have its own ways of living and they have a right to that. Imposing an ancient way of living is not proper, especially for the Government. Culture is a changeable thing. The way our country was before the muslims invaded India and post that was different as some of the Muslim influence like Ghooghat and stuff was imbibed into our culture. Generally Art and sculpture depicts the general trends at that point in time. When the British ruled India, there were significant changes to our culture like wearing Shirts, Pants and also our eating habits. Culture is bound to change with time.
I have a wonderful comment about this this article

Zeitgeist, MangaloreThursday, October 16, 2014
Kuldesh,


You are showing a fake sense of nationalism and pride. What ever it is you dont seem to put rational thought behind what you believe.


I will tell you one thing, yes its widely regarded that 0 originated from India. But it does not mean anything now. If 0 was not thought up by India, it would have been thought up by somebody else. In the same way if Einstein Or Newton would not have done anything in the field of Relativity or Gravity it would have been thought up by somebody else. I am sure you have heard of Mayan Civilization, they also thought out zero, without which they would not have had a accurate calendar.


What you should know is that the knowledge what we have today and the things that we have invented today have come from contributions from the civilization before us.


Rajnath Singh blaming western style education, but he conveniently forgets to say that though India had education, it was reserved for upper caste of the society. So what would lower caste do.


Finally don`t forget that when you blame British you are just ignoring all the contribution and influence they have been for modern Indian society. If it wasn't for British there would not have been an unified India that we know of today. Instead there would have been many different countries. And most peoples claim that India was looted by British, they took it from the Indian royals of the time and not the common people. If you think that the royals would have shared that wealth with common people like you and me, then you are deluded.

Westernised education concept dealt a blow to Indian culture: Rajnath Singh

 

[Vaagmi]

Rajnath Singh blaming western style education, but he conveniently forgets to say that though India had education, it was reserved for upper caste of the society. So what would lower caste do.

The usual armchair intellectual pretensions and rant therefrom. The writer does not know that education was open to everyone who was after it in the ancient indian society. I can give evidences for this. For some people nothing will be complete unless they take a swipe at the caste in India.

 

[sangom]

The usual armchair intellectual pretensions and rant therefrom. The writer does not know that education was open to everyone who was after it in the ancient indian society. I can give evidences for this. For some people nothing will be complete unless they take a swipe at the caste in India.

What is the evidence to prove that Shudras were admitted to gurukulams just as commonly as the three higher castes, in the middle ages, say, in Chanakya's times?

 

[vignesh2014]

Education was given on those days not because of money,position or any sort of materialistic things but for people who want to gain true knowledge. Since the fourth varna learnt their skills from their ancestors and since there was no need for everyday becoming intellectual, it was not thought about. It was not that much practical also at that time. Education combined morality with all sorts of earnings. when persons born in unclean environment and unclean thoughts (This was not only the thinking but the truth that led them not to give higher values of education to the people who mostly worked for others). This was not a degradation but a natural form in which society functioned.

 

[renuka]

Education combined morality with all sorts of earnings. when persons born in unclean environment and unclean thoughts (This was not only the thinking but the truth that led them not to give higher values of education to the people who mostly worked for others). This was not a degradation but a natural form in which society functioned.

Really? How come other religions can pick up these people..groom them with education and produce cultured individuals?

So you feel letting someone remain unclean and uneducated is natural?

I think one should thank God for British Invasion of any country.

I dread to imagine any country running on Manu Smriti or Hudud.

 

[Vaagmi]

What is the evidence to prove that Shudras were admitted to gurukulams just as commonly as the three higher castes, in the middle ages, say, in Chanakya's times?

where is the proof that they were not admitted? What is the reason for choosing Chanakya's time? Please answer these. i will certainly give you the info you want.

 

[sangom]

where is the proof that they were not admitted? What is the reason for choosing Chanakya's time? Please answer these. i will certainly give you the info you want.

Chanakya advocates the caste rules of Manu smriti and there is no specific mention in arthasastra about sudra getting education or sudras being given education.

 

[கால பைரவன்]

The current dispensation is such that caste discrimination is good if it favors NBs; It is bad if it favors Brahmins. This has been the case for past several decades. This position does not change whether there is hindutva model of education or western model of education. We should be more worried about highly discriminatory laws such as RTE, due to which we can expecr middle and lower class Brahmins to be the worst affected.

 

[Vaagmi]

1.Chanakya advocates the caste rules of Manu smriti and 2. there is no specific mention in arthasastra about sudra getting education or sudras being given education.

Numbers for convenience of reference:

1. When there is difference in a matter between sruti and smriti, sruti gets precedence in authenticity and authority and smriti should be given a go by. This is the cardinal rule for those who study vedas and sastras as laid down by our ancestors. So manusmriti is not the final authority. There is evidence in vedas (sruti) that not only the sudras and panchamas but also ladies were also learning vedas. This matter has been discussed once earlier also and I had given exhaustive references to the sruti portion where references are available for this. Now I am away in my daughter's house and so I am unable to access my data base at home. If, sangom Sir, you want to refer to them either go through my earlier posts or wait until I get back home in a week time.

2. Absence of specific information in Chanakya's arthasastra makes it neither here nor there. absence of a reference can not be a conclusive evidence for absence of a practice. Moreover Chandra Gupta Maurya's period is just a speck in the long continuum called time in India. Much before Chanakya sudras have studied vedas. They were not kept away from that by any one.

 

[krish44]

last sixty years we have been talking about our education system as to what would be best for us .

a whole generation has got educated in schools and institutions of higher learning made their careers in india' and many have done well

people have talked of 2 or 3 language formulas , 10+1 0r 10+2, yrs in school . Three or four years in college, caste based reservations etc whatever suits the politicians of

the day

all this tinkering with education has not damaged our education system much

luckily we have got reasonably well educated and worked a lifetime on the basis of education imparted to us in our schools and colleges.

Every generation has its wish list regards education .

they can hardly change much the existing system which appears to be OK to most .

the issues we talked about in late fifties we are talking again now

people like rajnath singh can have their say .

they will have their way for a few years

then another set of fellows ruling the countries will turn back the clock and say something else.

we will continue with this and not much harm will be caused.

our education system is resilient enough.

My only feeling is, I do not have to get educated again in any school or college.lol

 

[fire]

India was good in Math. In Science it might not have contributed much as other countries in past centuries. Indian current education system is clearly a mess and does not do good for its citizens .
Only a fraction of people are getting medical education. The number will be quite less if you count specializations.
No of IITs,IIMs are less. We are in a rat race.
A lot of intelligent people are in BPO industries, answering calls. People who got 98 percent are in IT industry fixing UI problems,most of the work in many IT industries are repetitive in nature. I often feel many Indians are under employed. Research are quite minimal. Many manual jobs we keep which can be automated. For ex, bus conductors, porters,construction works.There is no quality education , mingled with there is no quality jobs. Once you go out the city the struggle for good education and work gets bigger and bigger.In a country which produces most number of engineers in world, we need to import technology for our defense.For higher studies we need to fly to foreign nations.

Where is Indianness in Education. Ask a Math Phd about one formula from Ramanujam...Ask about Aryabhattas ,Bhaskara work... Yoga has been popularized by some effort in past decades by some private individuals.Still it hasnt reached common man through education. Indian music,martial arts,medicine system are largely untouched by our education system.

In the end ,many best brains in India, for money , our forefathers worked as gumasthas to British....Next generation may be bank officers passing cheques,the next generation may be in IT/BPO and other service sectors.

 

[vignesh2014]

Kindly don't put your own words into mine and don't try to portray yourself as the champion of downtrodden. I'm not against emancipation of the downtrodden. The first one to say that all are mixed races is mine only.That is why we have different shades of browns and blacks in India. What i tried to say is the situation prevalent in India at that time and their mind set. Kindly don't put your own interpretations in everything as though you are the only one championing for the causes of the underprivileged people.Kindly don't make your own statements without other saying that. Even Brahmins have joined the cause of emancipation like Rajaram Mohanrai, Bharathi and Ramanjujar to name a few.

 

[renuka]

Even Brahmins have joined the cause of emancipation like Rajaram Mohanrai, Bharathi and Ramanjujar to name a few.

Then why dont you emulate them?

I am sure even the PM of India will never agree with your theory and education for only some policy.

 

[prasad1]

We are in a rat race.

In the end ,many best brains in India, for money , our forefathers worked as gumasthas to British....Next generation may be bank officers passing cheques,the next generation may be in IT/BPO and other service sectors.

.

A well written article

 

[JR]

India was good in Math. In Science it might not have contributed much as other countries in past centuries. Indian current education system is clearly a mess and does not do good for its citizens .
Only a fraction of people are getting medical education. The number will be quite less if you count specializations.
No of IITs,IIMs are less. We are in a rat race.
A lot of intelligent people are in BPO industries, answering calls. People who got 98 percent are in IT industry fixing UI problems,most of the work in many IT industries are repetitive in nature. I often feel many Indians are under employed. Research are quite minimal. Many manual jobs we keep which can be automated. For ex, bus conductors, porters,construction works.There is no quality education , mingled with there is no quality jobs. Once you go out the city the struggle for good education and work gets bigger and bigger.In a country which produces most number of engineers in world, we need to import technology for our defense.For higher studies we need to fly to foreign nations.

Where is Indianness in Education. Ask a Math Phd about one formula from Ramanujam...Ask about Aryabhattas ,Bhaskara work... Yoga has been popularized by some effort in past decades by some private individuals.Still it hasnt reached common man through education. Indian music,martial arts,medicine system are largely untouched by our education system.

In the end ,many best brains in India, for money , our forefathers worked as gumasthas to British....Next generation may be bank officers passing cheques,the next generation may be in IT/BPO and other service sectors.

Dear Sir,

Your statements that Indians are under-employed and also that we are good at math are 100% correct. In the US, so many Indians are Software Engineers and some of them (rather many of them) are not Engineering graduates (myself being one of those) and in the daily changing and emerging technologies, companies do spend quite a fortune replacing and upgrading older systems to newer and newer, complicated technologies... And our Indians are preferred as the #1 candidates for hire because we grasp any technology so fast, are otherwise un-intimidated to learn newer platforms and are hard-working.

All India needs perhaps is more research-oriented outlook to education. Indian education currently strengthens the rote learning system to the utmost, which just strengthens one part of the brain. For maximum benefit out of education, a more research oriented outlook is needed. I cannot say how this can be brought about, but thinking at the highest level, you can say 'at a bird's eyeview' this seems to be the solution. Then, Indian scientists and researchers will be able to compete at the International Level.

 

[vignesh2014]

What anybody has done for emulating those great people for emancipating those downtrodden people that i have not done. Here we have only Maulyam singh and Mayavathi kind of people who exploit innocent people's sentiments and trying to get political advantage out of it rather than solving their real problems. Here their main target is not their emancipation but portraying themselves as champions of oppressed to gain advantage for themselves out of it. Anyway I just want to avoid all these controversies and want to convey "VERY HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH PROSPERITY AND CHEERS FOR THE FUTURE TO BE BRIGHT LIKE THE FESTIVE SPIRIT"

 

[vignesh2014]

it should be every body (instead of everyday)

 

[vignesh2014]

Whatever Shri Fire told is correct only. Instead of utilizing our thinking individuals, we have put them in a burden of running for jobs without their intelligence being utilized for advanced sectors like it is done in Russia or Germany or Israel. What we have to do is we have to make all schools and colleges up to international standard and also we have to give more preference to thinking individuals having good aptitude and interest for more learning rather than reproducing from texts. This if Mr. PM or CM do will be one of our greatest achievements for India as a whole and people from other international countries will come and join and also try to improve our country if settled here itself for better job opportunities and our gene pool will also improve just like USA because of the mix of well advanced races contributing to the growth of our country.(Mind this is my view not based on racial thoughts but as a person who had followed many countries progress and my view based on my observation in other countries when I visited)