08/11/2019
The Indian education system produced scholars like Charaka and Susruta, Aryabhata, Bhaskaracharya, Chanakya, patanjali and Panini, and numerous others. They made seminal contributions to world knowledge in diverse fields such as mathematics, astronomy, metallurgy, medical science and surgery, civil engineering and architecture, shipbuilding and navigation, yoga, fine arts, chess, and more.
Buddhism and its strong influence on the world, particularly in south-east Asia and especially so in China, prompted Hu Shih the former Ambassador of China to the United States of America to say “India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border”.
Education in India was only enriched through the mixing of cultures that arose from the very first invasions, till the arrival of the British. The country has absorbed many of these influences and blended them into a unique culture of its own.
Culturally, India has been, and continues to be, a cradle of great diversity in all walks of life, with its myriad languages and dialects, with as many as seven classical dance forms and two classical music forms, many well-developed
traditions of folk arts and music, pottery, sculptures and bronzes, exquisite architecture, incredible cuisines, fabulous textiles of all kinds, and so much more. These rich legacies to world heritage must not only be nurtured and preserved for posterity, but also enhanced and put to new uses through our
education system.
For instance, they can be integrated into a Liberal Arts education to help develop the creativity and originality of students, and to encourage them to innovate. As Einstein said to a group of children “Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools is the work of many
generations. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order that you may receive it, honor it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things that we create in
common”.
- National Education Policy Draft 2019
