The government is accused of saffronising education, but “what’s wrong with saffron”. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday called on the country to completely reject the Macaulay education system. The Vice President said at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya that Indians should give up their ‘colonial mindset’ and learn to take pride in their Indian identity. Indianization of the education system is central to India’s new education policy, which emphasizes the promotion of mother tongues.
Calling for the rejection of the Macaulay education system in the 75th year of independence, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said it imposed a foreign language as the medium of instruction in the country and restricted education to the elite. He said that centuries of colonial rule taught us to see ourselves as a low caste. We were taught to despise our culture, traditional knowledge. It slowed down our growth as a nation. The imposition of a foreign language as our medium of instruction limited education. A small section of the society is depriving a large population of the right to education.
Thomas Babington Macaulay was a British historian who played a major role in the introduction of English as the medium of instruction in India.
The Vice President said that we should feel proud of our heritage, our culture, our ancestors. We must go back to our roots. We must abandon our colonial mindset and teach our children to be proud of their Indian identity. We should learn as many Indian languages as possible. We should love our mother tongue. We must learn Sanskrit to know our Shastras, which are a treasure trove of knowledge.
Learn to love your mother tongue: Naidu
Encouraging the youth to propagate their mother tongue, he said, “I am looking forward to the day when all the notifications will be issued in the mother tongue of the respective state. Your mother tongue is like your vision, whereas that of a foreign language is yours. Knowledge is like your glasses.” He said that foreign dignitaries visiting India speak in their mother tongue despite knowing English as they are proud of their language.
India is the land of the great Ashoka
Naidu said, India has strong ties with almost all South Asian countries which have common roots. The Indus Valley Civilization extends from Afghanistan to the Gangetic plains. Our policy of never attacking any country first is respected all over the world. This is a land of warriors, where the great king Ashoka chose non-violence and peace over violence.
Along with education, the importance of nature is also important.
He said, “There was a time when people from all over the world used to come to study in the ancient Indian universities of Nalanda and Taxila. India never thought of attacking any country because we firmly believe that the world should have peace. He said that along with education, children should also be taught to be in close contact with nature. Nature is a good teacher. You must have seen that people living close to nature suffered less during the COVID crisis. Nature and culture should be the motto for a better future.