Few centuries ago, India was called ‘Vishwaguru’ The expression Vishwaguru is a Sanskrit phrase which translates as global teacher, the Guru of World. Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses the phrase in all his speeches globally during his visits to foreign countries such as Germany, Denmark and France, Italy, UK, Japan etc. The Prime Minister expects positive effects in terms of advancing ‘Make in India’ initiatives, free trade agreement discussions, and making India’s positioning in world stronger.
So why does Narendra Modi keep calling India Vishwa Guru? Education in the Indian subcontinent began with teaching of traditional elements such as Indian religions, Indian mathematics, Indian logic at early Hindu and Buddhist centres of learning such as ancient Takshashila (in modern-day Pakistan) and Nalanda (Bihar, India) where those days 10,000-15,000 students studied and most came from other countries.
Travellers from various regions having different climates and cultures began to visit parts of India from early times. To them, India was a land of wonder! The fame of Indian culture, wealth, religions, philosophies, art, architecture, as well as its educational practices had spread far and wide. The education system of ancient times was regarded as a source for the knowledge, traditions and practices that guided and encouraged humanity.
From the time of Rigveda, our ancient education system evolved over the period and focused on the holistic development of the individual by taking care of both the inner and the outer self. The ancient system of education was the education of the Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and Dharmasutras. Some of the great scholars such as Aryabhata and Baudhayan (mathematicians) Panini (philosopher and grammarian) Katyayana (mathematician and grammarian) Patanjali (Yoga), Charaka and Sushruta (medicine and surgery) and many more scholars had made ancient India in true sense Vishwa Guru.
To add to it, ancient South Indian temples to the finest Mughal ruins, Indian architecture is as old as civilization itself. The earliest traces of recognizable building activity in India can be traced back to the settlements of the Indus Valley. India is home to a myriad of temples, ornamental, and modernistic structures that tell the stories of their era. UNESCO lists 830 World Heritage Sites consists of 40 Indian heritage sites.
Becoming a Vishwaguru again is a sentiment of the present Government’s ambition and there is nothing wrong about it. To rub it off or to believe that India is incapable of pursuing this aspiration is an injustice to our past, present and future too. From our traditional occupation of agricultural to advancements in nuclear and space technology, from ensuring affordable healthcare to setting up world-class educational institutions, from ayurveda to biotechnology, from giant steel plants to becoming an IT power and having the third-biggest start-up ecosystem in the world, what we have achieved in our post-Independence journey is highly creditable.
Our ancient civilisational culture has provided us with a strong philosophical foundation that has several unique features. Our strong spiritual foundation cannot be unwiped. Back in the 17th century, India, a key player in the world economy, was a leading exporter of spices, sugar, textiles, handicrafts, and much more. It was also one of the first countries to adopt a money-based trade.
Education is the most powerful tool to change mindset from an older setting to new one. It has the power to change the way people think and execute. Progressive nations in the world invest in education of teachers and youth to empower a new generation of leaders. Nelson Mandela said that ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ Education is not all about studying to get good marks. It is a medium to discover new things. It helps us understand new concepts; new skills, new meaning, and new vocabulary thus increase our awareness. An educated person has the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. It is the most primary responsibility of a society to educate its citizens.
Our county’s education system needs to be remodelled as per the necessities and ambitions of today’s world, instead of taking it back to the old ages. However, in India the education system has evolved in a completely different manner. Our education emphasizes on rote learning. We don’t train young minds to focus on critical thinking, expressing new ideas and debating and writing critically on any issue. We don’t emphasize on entrepreneurship, instead we motivate students to become clerks with basic understanding of the language and mathematics, to support their administrative system. Today our education system has tuned into only cramming degrees.
We lag behind in the research domain. Our universities and colleges lack a multi-disciplinary approach to stimulate inquiring skills among students. Our education system has failed to develop industry linkages with academia to promote research, it limits the faculty and students to work in this area.
We give too much importance to marks; instead of focusing the evaluation on a three-hour exam, the focus of evaluation should be classroom participation by a student, live projects conducted by them, communication skills and leadership skills and extra-curricular activities. Teachers play the most important role in schools and colleges. They should be given the best of class training. After all, they are shaping the future of the nation, the children.
I conclude my article by saying education is most important for mental, physical and spiritual democracy. India must regain its intellectual leadership and once again emerge as a global hub of learning and innovation. It is possible and it is the destiny of India. And, to do this, we need strong will of the Government, Universities and Industry. Alongside the change in curriculum, businesses have an increasingly key role to play in providing extracurricular support for education. The initial role of universities is to provide education to individuals and basic research. It’s like a Linear Model of Innovations; universities are supposed to provide the research on which industry builds commercial goods. The other interactions take place through the involvement of industry managers and university faculty in both sectors. A university flourishes because of research, and industry grows on research in universities.
We need universities with a core mission of producing the educated population that’s needed to build, run and work for flourishing an economy. Today in India how many universities have been able to connect their activities to society and the nation’s economy? Hope the present Government takes keen interest in regaining the ‘Vishwaguru’ title back for the nation.
