(RSSFACTS is a column that demystifies the functioning, organisational structure and ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.)
On the eve of Diwali this year, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat publicly stated that India needs to shed the “Macaulay Knowledge System” and return to its indigenous system.
The so-called Macaulay system of education was formally imposed in 1835, when Thomas Babington Macaulay, a member of the Supreme Council of India, introduced his famous Minute on Indian Education. Acting under the direction of Governor-General Lord William Bentinck, Macaulay pushed for the replacement of India’s traditional education system with a Western one, with the objective of colonizing the minds of Indians and destroying India’s civilizational roots and heritage.
Even after independence, India—under the influence of Western-educated and Marxist academia—continued with the Macaulay system of education. The RSS has long advocated replacing this system with India’s indigenous education model that prevailed in the pre-British era.
There are two key tenets of the RSS worldview on India’s education system. First, the indigenous education system, adapted to a modern context, should be applied. The second tenet is an outcome of the first—namely, that developing a suitable system of education for India goes much beyond merely rewriting history books.
It may be recalled that RSS volunteers have been working on the ground to implement an India-centric education system through Vidya Bharati, which runs more than 12,000 schools educating over 3.5 million children across the country. This grassroots effort began in 1952 in Gorakhpur, when the first Saraswati Bal Mandir was established.
It is interesting to note how the RSS’s stance on education has evolved over the years—well before its ideological mentee, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came to power and began implementing the New Education Policy (NEP).
RSS on History Books
In 1982, the RSS passed a resolution stating: “The suggestion by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) that the present division of our history into Hindu, Muslim and British periods be given up may be accepted, for the stream of national life of Bharat has been an unbroken flow since ancient times. However, the other directions of NCERT, such as not to term the aggressors who had chosen to settle down here as foreigners (even though they had not identified themselves with our national life), and to discontinue glorifying any past period as a golden age, will only defeat the very purpose of teaching history.”
This resolution clearly articulated the RSS’s worldview on history. It emphasized: “The history of a nation is not just a catalogue of the rise and fall of its ruling dynasties and wars; it embodies the inspiring saga of the people’s ideals and aspirations, their peerless valour and mighty achievements, and the endless penance and martyrdom of their saints and heroes. It also carries the lessons and warnings of past generations—their blunders and perversions, their defeats and lapses. It is obvious that the clearer the mirror of history, the brighter and truer will be the nation’s image reflected therein. Righteous pride in all that is good and great in the past, coupled with genuine penitence for past faults and failures, alone can spur us to strive for a glorious future and save us from previous pitfalls.”
RSS on the Evolution of the Education System
The RSS has consistently maintained that the objective of education should be to prepare men and women of character for whom the nation and society come first.
“The purpose of education is not merely to enable the student to earn a livelihood but also to impart values of patriotism, the spirit of service, and social responsibility,” said an RSS resolution passed in 2008.
Expressing its disappointment at the degeneration in the field of education, the RSS added in the same resolution:
“The education system of a country should fulfil the aim of all-round development of the individual’s personality, inculcate a feeling of national pride and social responsibility, and contribute to the needs of national development.”
The resolution called upon “educationists, teachers, policymakers, all State Governments, and the Central Government to initiate a serious debate on this subject and evolve a system of education that will produce a new generation full of confidence and national pride—one that will achieve spectacular success in every field and carry the nation to the pinnacle of all-round development.”
In a 2016 resolution, the RSS reiterated:
“Every child should get value-based, nationalistic, employment-oriented, and skill-based education in an atmosphere of equal opportunity.”
It also urged society to come forward in this noble cause of imparting education, especially in rural, tribal, and underdeveloped areas, so that “a worthy, able, and knowledge-driven society is created, which will play an important role in the development and upliftment of the nation.”
Conclusion
Detractors or critics of the RSS have often tried to project that its worldview is restricted only to rewriting history books, whereas in reality, it goes much beyond that. The crux of the RSS’s perspective on education is that India needs to evolve a modern education system rooted in its civilizational values—integrated with its socio-cultural fabric—where both the government and society play a crucial role in shaping the nation’s future.
Earlier RSSFACTS columns can be read here.
(Arun Anand has authored two books on the RSS. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive.)
Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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