The speaker examines the significant effects of the new education policy and the long-lasting effects of colonization on India’s knowledge system in an educational YouTube video. The video unfolds with an examination of the historical trajectory, beginning with the formation of the University of London in 1825, marking a transformative shift in education and its role in shaping civilizations.
The talk goes into the disruption of India’s rich educational tradition, once characterized by diverse institutions attached to monasteries known as ‘Sangramas.’ The British intervention in 1835 altered the landscape, introducing a class-based lens that distorted the objective understanding of societal structures. The colonial narrative projected onto the Indian education system has resulted in a hierarchical and oppressive social reality, urging a critical examination to reverse the damaging consequences. Language emerges as a significant determinant of intelligence and opportunities in post-colonial India, with English proficiency perpetuating a preference over vernacular languages. This language hierarchy, discussed by intellectuals like Albert Memmi and Benjamin Worf, underscores the transmission of cosmology and culture through language. The urgency to address societal biases and transform unconscious biases perpetuated by the value placed on Western ideals is emphasized.
The video takes a bold step in critically examining dominant Western paradigms, employing a methodology rooted in post-modern philosophy of science. The collapse of binaries opens a pathway to explore distinctively Indian epistemology centered around the transcendence of dualities, as exemplified by the Vedantic perspective on the multifaceted nature of the mind. The exploration extends to the logical and reciprocal relationship between buddhi and ahankara, unveiling the transcendence of the mind in various Indian traditions. Silencing the intellect through psycho-spiritual practices is emphasized as a means to become conduits for divine knowledge, challenging Western skepticism and affirming the profound legitimacy of the Indian epistemological approach.
