Haridwar: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday asked the people of the country to shed their “colonial mindset” and learn to take pride in their identity. Naidu called for a complete rejection of the Macaulay system of education in the 75th year of independence, saying it imposed a foreign language as the medium of instruction in the country and restricted education to the elite.
Naidu said, “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 introduction of a foreign language as the medium of instruction limited education. A small section of the society is depriving a large population of the right to education.”
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The Vice President said, “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 our Indian identity. We should learn Indian languages as much as possible. We should love our mother tongue. We should learn Sanskrit to know our Shastras, which are a treasure trove of knowledge.”
Encouraging the youth to propagate their mother tongue, he said, “I am looking forward to the day when all gazette notifications will be issued in the mother tongue of the respective state. Your mother tongue is like your sight, while your knowledge of a foreign language is like your glasses.” Naidu said that Indianisation of the education system is central to India’s new education policy, which lays great emphasis on promotion of mother tongues. He said that foreign dignitaries visiting India speak in their mother tongue despite knowing English as they are proud of their language.
Naidu said, “We are accused of saffronising education, but what is wrong with saffron? Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which are the philosophies contained in our ancient texts. These are the guiding principles for India’s foreign policy even today. “India has strong ties with almost all the 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 the country of warriors like Emperor Ashoka the Great, who chose non-violence and peace over violence.”
The Vice President said, “There was a time when people from all over the world came to study at the ancient Indian universities of Nalanda and Taxila, but even at the height of its prosperity, India never thought of attacking any country because we firmly believe that the world is in need of peace.”(agency)