: K. Ramakrishna Rao
: Colonial Syndrome The Videshi Mindset in Modern India
: D.K. Printworld
: 9788124609798
: 1
: CHF 7.50
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: Sonstiges
: English
: 301
: DRM
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: ePUB

Two centuries of British rule crystallized in the minds of English educated Indians a peculiar mindset that tended to undervalue their native ethos and moorings, and make English culture more attractive. This tendency is called the 'colonial syndrome'. This syndrome has infected the modern Indian elite, who abandon their cultural roots and imitating the Western ways. This situation has drained them off their intrinsic creative capabilities and rendered them less likely to make any significant original contributions to nation building.
This book, an outcome of Prof. K. Ramakrishna Rao's work as a National Fellow of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), attempts to define and elucidate this syndrome and its ill effects on the modern Indian mindset, and suggests means to contain and overcome it. It alerts people and the leadership about the negative and cascading effects of colonial syndrome, and pleads for Indianization of education, philosophy and psychology, among others in the country. Mahatma Gandhi's concept of svadeśī is the driving force here. It has no negative attributes, only positive self-assertion for common good.
Colonial Syndrome goes on to analyses Gandhi's concept of svadeśī, and attempts to make clear the difference between education in India and Indian education, Indian philosophy and philosophy in India, and psychology in India and Indian psychology and emphasizes that India had its own unique standing on education, philosophy and psychology which needs to be revived and nurtured for fast social and economic development.


About the Author:
Professor Koneru Ramakrishna Rao is currently Chancellor of GITAM (deemed to be) University. He has the rare distinction of being National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research and the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, and Distinguished Honorary Professor at Andhra University. His earlier academic appointments include Professor of Psychology and Vice-Chancellor at Andhra University; Executive Director, Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, USA; Chairman, A.P. State Council of Higher Education, and Advisor on Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh. He published 25 plus books and nearly 300 research papers.
Prof. Rao received numerous honours that include the national award Padma Shri from the President of India and Honorary Doctoral degrees from Andhra, Acharya Nagarjuna and Kakatiya universities. He was elected as the President of the US-based Parapsychological Association three times, the only Asian to be so honoured.

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Education in India
and Indian Education

We continue in a large measure the colonial system we inherited from the British. One would expect “education in India” and “Indian education” to be coequal and synonymous expressions. As things stand now, this, however, is not the case. The current educational theories and practices in the country for the most part are not native and indigenous. Being non-autochthon and borrowed, the existing system of education fails to be a natural fit with India’s native ethos, and therefore a cause for national concern. Indian education has a hoary history. It embodies not merely Indian culture, it is indeed its culture. This was the case with what is considered now ancient system of education, which lasted until the beginning of thirteenth centuryce and the advent of Muslim rule in the country.

Somewhat eclipsed during medieval period and the Mogul rule, Indian education lost its moorings completely during the British colonial rule. The education we now have in India is essentially a colonial transplant; and it is significantly different from the classical system of Indian education as well as education in India during the Islamic rule. One wonders whether this fact is responsible for the present lacklustre state of education in the country and the paucity of significant original contributions by Indian scholars and scientists. Not one of the many universities in the country ranks among the top 200 in the world.

We will discuss first theories and practices of education in India until the end of the twelfth century, which we consider as constituting the core of Indian education. There are excellent accounts of the state of education under the rubric of ancient Indian education (Altekar 1934; Ghosh 2001; Mookerji 1947). We limit ourselves to pointing out the salient features of education in India from the Vedic times to about the beginning of thirteenth century when the Muhammadan rule began its dominance, drawing primarily from the scholars mentioned above. Then, we will move on to discuss briefly the state of education during the medieval period followed by Indian education during and after the British rule.

Ancient Indian Education

Ancient Indian education during the period mentioned above covers a large period of time from the pre-Aryan to the advent of Muslim rule. It may be conveniently divided into the following: (1) pre-Vedic, (2) Vedic, and (3) the post-Vedic. The post-Vedic period may be further divided into (a) the rise and challenge of unorthodox systems, and (b) the response to them by Hindu thinkers. Suresh Chandra Ghosh (2001) has competently surveyed these different stages and we follow him very closely.

Pre-Vedic Period

What is not known until recent times is the fact that some 5,000 years ago a highly-advanced civilization had flourished in the Indus Valley, the north-eastern part of India. It was only since the excavations at Moheôjo-DaÃo in Sind and HaÃappÀ in Punjab beginning from 1924 revealed that there existed a great and glorious civilization that lasted for a long period of time. There is now sufficient evidence that there were towns and cities built with elaborate planning. The people had skills to build sophisticated houses with kiln-burnt bricks, some having two or more floors with doors, windows and staircases. There were wells, drains and bathrooms. Though they were primarily agricultural people, who cultivated wheat and barley, they were also skilled weavers. They made artistic jewellery with gold, silver, copper and ivory with inlaid precious and semi-precious stones. They produced vessels for cooking. They used wheeled carts and chairs. They traded with other countries in Asia. They worshipped nature, stones and animals, as well as Œiva and Œakti.

It is not clear, however, how these people acquired the impressive skills implied in planning and building the cities and make vessels out of copper and jewellery from gold and silver.