HARIDWAR: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu called upon Indians to “give up their colonial mindset” and instead “be proud of their identity”. Addressing a gathering after the inauguration South Asian Peace and Reconciliation Institute Feather Dev Sanskriti University In Haridwar, he said, “education in English-medium schools has given rise to a small section of the elite.”
He denounced “the Macaulay system of education, which introduced English as the medium of instruction” and said, “It did great harm to the country. We should reject it.” He claimed that India’s culture, science and traditional knowledge were considered “low” and “excluded from the education system”. “It slowed down our development as a nation. Foreign language being the medium of instruction has deprived a large number of people of educational opportunities,” he said.
“We are accused of saffronising education, but then what is wrong with saffron? We believe in the welfare of all (Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah) and consider the whole world as one family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam). Even when India was at the pinnacle of prosperity and strength, and when our universities, Nalanda and Taxila attracted students from all over the world, we never attacked any country, because for the sake of our entire humanity We had a true belief in peace.
Naidu expressed happiness that the new education policy lays emphasis on promotion of regional languages. “We should first promote and propagate our mother tongue,” he said.
“I am not against foreign language learning, but our mother tongue should be promoted first,” he said.
He denounced “the Macaulay system of education, which introduced English as the medium of instruction” and said, “It did great harm to the country. We should reject it.” He claimed that India’s culture, science and traditional knowledge were considered “low” and “excluded from the education system”. “It slowed down our development as a nation. Foreign language being the medium of instruction has deprived a large number of people of educational opportunities,” he said.
“We are accused of saffronising education, but then what is wrong with saffron? We believe in the welfare of all (Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah) and consider the whole world as one family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam). Even when India was at the pinnacle of prosperity and strength, and when our universities, Nalanda and Taxila attracted students from all over the world, we never attacked any country, because for the sake of our entire humanity We had a true belief in peace.
Naidu expressed happiness that the new education policy lays emphasis on promotion of regional languages. “We should first promote and propagate our mother tongue,” he said.
“I am not against foreign language learning, but our mother tongue should be promoted first,” he said.