NEP 2020: Absorb ancient Indian knowledge, but view it critically

The University Grants Commission (UGC), the apex regulator of universities in India, just concluded the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sangam, a three-day education summit, in Varanasi. The summit, held from July 7-9 and inaugurated by none less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, brought together over 300 heads of higher education institutions to deliberate on strategies, success stories, and best practices in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Nine themes were taken up for discussion, ranging from ‘Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education’ and ‘Quality, Ranking, and Accreditation’ to ‘Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship’. Experts and educators deliberated on these themes for three days.

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So, what is the likelihood of progress in India’s higher education after this summit?

If we can focus on one of the themes taken up for the discussion, it may help us get a glimpse of what UGC plans to do vis-à-vis what could be of value to us.

Let’s take Theme 7, ‘Promotion of Indian Languages and Knowledge Systems’, and subject it to a bit of scrutiny.

Focus on Indian Knowledge System

The summit wants the ‘discontinuity’ in the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) to be bridged by integrating it with curricula at all levels across humanities, sciences, arts, crafts, and sports. Every UG and PG programme will have a mandatory IKS component.  The UGC has constituted an experts’ panel to set the guidelines for teacher training and ‘orientation’ in IKS. The focus seems to be on finding out sets of knowledge claims in ancient texts, accepting them across domains, and then integrating them with current curricula in universities.

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While anyone would agree that there could be valuable lessons to be drawn from IKS, there is one critical part that is missing in UGC’s action plan: encouraging critical examination of material from IKS and accepting only those that get sifted through the filters of reasoning and evidence.

Ayurveda as example

It might help to further narrow our focus and consider a single branch of IKS in some detail to understand its usefulness in the contemporary context. Take Ayurveda, for example. The way it is being practised in clinics and taught in Ayurveda medical colleges is that the wisdom of the ancient texts cannot be questioned.

However, according to a paper titled ‘Bridging Ayurveda with evidence-based scientific approaches in medicine’ by former UGC vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan, “Ayurveda lags far behind in scientific evidence in quantity and quality of randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews. For instance, out of 7,864 systematic reviews in the Cochrane Library, Ayurveda has just one, while homeopathy and TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) have 5 and 14, respectively. Substantial grants have been allocated to ambitious national projects involving reputed laboratories. However, the design, methodology, and quality of clinical trial on Ayurvedic medicines seem to lack the expected rigour.”

(Cochrane Library is a collection of six databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. Cochrane Reviews are globally accepted as the highest standard in evidence-based healthcare.)

So, how do we go about injecting rigour into this traditional system and align it with modern medical practice, using a scientific approach?

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For that, we need to get a glimpse of what Ayurveda was like in the days of Caraka (pronounced Charaka), a master physician and principal contributor, along with Susruta and Vagbhata. The treatise, Caraka Samhita, attributed to him, forms the bedrock of today’s Ayurvedic practice.

Herein lies a stark contrast. Dr MS Valiathan, a renowned cardiac surgeon and author of the book The Legacy of Caraka, says: “Caraka described the practice of medicine in his time (1st Century CE) in North-West India, which was reason-based in contrast to the faith-based practice during Atharva Veda (1500 BCE). He even gave yukti (reason) an independent status as a pramana (proof) in acquiring knowledge. In Caraka’s time, mantras and rituals had largely disappeared from medical practice.”

However, over centuries, reason has been replaced with blind faith in the system. In a sense, we seem to have come to a full circle – from faith to reason and then back to faith.

Look with a critical eye

In a kind of double whammy, this comes at a time when reason, which made major advances possible two millennia ago, is perhaps no longer enough. We need evidence-based medical practice, which Ayurveda seems to fall behind significantly compared to Western medicine. Nudging it back to a reason-based medical system would involve examining concepts in ancient texts, including Caraka Samhita, with a critical eye. Obsolete concepts may have to be discarded. Some concepts may need to be modified – marginally or significantly – and amalgamated with modern medical practices. All possibilities exist.

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But the bottom-line is scanning texts like Caraka Samhita with a fine toothcomb using critical thinking combined with what we now know about human anatomy and physiology, in contrast to what Caraka knew. In short, reviving the spirit of Caraka without uncritically accepting the principles in Caraka Samhita and other ancient texts.

The way we have assimilated the monumental work Ashtadhyayi, the world’s earliest known tome on linguistics, by grammarian Panini, is a pointer to how we should treat IKS teXts.

There is at least one ancient IKS that has the potential to show the way. The way we have assimilated the monumental work Ashtadhyayi, the world’s earliest known tome on linguistics, by grammarian Panini, who is said to have lived between the 6th and 4th century BCE, is a pointer to how we should treat IKS texts. No one questions the contribution of Panini to linguistics. He is widely labeled as the father of linguistics. But the discipline itself has progressed beyond Panini. Can what happened in linguistics happen in other IKS domains too?

The issue of language

The second part of Theme 7 deals with the ‘Promotion of Indian Languages’. UGC lists initiatives such as the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the apex body that controls technical education in India, approving 20 institutes in nine states to conduct engineering and technology courses in regional languages. AICTE is undertaking technical book writing and translation into 12 Indian languages.

Now, this does not amount to pushing the frontiers of knowledge in technology. This seems to be a recipe for converting AICTE, or at least one of its wings, into a translation bureau.

In which language should higher education be is more a function of the availability of resources and opportunities – for both jobs and research – in that language. A century ago, German was the language of physics. The most famous physicist of the last century, Albert Einstein, wrote his papers on relativity in German.

However, as the US gained prowess to become the most important force in science, as well as the preferred destination for top scientists, German lost out to English. Now, German universities, in their attempt to attract overseas students, advertise saying that the courses in their institutions are taught in English.

Closer home, in September 2019, the government of Andhra Pradesh announced that English would be the medium of instruction in all government schools. Of course, Telugu would be still taught as a subject, but that’s about it. Expect this to become a trend in other states too. In short, a realistic option for higher education institutions is to focus on improving the quality of content delivered rather than re-create content in an Indian language.

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However, in universities, even if the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against regional languages in favour of English, there could be a few realistic options for promoting Indian languages – such as initiating online courses that address students bi-lingually, allowing students to write exams in a mix of English and regional languages. But that is about it.

We have examined just one theme in some detail. What seems true of  ‘Promotion of Indian Languages and Knowledge Systems’ could be true of the other eight themes taken up at Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sangam as well.

Overall, UGC has a task cut out. Begin prioritising and implementing proposals with tight deadlines, and tell the world about the progress and what the outcomes are (for the students), before moving on to the next summit and more proposals.

(The author consults in the education domain. He can be reached at srihamsa@gmail.com)