Vidya Bharati

Vidya Bharati
Formation 1977
Legal status Active
Purpose Educational Institution
Region
India
Website vidyabharti.net

Vidya Bharati, short for Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan, is a non government educational organization which runs one of the largest private network of schools in India. It is the educational wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).[1] It has its registered headquarters in Lucknow, a functional headquarters in Delhi and a sub-office in Kurukshetra.[2][3]

History

RSS established its first Saraswati Shishu Mandir brand school in Gorakhpur in 1952, under the leadership of Nanaji Deshmukh. Prior to that a Gita school was established at Kurukshetra in 1946 with the initiative of the RSS chief M. S. Golwalkar. The ban on RSS in 1948 put a damper on the spread of the Gita school model. However, the Saraswati Shishu Mandir model was quickly replicated in several locations. As the number of schools increased, a committee Shishu Shiksha Prabandak Samiti, was set up to coordinate activities at the state level. Similar schools and committees were subsequently set up in Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. In 1977-78, an all-India apex body, Vidya Bharati was set up to coordinate the activities between the state committees, headquartered in Delhi. This coincided with the Bharatiya Jan Sangh coming to power in Delhi as part of the Janata Party. Vidya Bharati had an associated National Academic Council with educationists who were not necessarily associated with RSS and enjoyed the trust of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).[4][5] By the early 1990s, the network had grown to 5,000 schools and, by 2003, further grown to 14,000 schools with 1.7 million pupils. This expansion was facilitated by the growing demand for education in India and the disaffection with the state school system.[6] It was also helped by patronage by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) whenever it was in power in the states,[7] or in the Centre during 1999-2004 with Murli Manohar Joshi as the education minister.[8]

In addition to formal schools (which go by a variety of names such as shishu vatikas, shishu mandirs, vidya mandir, saraswati vidyalas etc.), Vidya Bharati also runs sanskar kendras (cultural schools) and single-teacher schools for cultural education. It controls over 250 intermediate colleges and about 25 institutions of higher education and training colleges. It has schools in remote areas of the north-eastern states as well as states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu where RSS does not have much influence.[4] Particular attention is given to underdeveloped regioins and regions inhabited by tribal communities.[5] It has over 50 state and regional committees affiliated to it, making it the largest voluntary association in India.[9] Funds for this expansion have been collected through various means, including charities across the world. According to Awaaz, a London-based organisation, a significant portion of the Sewa International earthquake funds for Gujarat have been used to build RSS schools.[9] The network also benefited from favourable allotment of land by Jana Sangh and BJP politicians.[10][7] Nanaji Deshmukh believed that the movement had turned `materialistic,' obsessed with expansion, land, buildings and resources but not paying enough attention to recruiting high-quality teachers.[11]

The schools attract the children of urban and small-town shopkeepers and those of professional and government official families.[12]

As organisation

Vidya Bharati runs one of the largest private network of schools in India. As of March 2002, it had 17,396 schools, 2.2 million students, over 93,000 teachers, 15 teacher training colleges, 12 degree colleges and 7 vocational and training institutions.[13] Most of the Vidya Bharati schools are affiliated to the Central Board for Secondary Education or their local State Boards.[14] Vidya Bharati-run educational programs were adopted in Madhya Pradesh as an alternate model of education when BJP was in power.[15]

Ideology and Objectives

At a 1998 conference of State education ministers, Vidya Bharati made proposals for school education to be "Indianized, nationalized and spiritualized", with the teaching of "the essentials of Indian culture" which was perceived as "Hindu education". There were concerns when the Uttar Pradesh Government made it mandatory to start the school day with Vande Mataram and Saraswati Vandana and the Muslim League forbade Muslim schoolchildren from joining in the singing. Vidya Bharati also demands that Sanskrit be taught in all schools and sponsors the revision of textbooks which give a Hindu outlook of history and use Hindu examples in comprehension exercises.[16]

Dinanath Batra, former General Secretary of Vidya Bharati, said that they were fighting an "ideological battle against Macaulay, Marx and Madrasawadis". In comparison to which Vidya Bharati advocates "Indianization, nationalization and spiritualization" of education.[17] In the areas of study that are peripheral to the core curriculum, like physical education, music and cultural education, the institution worked out its own curriculum.[12]

Cultural education

Wherever they are forced to use the standard NCERT textbooks, Vidya Bharati schools supplement them with their own books which emphasize the Hindutva ideology. They blame the `internal disunity' of Hindus for the invasions of Turks, Mongols and Mughals. Any evidence of Hindu-Muslim collaboration is seen as a `betrayal' by Hindus. Christian pastors are described as instruments of colonialism. The Hindu divinities and historical Hindu heroes are listed along with RSS founders Hedgewar and Golwalkar.[18]

In addition to the prescribed curriculum, the Vidya Bharati schools teach five extra subjects: moral education, which includes stories of heroes, songs, honesty and personal hygiene, physical education, which includes learning to wield a stick, martial arts and yoga, music, Sanskrit and Vedic mathematics. Girls are given kanya bharati sessions where they learn sowing and cooking and taught to become good housewives and mothers like "Jijabai" and "Lakshmibai".[19]

In the morning assembly, the children are taught to sing prayers and songs steeped in religious devotion and the spirit of patriotism. Assemblies and stage performances organized on Hindu festivals also serve to convey the Hindutva ideology. The virtual absence of non-Hindu children in the schools leads to a collective sense of Hindu identity. In the words of a Vidya Bharati commentator "dedication to the mother land with a deep Bharatiya spirit inculcates in the child the will to change his character [and] adjust his nature and programme so as to fulfill the nation's will and necessity."[12]

The schools place a great emphasis on physical `defence' of religion couched in nationalistic terms. During national day celebrations, like the Republic Day, pupils are given speeches on terrorism, self-defence and the need to fight Pakistan. Songs extol the need to fight the "neighbouring country" and demolish it as "brave children of Savarkar." India is placed as a peaceful nation sandwiched between a "conservative, fundamentalist, terrorist Muslim community" on one side and the "powerful American community" on the other. Hindus face danger from enemies both outside and inside the country. The Constitution laid down the rights and duties for all, but "some people" only thought of their own rights and did "injustice" to the rights of the others. Despite all appearances, students claim that they are taught only about 'Indian' culture and deny that they are taught to hate other communities.[20]

The schools also use the students as conduits for spreading RSS ideology. The teachers go to students' houses to tell the parents about their children's performance and current activities in the schools. Children are asked to take home pamphlets about RSS and VHP activities to their parents. Promising students and volunteers are sent to RSS summer camps for further ideological training.[20]

Organisational structure

The state-level affiliate committees of Vidya Bharati go by various names, depending on the socio-political situation in each state:[5]

  • Delhi: Hindu Shiksha Samiti[5]
  • Haryana: Hindu Shiksha Samiti[21]
  • Punjab: Sarv Hitkari Shiksha Samiti[5]
  • Bihar: Vidya Vikas Samiti
  • Jharkhand: Vananchal Shiksha Samiti,[5] Vidya Vikas Samiti, Shishu Shiksha Vikas Samiti[22]
  • Orissa: Shiksha Vikas Samiti[5]
  • Andhra Pradesh: Sri Saraswati Vidya Peetham[21][23]
  • Tamil Nadu: Tamil Kalvi Kazhagam, Vivekananda Kendra and others[5]
  • Kerala: Bharatiya Vidya Niketan[24]
  • Assam: Shishu Shiksha Samiti[25]
  • Uttrakhand : Bhartiya Shiksha Samiti

Shishu Shiksha Samiti, Assam

Shishu Shiksha Samiti, Assam is a non government educational organization which runs one of the largest private network of schools in Assam.[26] It is a state-level affiliate committee of Vidya Bharati in the state of Assam.[27][28] The society was formed on 21 April 1979 and the Head Office is located at R.G. Baruah Road, Prashanta Path of Guwahati, Assam.[29][30]

Shishu Shiksha Samiti, Assam decided that Vidya Bharati School in Assam will be named after Mahapurush Sankardev (Sankardev Shishu Niketan and Sankardev Vidya Niketan[31]), a tribute to his enormous contribution.[29] On 4 September 1979, a school named Shankardev Shishu Niketan, Ambikagiri Nagar was established by the Shishu Shiksha Samiti, Assam at Ambikagiri Nagar, Guwahati. This was the first Vidya Bharati school in Assam. At present this Niketan is known as Shankardev Shishu Kunja, Ambikagiri Nagar.[29] Since then the number of schools under this Samiti is gradually increased as 470 schools are functioning where 1,19,713 students are studying under the valuable guidance of 6,381 acharyas (teachers).[29] The Niketans are running throughout the Brahmaputra valley by adopting the vernacular as medium of instructions.[29][26] In 2010, out of the total 3,678 students who appeared from the Sankardev Shishu /Vidya Niketan schools in the HSLC exam, 3,563 students have been successful, recording 97 per cent result for the Shishu/Vidya Niketan Schools in the State.[26]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Gupta, Shekhar (21 September 2015). "Confessions Of A Shakhahari". Outlook. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Bakaya 2004.
  3. ↑ Nair 2009.
  4. 1 2 Nair 2009, p. 52.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ramakrishnan, Venkitesh (7–20 Nov 1998). "A spreading network". Frontline. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
  6. ↑ Jaffrelot 2011, p. 193.
  7. 1 2 Sundar 2005, p. 206.
  8. ↑ Lall 2005, p. 160.
  9. 1 2 Lall 2005, p. 164.
  10. ↑ Nair 2009, p. 51.
  11. ↑ Bakaya (2004): "[Nanaji] affects to be pained by the `materialistic' turn the movement has taken, obsessed with expansion, land, buildings and resources, carelessly recruiting inexpensive but mediocre teachers. Indeed, Nanaji dismissed all hope of social change through institutions, even RSS shakhas. `Who are they to inculcate samskars (values) in others? Have they changed themselves?'"
  12. 1 2 3 Kumar 1998, p. 552.
  13. ↑ Sundar 2005, p. 196.
  14. ↑ Sundar 2005, p. 208.
  15. ↑ Malik 1994, p. 157.
  16. ↑ Shurmer-Smith 2000, p. 132.
  17. ↑ Chandavarkar 2009, p. 197.
  18. ↑ Sundar 2005, p. 207.
  19. ↑ Sundar 2005, p. 209.
  20. 1 2 Sundar 2005, p. 210.
  21. 1 2 "Sri Vidyaranya Avasa Vidyalayam". Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  22. ↑ "RSS wing steps in to fill govt school gap". The Telegraph. 30 Nov 2002. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  23. ↑ "Saraswati Vidya Peetham Poorva Vidyarthi Parishath". Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  24. ↑ Bharatheeya Vidyanikethan the Kerala chapter of Vidya Bharathi Akhil Bharatheeya Siksha Sansthan "Vyasa Vidya Niketan - Our parent body".
  25. ↑ "Shishu Shiksha Samiti".
  26. 1 2 3 "'Vernacular medium can facilitate effective learning'- The Assam Tribune Online".
  27. ↑ "Vidya Bharti's Organisational Structure".
  28. ↑ "'Boys outperform girls in Class 10 exam in Assam'- Hindustan Times".
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 "Shishu Shiksha Samiti".
  30. ↑ Organiser. 48. India: Bharat Prakashan. 1997. p. 4.
  31. ↑ "'Boys outshine girls in High School Leaving Certificate exam' - Times of India".

Bibliography

  • Bakaya, Akshay (2004). "Lessons from Kurukshetra the RSS Education Project". In Anne Vaugier-Chatterjee. Education and Democracy in India. New Delhi: Manohar. ISBN 8173046042.
  • Chandavarkar, Rajnarayan (2009). History, Culture and the Indian City : Essays. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-76871-9.
  • Jaffrelot, Christophe (2011). Religion, Caste, and Politics in India. C Hurst & Co. ISBN 978-1849041386.
  • Malik, Yogendra (1994). Hindu Nationalists in India : The Rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Boulder: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-8810-4.
  • Lall, Marie (2005). "Indian education policy under the NDA government". In Katherine Adeney; Lawrence Saez. Coalition Politics and Hindu Nationalism. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-35981-3.
  • Kumar, Krishna (1998). "Hindu revivalism and education in north-central India". In Martin E Marty; R. Scott Appleby. Fundamentalisms and Society: Reclaiming the Sciences, the Family, and Education. University of Chicago Press. pp. 536–557. ISBN 0226508811.
  • Nair, Padmaja (2009). Religious political parties and their welfare work: Relations between the RSS, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Vidya Bharati Schools in India (PDF). University of Birmingham. ISBN 978-8187226635. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  • Sharma, R. (2002). Indian Education at the Crossroads. Delhi: Shubhi Publications. ISBN 978-8187226635.
  • Shurmer-Smith, Pamela (2000). India : Globalization and Change. London: Arnolds. ISBN 0-340-70579-5.
  • Sundar, Nandini (2005). "Teaching to Hate: RSS' Pedagogical Programme". In E. Ewing. Revolution and pedagogy interdisciplinary and transnational perspectives on educational foundations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 195–218. ISBN 978-1-4039-8013-7.
  • Sarkar, Tanika (1994). "Educating the children of the Hindu Rashtra: Notes on RSS schools". Comparative Studies of South Asia. 14 (2). pp. 10–15.
  • "Journal version of Kumar (1998)". Social Scientist. 18 (10): 4–26. 1990. JSTOR 3517376.
  • "Journal version of Sundar (2005)". Economic and Political Weekly. 39 (16). Apr 2004. pp. 1605–1612. JSTOR 4414900.
  • "Preprint of Bakaya (2004)". academia.edu. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 2014-09-16.
  • "Vidya Bharati web site". Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  • "Vidya Bharati Sanskriti Siksha Sansthan (cultural education centre) web site". Retrieved 2014-09-23.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.