UGC’s ‘Indian Knowledge System’ has few takers

Veena G | NT

Bengaluru: The UGC released a National Credits Framework (NCrF) in the month of April. The part of this report that made the headlines mentioned that heretofore Vedas and Puranas would be credited to university students.

The document uses the umbrella term of ‘Indian Knowledge System’ (IKS) the English equivalent of what is touted as Bharatiya Gnana Parampara. Even a cursory look at the official website (https://iksindia.org/) would reveal that the IKS seeks to immerse the students into religious doctrine handed down by the sacred scriptures over the centuries. A very narrow and dense understanding of studies of rituals and the studies of ancient India is jointly dubbed as IKS.

Mr Niranjan Aradhya, social activist and developmental educationist based in Bengaluru, a known critic of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) says the knowledge sought to be imparted by the IKS is totally irrelevant to both the spirit of inquiry, which an educational system is supposed to promote and the job market. He says the outcome of the IKS is certainly questionable.

Joyeeta Dey from Aaina, an educational initiative that encourages critical reflection of educational experience, opines that IKS refers to 'Indian knowledge systems' in plural and not to a specific system that talks about just a monolithic idea of religious, ethnic and caste hierarchies. If it is so, it should be acceptable. ‘All that is meant is that it should be inclusive and should not be focused on religious text from just one source’, she emphasized.

Mr Aaradhya says, "IKS is unscientific and won't help humans liberate themselves from miseries they're going through or have gone through." In his recent essay in The Indian Express, cultural activist GN Devy dubs the IKS an "intellectual disaster" as it seeks to replace Western knowledge with ancient Indian knowledge. Sayan Chaudhry from Aaina also echoes the same view.

"As a country still deeply in the thrall of colonialism, decolonizing is an important endeavour. However, it also implies upturning the internal hierarchies in Indian society and not merely a rejection of white domination. Any decolonizing of the curriculum also has to address questions of representation of content, curriculum-making bodies, and pedagogic approaches." Mr Aaradhya says, ‘IKS will not bring any changes, it is basically aimed at injecting Indian mythology into the minds of the youth.

By introducing things like Ayurveda, which does not have enough scientific research to prove, you are taking away the scientific knowledge that we already have. IKS is based on intuition, not critical thinking, not questioning.’ IKS does nothing to encourage the spirit of inquiry and stimulate critical thinking, the very essence of the Western knowledge, Aaradhya points out.