Politics of Education in Colonial India - Hardcover

Kumar, Krishna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415728797 ISBN 13: 9780415728799

Publisher: Routledge India, 2013

Synopsis

In retracting from the popular view that India’s modern educational policy was shaped almost entirely by Macaulay, this incisive work reveals the complex ideological and institutional rubric of the colonial educational system. It examines its wide-ranging and lasting impact on curriculum, pedagogy, textbooks, teachers’ role and status, and indigenous forms of knowledge. Recounting the nationalist response to educational reforms, the book reinforces three major quests: justice as expressed in the demand for equal educational opportunities for the lower castes; self-identity as manifest in the urge to define India’s educational needs from within its own cultural repertoire; and the idea of progress based on industrialization.

An exceptional contribution to educational theory, including a nuanced discussion of caste, gender and girls’ education, this book will be invaluable to teachers, scholars and students of education, modern Indian history and sociology of education, and policy makers.

About this title

About the Author:

Krishna Kumar is Professor of Education at the University of Delhi and former Director of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

Review:

‘[N]ovel in its perspective and incisive in its insights.’ ― N. Jayaram

‘[Kumar’s] narrative is smooth and flawless. And he makes his points with an uncanny courage of conviction.’ ― J. L. Azad

‘[Krishna Kumar] presents a coherent, often gripping, representation of the politics and values inherent in ‘modern education’ within a historical perspective.’ ― Harsh Sethi

‘[T]he best work on Indian educational development.’ ― A. Mathew

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0415728797
• ISBN 13: 9780415728799
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 260