'RFRF is set to Change Research Scenario in Bharat'
Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal is going to complete 50 years on Ram Navami Day in April 2020. During this fruitful journey, it has tirelessly worked to reconnect the country's education system to the Bharatiya ethos. Started as projects initially, many of its activities have now turned into mass movements. The New Education Policy drafted by Kasturirangan Committee has incorporated many of its suggestions. But what is today admired the most by academic world is its initiative giving new direction to the research work in the country. Organiser Chief News Coordinator Dr Pramod Kumar spoke to the Organising Secretary of BSM Shri Mukul Kanitkar in New Delhi to know the activities of this premier organisation dedicated to the cause of making education Bharat-centric. Excerpts:
What was the objective behind the formation of the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal?
Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM) was formed in 1969 at Mumbai with the objective of creating an education system rooted in Bharatiya ethos. Even after Independence, the real independence did not come as the mind is not free because we still think in the colonised way. All our systems, including the judiciary, economic and political, are the borrowed systems. We have not given importance to the historical experience and cultural moorings of the country. Since we continued to follow the same British education system, we still produce people with the colonised mind. The same colonised mind goes to the judiciary, governance, political system, economic system, banking, etc. So, the original Bharatiya thinking is hard to witness. To evolve a complete Bharatiya education system, the BSM focused on three things. One, it should be rooted in the historic experience of the country. Two, it should have the cultural moorings. Three, even the advanced and modern teaching should be Bharat-centric. For example, we teach Vasco da Gama discovered Bharat. It is correct for Europe, but not for Bharat. For Bharat, it should be that Vasco da Gama came to this country. Fact is same, but we need to look at it with the Bharat centric way.
What are the major achievements of BSM in five decades?
We have achieved a lot. We started with a seven-point agenda. Many of them have now become separate movements today. For example, Swadeshi in education has become a full-fledged movement for Swadeshi – the Swadeshi Jagran Manch. Sanskrit education turned into a big movement as Sanskrit Bharati. The activity started to record the real history of freedom struggle and also to promote overall history from the Bharatiya point of view is now known as Itihas Sankalan Samiti. We started the celebration of Hindu New Year from Udaipur in 1974. Now, it has also become a complete mass movement. Initially, BSM was the nodal point of teachers' associations. Our founder, Shri Mukundrao Kulkarni, was originally a teachers' leader. In 1989, Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) was formed as a separate organisation. In 1986, over 3000 out of 12,000 recommendations given to the Yashpal Committee, were given by various BSM units. Many of those recommendations reflected in the Education Policy of 1986. Eminent educationist Shri Ramswarup Bhardwaj was our General Secretary then. The vocational education started in 1986 was basically BSM recommendation.
Our most important achievement has been Gurukul education. After a deliberation for six years, we started Maitreyee Gurukul in Puttur (Mangalore) 25 years back. The second Gurukul was Ved Vijnana Gurukulam in Bangalore. The third was Prabodhini Gurukulam at Hariharapuram. After 1989, the Gurukul project was not given enough attention due to change in organizational priorities. But we revived it in 2014 while focusing on three points. One, bringing together all the Gurukuls which are still functioning under any banner both in Bharat, Nepal & other countries. Now over 4000 Gurukuls are enlisted with us. International Virat Gurukul Sammelan held in Ujjain in April 2018 witnessed the participation of 868 Gurukuls. The three Gurukuls started by us in Karnataka are 'Yuganukool' (contemporary) Gurukuls. They function majorly on five pillars — Ancient Wisdom (the Vedas and Shastras), Science (both traditional and modern sciences), Kala (not just the art, but all the 64 'kalas' followed in Bharat since ancient times), Yoga and Krishi (agriculture & all other productive activities). These five makes a model Gurukul. We have promoted 22 new Gurukuls on this pattern. They are run by separate trusts and BSM provides academic input. We also train Gurukul Acharyas who will be able to run the comprehensive gurukuls.
What are the other activities of BSM?
At present, we carry out seven major activities in which three are projects—like Gurukul project, Shaleya Prakalpa - institutional project to impart consultation to educational institutions to improve the quality of education and institutional social contribution. More than 1000 schools today are associated with our institutional project. We also impart consultation to the parents and management. There is an activity for development of students also. Shikshak Swadhyaya, Abhibhavak Udbodhan, Sansthachalak Paramarsh and Vidyarthi Vikasan are collectively called the Anandshala or Blissinar — seminar aimed at bliss. Third project is for women – Mahila Prakalpa – to prepare them to play an effective role in child's education. In Bharat, education starts from the womb. But today the role of mothers as guru has been diminished. Only taking homework has remained their duty now. But in Bharatiya vision, we feel the role of mother continues until the higher education. There are three schemes under the Woman Project. One is Matrukul i.e. starting from the last four months in the womb to three years of age when the child enters the school. Under Matrukul, we train the mothers how to prepare the sensory organs of a child to receive knowledge. We are trying to rejuvenate this method according to the needs of the present times. 'Parivar Bane Pathshala' is another scheme under the woman project & 'Guru Mata' under which the first lady of the institute is motivated to look after the under privileged students of that school/college/university.
If you have to list five turning points in the journey of BSM, what are they?
Change in leadership in 1989 was the first major turning point. Restarting Gurukuls in 2014 was the second turning point. The third is the start of Research for Resurgence movement in 2016. Fourth is organisational spread in all the 44 Prants in the Sangh parlance. The fifth is our own Vistarak scheme started in 2016-17. Earlier, we used to get Pracharaks from the Sangh, but since November 2016 we have our own full-timers. Today, we have 33 Vistaraks who have committed to give minimum two years to the organisation.
What are the plans for next two-three years?
Gurukul project is an ambitious project for us. In the next five years, we have planned to create more than 500 Acharyas who will be able to run Gurukuls suitable for present times. In the next two years, at least 200 and in five years, 500 Gurukuls will be promoted. They will be completely 'Yuganukool Gurukuls'. The students coming out from them will be able to start their own business or can go to any walk of life. Under Research for Resurgence Foundation, we have already signed MoUs with 65 universities. That number will go beyond 150 in the next couple of years. In Nagpur, we are going to start a centre for research. We have already purchased 90 acres of land, where 17 centres of advanced research will come up. They will conduct research from Bharatiya point of view from academic activities to science and technology. We are working to emerge as a nodal centre for all the universities in research. Anybody who conducts Bharat-centric research will be given hand holding services. The number of Vistaraks will also go beyond 100 in the next two years. Also, we will spread organisational work to all districts in next two years. We have completed 'Poorna Mandal,' i.e. four 'Tapa' as envisioned in our Hindu culture. As an organisation, it is basically the time for thorough introspection. Our target is to have five lakh members by 2022 and reach up to 700 districts. Today, we have work in almost 320 districts.
What was the basic idea behind starting the Research for Resurgence Foundation (RFRF)?
When we started work on higher education, particularly to start work on Bharat-centric higher education, we encountered severe lack of peer-reviewed research material on every subject to prepare the standard syllabus. One cannot prepare syllabus based on Ramayana and Mahabharata directly. We need to have people who have done Ph.Ds in Physics based on the knowledge available in our ancient literature. But we do not have such scholars. We thought it should be done. So, this journey started with the motive of enrolling some Ph.D scholars who will do research in Bharatiya knowledge system. We approached the Ph.D guides in various Universities. During that interaction, we found that the whole system is totally rotten. We produce Ph.Ds like anything. In 2016, we produced 18,000 Ph.Ds and in 2018 that number jumped to 30,000. Does that mean 30,000 problems were solved or addressed in one year! Hence, rather than complaining to the government, we decided to do something concrete. We brought together some genuine researchers who honestly wanted to do research. Then we discussed about the problems, reasons behind, lack of quality research in Ph.D, etc. The quality research is so low in the country which has 900 universities! The most important reason which came to the fore was that 'purpose of the research is not clear'. The only purpose seems to be personal career advancement, because the UGC says that you cannot be a lecturer if you have not done Ph.D. That is a selfish motto and good research cannot come out of that. So, we thought the purpose of research should be nobler. Only then we can have good research. Then the term 'Research for Resurgence' came. Originally, this term was used in 2004 at a conference conducted by Shri P. Parameswaran ji in Trivandrum.
How the movement for research was actually started?
We started 'Research for Resurgence' by conducting interactions in universities, inviting Ph.D guides and Ph.D scholars and discussing with them the purpose of research. We stressed that 'national resurgence' should be the purpose of research. That changed a lot. We got a very good response from Ph.D scholars. Now some scholars have started choosing the topics, which will have some impact on the country in the days to come. We have enrolled over 368 Ph.Ds which have something to do with either Bharatiya knowledge system or the current problems of the country in different sectors. They are all addressing current problems. By involving these scholars and their guides, we conducted an international conference in February 2016 in Nagpur with the same title 'Research for Resurgence'. It was attended by over 720 scholars. About 25 industries were also involved. 52 Vice Chancellors also joined. During the discussion between industrialists and VCs, we found there is a serious trust deficit. The industry thinks the academia only needs money, while the academia thinks the industry exploits. Hence, they suggested BSM should mediate between academia & industry. Now we have registered a trust 'Research for Resurgence Foundation' (RFRF), which is engaging industry, universities and governments for quality research. It has signed MoU with 65 universities, six institutes like Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC), IGNCA etc. & 8 industries.
What types of activities are conducted under RFRF?
We conduct programmes in universities, mainly focusing on research methodology because after purpose, the second problem that lacked in research is methodology. Methodology is so rigid that genuine research is not possible many times. One registers the title of Ph.D in first year itself. If during the research, one finds that the title of the research is inappropriate, one cannot change it. In that case, the guide says you adjust the data as per the title. This should stop and multiple methodologies should be introduced. A scholar has done Ph.D under the guidance of Prof Ramchandra Bhatt on the topic of research methodologies of Upanishads. He has enlisted 13 methodologies in Upanishads. If you want to research for Lok Kalyan, there is different research methodology. If it is for self-realisation, then there is a different methodology. If it is scientific research, then there is a different methodology. But the question is how to use it in modern jargons. Using the modern and ancient theories, we have designed a workshop on research methodology. We have conducted 28 such workshops all over the country, including IIT Mumbai, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, JNU, Anna University, etc. In such conferences, we meet scholars who want to do something on their own. We give them a hands on experience so that they conduct research with less effort. About 25 resource persons conduct such workshops on behalf of RFRF. We provide 27 services to the universities. We have also created an administrative and academic audit system (AAAS) for the universities. Three universities have got good grades in NAAC because of our hand holding. We have also created our own data centre with advanced server facility to be evolved as Knowledge Resource Centre in Nagpur.
What is the swadeshi internet project of BSM?
We are working on a complete Swadeshi internet. We have already started Swadeshi mail server in Devanagari and eight other Bharatiya scripts. Now, one can create one's email id in Bharatiya languages. We cover 18 languages in eight scripts. RFRF has created 'pata.bharat' app for it. One can download the app on mobile phone. My email id is मुकुल@पता.भारत in Devanagari. We have entered into MoU with IIT Madras which has produced a Bharatiya designed chip called Shakti microprocessor. It has happened for the first time. Now we are in the process of making a complete Swadeshi Tab in which everything will be Bharatiya. Through it, we are entering into the Swadeshi internet in a big way. In the next couple of years, the RFRF will have a good impact. It has grown beyond our imagination. We conducted a programme at Vijnana Bhavan in Delhi on September 29, 2018 which was attended by 400 VCs and 24 IIT, 14 IIM directors. The RFRF is set to change the research scenario in the country. Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University Faizabad has now changed its Ph.D ordinance, where instead of Ph.D topic, purpose of the research is registered. The topic is allowed to be decided after two years. Eight universities have changed their Ph.D guidelines stressing that the students must have a literature review on Bharatiya knowledge system. Six universities, including Bangalore University, have ensured that the students in synopsis itself must mention where the research will be used.
In how many years will you be able to cover all the universities for such changes?
Covering 365 odd government universities is our first target, because the major research work is done there only. We will achieve this target in five years. Then we will go to the private universities.
When we talk about ancient knowledge system, some people start ridiculing us saying we are pushing the society backwards. What do you say?
Many people who talk about ancient science are also responsible for it, because they just over claim without verifying. In RFRF, we avoid both extremes. There is an extreme which says everything ancient is humbug. Another extreme says everything ancient is good. We do not subscribe to both the extreme views. We say we would not deny or accept anything ancient without verifying. That Pushpak Viman was there or not will not be accepted or denied without verifying. We will not claim that it was there just because it is mentioned in the Ramayana. We will also not say that it was not there because it is not there today. That is the open-minded research. The second thing is that we do not promote research in ancient knowledge system only to prove that it was there. Just saying that we were great just a hundred or thousand years back does not help. We will research the ancient knowledge system, which is useful for the future. If Parashar's 'Yantra Sarvasva' has a chapter on Vaimaniki Prakaran and some IIT scholars want to research it, we will not do it just to prove that there were aeroplanes during the Ramayana period. Our research will be 'can that design be useful today?' One of the designs in 'Vaimaniki Prakaran' talks about mercury-based fuel for drone-like Vimans, which may not carry human beings but weapons. We have today drones delivering Amazon goods in Europe. The fuel those drones use is not eco-friendly. Can we produce the eco-friendly drones using the technology mentioned in the 'Yantra Sarvasva'? If we work on that technology, we may create an eco- friendly drone. So, let us use our ancient knowledge, which primarily is sustainable and eco- friendly.
What is your opinion about the draft Education Policy?
We welcome it. It is a very revolutionary draft. However, there are doubts about its implementation, because some drastic changes have been suggested, which are not easy to implement. Many lobbies in the field of education may prevent proper implementation. But the policy is forward-looking rooted in Bharatiya culture. BSM had started working on such an Education Policy in 1978. Then a small draft was prepared focusing on Bharatiya concept of education. We worked on four comprehensive aims of education—personality development, building the society, the nation and benefit humanity. For the present draft Education Policy, we prepared a 48-page outline and reached up to 4.5 lakh people. We received 1.25 lakh responses on that draft, both online & offline. We presented the improved draft first, to the TSR Subramanian Committee and then to the Kasturirangan Committee. We are happy that all our major recommendations have been accepted including to change the name of HRD Ministry to Education Ministry. However, we have been demanding to rename it as Education & Culture Ministry. Since 1978, we have been demanding a totally autonomous Education Commission. That has also been accepted. However, we wanted an academician to be the head of the National Education Commission. If this policy is implemented, it will change the whole scenario. Today, the Science and Technology Department does not have an IAS officer as its head. It is completely scientist-driven Ministry. I say Mangalyan would not have taken off if the administrator of the department was an IAS because the file itself would not have taken off. The same thing has to be done with education. Now we can hope in 2030, the Principal Secretary of Education may be a teacher. That will be the day when education will be totally free. The proposal to set up National Research Foundation is also a good suggestion. It is basically on the pattern of the RFRF. If it is implemented, it will change the whole paradigm of education. It is a U-turn in the education system. We have enlisted 19 U-turns in this draft and 10 of them were suggested by the BSM.
We have been advocating education in private sector, but the manner it has been commercialized has created havoc. What do you say?
The word 'privatisation' is unacceptable to BSM. We talk about Shasanmukt Shiksha (government-free education). Government interference should not be there. We want society- driven education. Today, three types of educational systems are working. One, fully government- run institutions from municipal schools to IITs; two, commercially private institutions, which work for profit making and the socially private institutions with an orientation of sewa like the institutions run by Vidya Bharati, Ramakrishna Mission, etc. But the government policy today talks about only two types of institutions — government and private. They club the socially private institutions also with the commercially private institutions and they are regulated as if they are profit-oriented. It is because the Constitution of Bharat does not allow profit-making in education. Even the person who wants to run an educational institute for profit making has to register the institution as a charitable trust or society. So, the first step itself is dishonest. For this, the policy cannot give a solution because it has to be a political decision. A company or a proprietorship or partnership firm can be allowed to start an educational institute to make a profit. The government should allow that and tax it. Then the parents will know which is profit making institution and which is service-oriented. Today, every profit making institute is legally a service institution. That has to be changed. Commercialisation can be regulated only if it is legalised. It is a big policy decision which has to be taken. You cannot control it until you legalise it.
Anything else you wish to mention about the BSM?
Apart from regular periodicals in Marathi, Hindi, English and Assamese, we have produced some high-quality reference books like ten volumes on Dharmapal in Marathi. We have published a very big volume on management education including 'New Frontiers in Management: Bharatiya Scriptures Applied' and a textbook on 'Social Work in Hindu Literature'. We have produced choice based credit system (CBCS) compliant syllabus in Bharatiya context for BSW and MSW. It has been implemented in 12 universities. In 2020, when we are completing 50 years we are publishing 50 books in one go. We will be having the concluding programme of the golden jubilee celebration in Nagpur from April 2 to 4, 2020.