Conclusion: When can a global educational institution be created?

Ramesh Ojha

After nearly five and a half decades, the Supreme Court has reversed its 1967 judgment and upheld the status of 'Aligarh Muslim University' as a minority educational institution. In a seven-judge bench, four judges ruled in favor of upholding the university's minority status and three judges against it. Here we are not talking about the merits and demerits of the Supreme Court judgment, but about the relationship between special status and quality of education. Educational-cultural contribution is to be made by institutions established with a special purpose for special com. We simplify a lot of things to make sense and then live with that simplification as the truth without questioning it. One such well-known simplification is that of Macaulay. We walk by accepting that Thomas Babington Macaulay imposed western education on Indian people and we had to accept it freely as we were slaves. Many patriots are ashamed to call themselves children of Macaulay, but this is not entirely true. The first thing is that the British debated for almost three decades whether the people of India should be educated in their own language according to their tradition or western education should be given in English. There was never unity between them. There were also a large number of Britishers who believed that the people of India should be educated according to their traditions and held high positions. On this side, there was a discussion about the form of education and the linguistic medium among the Indian people as well. The rulers took their decision in favor of western modern education in English medium. Now the Indian people had to decide what they should do? The option was open to those who wanted to give traditional education to their children. They could educate their children in Pathashala with Brahmin Shastri and in Madrasa with Maulvi. Many rejected Western education altogether and sent their children to schools or madrasas. Muslims were foremost among the rejecters. Denial among Hindus was less and Bahujan Samaj and Dalits began to see liberation in Western education. The decision was not easy. The benefits of modernity were not to be given up and tradition was not to be given up either. There was a religious crisis. The remedy for this was; coordination. Can we not provide such education in which our tradition can be preserved and modernized? Anglo Indian. Both English and Indian. But no, those who were more traditionalist among Hindus said no, not Anglo-Indian, Anglo-Hindu and traditionalist Muslims said not Anglo-Indian, Anglo-Muslim or Anglo-Mohamedian. No one objected to Anglos, there was objection to Indians. Is it any wonder that the British would fight two nations and as a result one day India would be divided? They rejected the Indianness produced by nearly nine hundred years of coexistence of Hindus and Muslims, but accepted the Angloness of barely five decades. Well, in the 19th century and later there were educational movements across the country to strike a balance between modernity and tradition. Many experiments took place and many organizations came into being. Here one thing should be clarified again that the British did not create any kind of obstacle in this kind of experiment. It didn't say you had to be Macaulay's child. Many people did many experiments, many institutions came into being, but here let us briefly examine two or four examples. Rabindranath Tagore's 'Santiniketan' was in a sense an Anglo-Indian experiment. Of course in a limited sense, because he objected to both Anglo and Indian and made an original experiment, but still let us put Santiniketan as an example of an Anglo-Indian. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan established 'Aligarh Muslim University' which was initially named 'Anglo Mohammedan College'. Madanamohan Malviya of Mahaman founded the 'Banaras Hindu University'. Annie Besant established 'Central Hindu College'. The Arya Samajs prefer to call themselves Vedic Aryans rather than Hindus, hence they have established 'Dayanand Anglo Vedic Educational Institutions' and many such institutions are being established and are being established. After independence, the raft broke, because in a parliamentary democracy they needed the voter more than the citizen. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has about 14 thousand schools and colleges, there will be thousand-two thousand institutions of Muslims. Some want voters and some followers. In short, from Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898 AD) to today's contractors of religion, no one objects to the Anglo, but they invariably object to the Indian. They want to promote their identity instead of Indian. Now for the conclusion. A scholar should do a comparative study. Which educational path had more success? To the Anglos? To Anglo Indian or to educational institutes with their own branding apart from Anglo? Among the more than one lakh educational institutions that fall under the third category, name one educational institution that is reputed in the country and abroad. Not one sir, not one. The reason for this? The reason is very clear. One whose target is short may not produce big results. Where rejection is greater than acceptance, Triveni Tirthas of Gurudev, Andrews and Gandhi should not be built. It forms in 'Santiniketan'.}