Republic Day 2022: Education ministry tableau 'Brahminical', says students' group

NEW DELHI: The education ministry’s tableau for the Republic Day parade on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was criticised for being "Brahminical" and exclusionary by the students' group, Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS). The tableau, titled "Vedas to Metaverse", “was composed of blatantly Brahminised visuals with a background musical score that appeals to return to a mythical past glory”, said the group in a statement.

The Republic Day 2022 tableau by the ministry of education had a model of a saffron-clad sage along with a person dressed as a pandit -- a Brahmin -- leading students and professionals in a dance.

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“The Brahminical display at the parade must be seen within the country's historical context wherein Brahminical notions were deployed to exclude the oppressed masses and marginalised communities away from education for centuries. Instead of turning over a leaf over this tainted history and starting anew, the BJP government is actively promoting the same old archaic notions within its education policy,” said the statement.

The statement further criticised the efforts the education ministry is allegedly making to silence dissent against the NEP 2020. It also urged people to unite against such policies of the government to ensure free and equal education for all. “The NEP 2020 makes an overt emphasis on the notion of returning to the past glory of a golden India which is a mythical and misleading concept,” it said.

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Other political leaders have also expressed concern about the focus on Indian knowledge and ancient wisdom. Thomas Isaac, who was the minister for finance of Kerala, criticised the claims that were made in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur 2022 calendar titled “Recovery of the Foundations of Indian Knowledge Systems”, which denied the Aryan invasion theory.

“Rejection of scientific temper, free enquiry and distortion of Indian knowledge systems to serve a divisive social agenda, are in store for higher education institutions under BJP regime,” Isaac said in a tweet.

A tableau proposed by the Kerala government which was supposed to carry social reformer Narayana Guru's model for the annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi was rejected. A ‘swabhimana padayatra' was held in Mangaluru, Karnataka today in protest against the exclusion of Narayana Guru tableau, reported the PTI.

The IIT-Kharagpur 2022 calendar points to what is in store for higher education institutions under BJP regime: rejection of scientific temper,free enquiry and distortion of Indian Knowledge Systems to serve divisive social agenda. Wake up before it is too late.

— Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) January 26, 2022