Indian school children offered courses in Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

Dominik,


I just looked at Module 9: Music in India. I am utterly disappointed with the contents. Seeing the picture of the statue of Kaṇṇaki on the cover, I thought the module would cover the history of music in the Tamil country with a discussion of Cilappatikāram along with Nāṭyaśāstra . After all, there are two sets of names for the seven notes -  in Sanskrit and Tamil. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to present a monochromatic Sanskrit-centered view of India instead of presenting the real diversity of cultural elements in India. When they talk about Bhakti music, the authors do not even acknowledge the existence of Tēvāram hymns sung in Śaiva temples. Whether it is the Congress government or BJP government, fundamentalism marches on.


Since it looked like the cover was not specific to a module, I looked at the literature modules. They only added to my dismay. Classical period is said to begin from 1200 BC? Classical Tamil literature is not represented.  With the presence of people like Michael Danino, I guess I should not expect anything better.


Sadly,
Palaniappan



-----Original Message-----
From: Dominik Wujastyk <wujastyk at GMAIL.COM>
To: INDOLOGY <INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk>
Sent: Wed, Oct 3, 2012 7:58 pm
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Indian school children offered courses in Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India


Times of India, 21 Sept 2012:


NAGPUR: After a successful pilot run, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to introduce a new elective course for Std XI. The course known as  Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India will be available to students from this academic session under the elective course code no. 073. 

 CBSE's circular says that the newly introduced course has "received an overwhelming response from educationists and the teaching community all over India". It aims to engage students with a sense of exploration and discovery while highlighting the concepts and major achievements in various disciplines of knowledge. 

 This elective is keeping in line with the board's endeavour to develop the curriculum in various subjects with a deep focus on values inherent in Indian education system. This focus further takes shape in facilitating knowledge of traditional practices through the course material developed for students. 

 The various modules of this course have already been put online and a printed book version is currently under process. The board is also preparing a Hindi version of the course. The board has written to principals requesting them to include this elective in their scheme of studies. There are a total of 10 modules being offered by  CBSE in this course. 

Full newspaper text:


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/CBSE-starts-new-elective-course-for-Std-XI-in-knowledge-traditions/articleshow/16493937.cms?intenttarget=no

The CBSE's own documentation on these modules is as follows:


Introduction of a new elective titled ?Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India" for classes XI-XII
 Complete Modules of Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (An Elective Course Code no.: 073) for Class XI		                
 

Module 1 : Astronomy in India    |    
Module 2 : Chemistry in India    |    

 Module 3 : Indian Literatures Part 1    |    
Module 3 : Indian Literatures Part 2    |    
Module 4 : Indian Philosophical Systems    |    
Module 5 : Indian Traditional Knowledge on Environmental Conservation    |    
Module 6 : Life Sciences (1) Ayurveda for Life, Health and Well-being - Part 1    |    
Module 6 : Life Sciences (2) The Historical Evolution of Medical Tradition in Ancient India - Part 2    |    
Module 7 : Mathematics in India    |    

 Module 8 : Metallurgy in India    |    
Module 9 : Music in India    |    

 Module 10 : Theatre and Drama in India

Best,
DW

 

 
 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.indology.info/pipermail/indology/attachments/20121003/cd24a740/attachment.htm>