Like most policies from the colonial era, Education course structure has remained largely the same with only a minor tweak here and there every other decade. But no one has really tried to overhaul the system and no one has really questioned the objectives of why and what we are studying in school and colleges. (We are still taught that Vasco de Gama ‘discovered’ India.) Even though we had a near perfect education system up till 100 years ago, we have never tried to go back to the Gurukul style of studying.
Under the Gurukul system, boys were taught in Ashrams outside the cities (like boarding schools), pre-pubescent boys would leave the safety of home and the care of their mothers only to return as men. They would study the Holy Scriptures, hunting, science, etc and most importantly – discipline.
They returned to the city when the Guru believed that he had nothing left to offer his pupils. A stay away from family under the discipline of a Guru made children independent, confident and decisive.
Even after becoming the rulers of the sub-continent. They found it difficult to control the people. Lord Macaulay in his famous address of 1833 proposed to start the European system of education in India. In his speech he is believed to have said “I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.” Even though the authenticity of this quote is in question but several other quotes support his dislike for everything Indian.
The surprising thing is that even after Independence the school system had not affected most of the population because of large-scale poverty and minimal penetration of these schools.
But we had developed a culture where everything the English did became desirable. A modern man/woman was one who would dress like the English or could talk like the English.
This has continued till date, girls who wear jeans are considered to be “modern”. The Indian film industry has added ghee to the fire! Even though they work in Hindi movies they give all interviews in English. They too portray modern people as anglophone and people who endorse the western culture.
But what bugs me the most is that we have so open heartedly shunned our culture. A good education is an english education, a good machinery is an imported machinery. We celebrate christmas with so much fervor even though we hardly know any christians. Men hardly wear indian clothes and all city children are taught English before Hindi. Even parents talk to their infants exclusively in English!
We have already discarded our Indian lunar calendar, the Indian numerals, and pretty soon the hindi manuscript (Devnagri) would be gone as well. I have hardly read anything in Devnagri after my 10th standard exam. The medium of study is in english, road signs are in english, the names of all tv serials and movies are in roman script.
Why is it that we cannot be proud of our culture, history and our traditions?
Our inferiority complex against the Goras has diluted our rich cultural heritage. I admire the French in this regard, at a time when the whole world is communicating in English, they have managed to preserve their language and culture. French is spoken by all residents of France, all studies are done in French and they have a french council that adds new french words in the dictionary every month to keep their language free from words of other languages. Even ipads have a separate french name!
I understand the irony of this article as it is in English. Sadly because i am more proficient in english than hindi. Moreover, no one would have read it if it was in hindi. As only english writers are considered to be capable writers.
Educated Indian 
There is a need to revisit our educational system ,from bottom to top and make an overhaul.But no harm done in learning a different foreign language which gives much needed initial advantage in getting new and helpful knowledge.
I am not against learning foreign languages. I just believe that a foreign language should be considered a ‘foreign’ language. For all practical purposes English has become our mother tongue.