Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticises colonial education, urges shift to Indian values

BHUBANESWAR: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday strongly criticised the colonial legacy of T B Macaulay’s education policy, describing it as a deliberate tool of intellectual subjugation designed to keep India mentally colonised.Speaking at the 35th Convocation Ceremony of Sambalpur University, Pradhan emphasised the urgent need to shift towards mother tongue-based learning and holistic education rooted in Indian values.He said the new National Education Policy, introduced under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, aims to dismantle Macaulay’s mindset and foster independent, critical thinking among students.Pradhan noted that the policy reflects the vision of Indian luminaries such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Maharshi Aurobindo, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who championed multilingual and inclusive education.Addressing the graduating students and researchers, Pradhan congratulated them and called the convocation a new beginning for one of Odisha’s oldest institutions. He highlighted the Rs 157 crore investment made by the double-engine govt—Rs 100 crore under PM-USHA and Rs 47 crore from the state budget—for infrastructure upgrades, AI labs, and e-library development.He said Sambalpur has played a pivotal role in shaping Odisha’s linguistic identity and must now evolve into a knowledge-based economy.

With premier institutions like IIM Sambalpur, Gangadhar Meher University, VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), VSS University of Technology, OUAT’s Chipilima Campus, and the Open University, Sambalpur is emerging as the state’s second education hub after Bhubaneswar.Pradhan stressed that teaching in the mother tongue is essential for developing critical thinking and empowering students to contribute meaningfully to society. He asserted that Sambalpur University must lead this transformation, helping realise the vision of a developed Sambalpur, a developed Odisha, and a developed India. The event was attended by Odisha Governor and University Chancellor Haribabu Kambhampati, higher education minister Surya Banshi Suraj, among others.