12. State and Education in India

State 149 State is the well organized super associations of human beings which came into existence to carry out the functions of all the social activities more effectively. In the early times on the basis of social contacts people formed associations. These associations further formed a super associations known as State, and to carry out some important functions of society. During the Vedic period there was no relation between state and education at all. In those days education was imparted by learned Rsis in the gurukulas. State provided land for gurukulas and they did not collect the land tax from those gurukulas." 43 In some cases the king used to grand stipends and liberal 44 allowances to students and learned men. Some times the king helped 45 the students in giving daksina to their studies. Similar endowments were also made by many south Indian Kings like Kulottunga Chola III. 46 In ancient days state made some provision for the care and education. of orphans as evident from the Arthasastra of Kautilya.' 47 Society maintained these institutions and the state admired and appreciated their efforts. In the brahmana period also education was maintained by voluntary and private organization. However there was no

150 direct control of state in education. During the Buddhist period institutions were changed into public institutions and were run by bodies like 'samiti'. In the Muslim period rulers established Maktabs and Madrasas. The Jatakas mention that state scholarships were awarded to some students for studies abroad. Asoka furthered the cause of education by establishing innumerable monasteries throughout his empire." 48 It will be interesting to compare the old state of affairs with the modern period. In the modern period education is a responsibility of the state. The central and the state governments and the local bodies share the responsibility of educating the children of the nation spending the best of their resources and capacities. A democratic state devises a national scheme of education. The elected government propagate the political ideology of the state by way of film shows, military demonstrations, radio, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and television shows. Social training is given through social service programmes, social functions and other various programmes. Cultural training is given by establishing various institutions like museums, picture galleries, exhibitions, zoos, clubs for entertainment and arranging action fairs and free film shows.

151 In addition to formal education state is to provide adult education for the uneducated and illiterate adults through various voluntary organizations and with the help of media. Good education depends upon the availability of good and standard books. So the state prepares and publishes text books at reasonable price for the schools and colleges and establish public libraries, where the people get the opportunity to read. The state provide scholarships and stipends to the needy and deserving ones without and discrimination of caste, creed or religion. The state gives proper guidance and keeps close supervision in such a way that the entire educational system runs on the right track. During the ancient and medieval periods King's court was one of the best educational centers in India because they provide many opportunities for the scholars to perform. They provided scholarships any stipend for the talented poor students and distributed rewards to the scholars. Some rulers appointed permanent scholars in their courts. Another great educational influence in the country was the occasional meetings of learned men at the courts of kings during the sessions of sacrifices or rituals. Interesting and instructive functions like the recitations of sacred books were held at some convenient hours of the

152 day, which would be attended by the public at large. It was during a sacrifice that Vaisampayana recited the Mahabharata. The Upanisads also emphasizes some of the other features of these learned gatherings. They provided the arena were scholars seeking to establish their intellectual positions entered in serious debates. These discussions were called Brahma Vada and reference to them are often met within Satapathabrahmana, Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya upanisads. The ancient society had its own ways of formal and informal education. Time has changed and in this age of industrialization and technological development the ancient structures dissolve and new concepts and practices emerge. Informal agencies of modern society have gone up in number and substance. Society finds new ways of teaching, communication, and entertainment - new technologies are developed in the all fields. Radio, television, press, cultural programmes, book marts, museums and such other sources of education are available for a modern man. All these aspects in relation to Sanskrit education will be elaborately dealt with in the succeeding chapters.