Varanasi, 28th Aug to 2nd Sep 2023: Short Term Training Programme on Indian Knowledge System (IKS) began with many leading personalities including academicians, industry experts and intellectual leaders from various universities, industries, NGOs, UGC and Ministry of Education convening at Malaviya Center for Ethics and Human Values, UGC-HRDC, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for the inaugural ceremony of the programme on Monday.
The STTP on IKS aims to achieve the vision and values of NEP 2020, which emphasizes on the importance of Indian Languages, Arts and Culture, and recommends that the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) be integrated into the curriculum at every level of education. To make it easier for Indian traditional knowledge to be combined with modern subjects, the UGC in collaboration with the IKS Division of Ministry of Education has released guidelines for training and orientation of academicians on the IKS. Therefore, the UGC-HRDC, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), under the able leadership of Prof. Anand Vardhan Sharma (Director) organized six-day short term face-to-face training programme for 163 teachers (hailing from various colleges and universities of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal) from 28th Aug to 2nd Sep 2023.
The STTP on IKS seeks to utilize Indian knowledge and empower teachers to teach the foundational IKS courses as per the UG/PG guidelines of the UGC for the academic year 2023-2024 for making it easier to connect the dots between the past and the present. The programme reminds us the shloka from the Rigveda— “भद्रायां सुमतौ यतेम (ऋग्वेद ६.१.१०)” with a positive note— “Let us strive for the wisdom that leads to the welfare of all.”
The inaugural session was graced by Prof Arun Kumar Singh (Registrar, BHU), Shri Anurag Deshpande and Shri Sriram (IKS Division personnel), Prof Anand Vardhan Sharma (Director, UGC-HRDC-BHU) and Dr Mala Kapadia (Director, Trans-disciplinary Research Initiatives at Anaadi Foundation). The keynote speech was given by Prof Arun Kumar Singh who emphasized the importance of Indian knowledge system in nation-building and nation-branding; whereas Dr Arti Nirmal (Associate Professor, Department of English, BHU) played a significant role in efficiently anchoring the programme.
A total of fifteen sessions— ‘Overview of IKS-1’ (Shri Vinayak Bhat), ‘Overview of IKS-2’ (Acharya Shreyas Kurhekar), ‘Overview of IKS-3’ (Dr Ram Sharma), ‘Overview of IKS-4’ (Shri Venkatraghavan R), ‘Overview of IKS-5’ (Dr Tulasi Kumar Joshi), ‘Innovative Pedagogy-1’ (Dr Bharat Dash), ‘Innovative Pedagogy-2’ (Shri Anurag Deshpande), ‘Innovative Pedagogy-3’ (Dr Mala Kapadia), ‘Innovative Pedagogy-4’ (Shri Aman Gopal), ‘Case Study-1: Ancient Botany’ (Dr Subramanya Kumar), ‘Case Study-2: Mathematics’ (Dr Venkateswar Pie), ‘Case Study-3: Chemistry’ (Prof V Ramnathan), ‘Case Study-4: Arthasashtra’ (Dr Jeevan Rajpurohit), ‘Case Study-5: Inter-civilization’ (Shri Raghav Krishna), and ‘Team Presentation’ were conducted for four batches (Batch-1: Acharya Nagarjun, Batch-2: Acharya Sushruta, Batch-3: Mahaviracharya, Batch-4: Acharya Kanad) of 163 participants during the six-day training programme. The programme got off to a super start, with an active and alive full house participants and learners eager to listen to the authorities on Indian knowledge system.
The valedictory session, after the written examination held on Saturday morning, had the multi-talented Finance Officer Dr Abhay Kumar Thakur, young and energetic UGC-Secretary Prof Manish R. Joshi and multi-lingual Prof. K. Ramasubramanian as sagacious spokesmen of the session among others. The programme was well organized by the highly energetic and amiable members of the organizing team— especially Prof Anand Vardhan Sharma, Dr Arti Nirmal, Dr Harish Kumar, Shri Mahesh and Shri Anil along with Kshama Dubey, Sunita Kumari, Anki Patel, Rohini Dubey and Sanket deserve to be praised for their hard works.
Opinions of the Participants
1. “This event, which enriches the Indian knowledge tradition, is definitely praiseworthy” — Swami Vidyapradananda, U.P.
2. “Today the country is in great need of such programmes” — Dr Pathik Roy, West Bengal
3. “Vedic literature is as true to the test of logic even today as it was when it was created in the Vedic Age.” — Dr Shraddhanjali Singh, West Bengal
4. “It feels good to complete this training” — Dr Anoj Raj, U.P.
5. “Six days passed while reading, writing and having positive conversations about this program, without even realizing it” — Dr Surjoday Bhattacharya, U.P.
6. “It gave life-transforming messages of our glorious past connecting with the present” — Dr Seema Patel, Bihar
7. “It was just amazing” — Dr Swati S. Mishra, U.P.
8. “Over the course of six days, the event explored varied themes of IKS” — Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, Jharkhand
9. “It would help in cultural development of the teachers and the students” — Dr Subhash Chandra Pati, Odisha
10. “I really enjoyed the intellectual activities at UGC-HRDC, BHU” — Dr Lhundup Bhutia, West Bengal
11. “This training program systematically highlights the creative authenticity, relevance and practicality of the Indian knowledge system in the present scenario” — Dr Abnish Singh Chauhan
About the News Reporter:
Dr Abnish Singh Chauhan (1979), the editor of one online journal– Creation and Criticism and a Hindi magazine– Poorvabhas (पूर्वाभास), is presently serving as a Professor (English) & Founding Dean/Principal, BIU College of Humanities & Journalism, Bareilly Iinternational University, Bareilly, U.P. He has authored a number of books including Swami Vivekananda: Select Speeches, Speeches of Swami Vivekananda and Subhash Chandra Bose: A Comparative Study, The Fictional World of Arun Joshi: Paradigm Shift in Values and Tukda Kagaz Ka (A collection of Hindi Lyrics). He can be contacted at abnishsinghchauhan@gmail.com.
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