1962 defeat of India & 1971 defeat of Pakistan strengthen regressive forces in the region
Distortion’s long history
A look at curriculum development after 1947 on wards and what factors shaped its present form
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
A look at curriculum development after 1947 on wards and what factors shaped its present form
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
“It’s quite natural that regressive forces get strengthened after a country is defeated in a war.”
An expert on curriculum analysis, Aamir Riaz, believes there are two major divisions in this regard. First, he says, pertains to “the era from 1947 to 1965. During this period, four reports on educational policy were produced, conferences were held and commissions set up. This, Aamir says, was the time “when Indian films were shown in Pakistani cinemas and, apparently, there was no threat to country’s security and integrity.
It all changed drastically in 1969 — a phenomenon which, Aamir says, can aptly be called as parting of ways. Following the 1965 war between Pakistan and India, relations between the two countries deteriorated and there were conscious attempts to glorify the armed forces in Pakistan,” he adds. Afterwards, educational content was designed in such a manner that it would always portray Pakistanis, the armed forces of the country, and its Muslim population as the best in the region. There was even a proposal to close missionary schools.
Aamir says the same had happened in India, which after the 1962 war with China, had centralised its curriculum development policies and started focusing on Hindi. An Indian writer, Krishan Kumar, wrote a book to explain this phenomenon. His point is that it was the approach to rebuild a nation and its morale through a purposefully designed curriculum that filled educational content with biases of all sorts.
A few attempts at reforming the curriculum were made in the Ayub Khan era but the desired results could not be achieved due to various reasons. “It was during this period that the well-known Sharif Commission made valuable recommendations. It is believed that the policy announced by the commission, which comprised of seasoned educationists, is perhaps the best one. The three-year graduation degree was also announced during this period, which led to the launch of anti-Ayub movement by students. It was also in this era that Pakistan Studies and Social Studies were introduced and there was hardly any mention of India versus Pakistan in these books.”
A major transformation in Pakistani textbooks occurred during the 1970s, especially after the country’s armed forces suffered defeats in East Pakistan. The curriculum of this period is filled with mention of war heroes, sanctity of two-nation theory, the wickedness of Hindus and Indians who engineered separation of Pakistan, and so on. “It was in 1975 when different religious textbooks were introduced for Sunni and Shia students. This was tantamount to legalisation of sectarianism on the part of the state,” says Aamir, adding, “It’s quite natural that regressive forces get strengthened after a country is defeated in a war.”
read complete article at The News on Sunday
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