Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

and levels of poverty as well as the lowest levels of economic growth. North of
that valley and bordering on Central Asia, the mountainous states of Nepal and
Afghanistan have relatively low population density but high levels of poverty. In
addition to its land-locked location, which has historically made it a site of greatpower
rivalry, Afghanistan has suffered persistent violence on a scale with few
parallels elsewhere (Hopkirk, 1991).
South Asia is also a region of high ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. The
vast Himalayan watershed that divides China from South Asia is itself home
to many different cultural groups often referred to as ‘tribes’. According to
the 2011 Census of India, the number of individual ethnic groups recognised
as Scheduled Tribes is 705 (India, 2011, p.
3). South Asia has substantial populations
professing all the major religions of the
world. Unlike the pluralistic distribution of
languages (whereby major languages tend
to be territorially distinguished), religious
diversity often follows an interwoven pattern,
with people of different faiths inhabiting the
same locale. This lack of correspondence
between linguistic and religious divisions
renders conventional modernist concepts and institutions somewhat confused
and inadequate for purposes such as educational planning. Moreover, apart from
officially recognised languages and religions, smaller linguistic groups (often
associated with ‘tribes‘) and cults also vie for formal recognition. Both language
and religion have profoundly shaped the modern history of South Asia and they
continue to pose complex challenges to administrative practices derived from
colonial rule. Finally, in a manner far from unique to South Asia, but particularly
acute there, the English language has become economically and administratively
dominant, thus constituting a key axis for struggles to entrench or challenge
socio-economic privilege.
Both language and religion
have profoundly shaped the
modern history of South
Asia and they continue to
pose complex challenges to
administrative practices
derived from colonial rule
While prolonged colonial rule is an important part of the historical backdrop, no
less significant is the simultaneous persistence of monarchies throughout the
region. With independence, the dissolution of older monarchies occurred as a
gradual and highly contested process rather than a simple switch in India and
Pakistan. In smaller states, such as Nepal, Afghanistan and Bhutan, the journey
from monarchy to democracy has proved longer and more complex. But even in
the region‘s two most populous states, the co-existence (and co-dependence)
of colonial rule and older, quasi-feudal landholding arrangements has left an
enduring legacy, posing serious challenges to the functioning of democracy and
the market economy (Bardhan, 1998). Density of population and the primacy
of agriculture as means of livelihood point towards the role of iniquitous land
ownership patterns. Inadequate and unsustainable land reforms have allowed the
Rethinking Schooling for the 21 st Century:
The State of Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship in Asia
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