Hereditary Education Policy

Hereditary Education Policy or Kula Kalvi Thittam is an education policy introduced by Rajaji as Chief Minister of Madras State in 1952. [ [http://sify.com/news/politics/fullstory.php?id=13569138 What if Periyar had not been born? - Sify.com ] ] As per this policy schools will work in the morning and students would be encouraged to learn the family vocation in the afternoon. A Carpenter’s son would learn Carpentry, a priest's son chanting hymns and a barber’s son hair cutting and shaving after school in the afternoon. Now Hindu profession had evolved around caste system, particular castes did only particular professions and it was Varna based where the Brahmin was the highest in the order and learned the Vedas, the Kshatriya ruled the country, Vaishya trading, the Shudra did farming and artisan work, and the Dalit or untouchables did manual labor and was the lowest in the order and was denied education . [ [http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Mystica/html/varna.htm Varna ] ] [ [http://www.hindunet.org/varna/ Caste and Varna ] ] . It was seen as a Casteist Education policy or Communal education policy aimed at maintaining maintaining caste hegemony.

Periyar Ramasami and other leaders saw this as clever ploy against the Dalits, Scheduled Castes and Tribes and Backward Classes as there first generation was finally getting educated then. Their children had just begun to attend school after centuries of denial of educational opportunities under the rigid Hindu caste system . [ [http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/periyar.htm Periyar E.V.Ramaswamy - பெரியார் ] ] This was seen as a ploy to ensure the domination and monopoly of Brahmins. [http://www.holycrossjustice.org/pdf/Integral%20Liberation/June%202006/The%20History%20of%20Reservations%20in%20India.pdf ] [ [http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375407284&view=excerpt Random House, Inc. Academic Resources | Titles of Academic Interest for Universities and Colleges ] ] In 1920 when the Justice Party came to power Brahmins occupied about 70% of the high level posts in government and after reservation was introduced by the Justice Party reversed this trend and allowed non-brahmins to raise in the government in Madras Presidency [ [http://www.tehelka.com/story_main17.asp?filename=Ne042206superiority.asp Tehelka - The People's Paper ] ] . Students would follow their parents professions and remain in there low status and lowly paid professions. Further it was felt that it was for the Parents and students themselves to decide what they wanted to be and not the government. Rajaji's policy was also opposed within the congress party by leaders like Kamaraj. Rajaji had also closed down nearly 6,000 schools, citing financial constraints. There was severe opposition from within the Congress party and the opposition were trying to bring a no confidence against Rajaji over the issue. Rajaji quit over this policy. Kamaraj removed the family vocation based Kula Kalvi Thittam (Hereditary Education Policy) introduced by Rajaji in 1954. Six thousand schools closed down by Rajaji were revived and 12,000 schools added by Kamaraj [ [http://www.periyar.org/html/dk_movement_eng.asp Periyar.org ] ]

References

External links

*http://www.countercurrents.org/dalit-periyar280603.htm
*http://164.100.24.167/rsdebate/synopsis/194/29112001.htm
*http://www.buddhiwadi.org/periyar.htm
*http://www.dr-ambedkar.com/writings/38A.%20Who%20were%20the%20Shudras%20Preface.htm
*http://www.loc.gov/catdir/samples/random042/99031807.html
*http://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/socialscientist/text.html?objectid=HN681.S597_252-53_087.gif

Further reading

* Rajaji, a Life by RajMohan Gandhi ( Chapter Downfall mentioned as Caste based education Policy)