The Nation: HRD Ministry: Murli's Mission

As elementary education is poised to get a major boost in the coming months. Murli Manohar Joshi may be remembered for more things than a spate of controversial saffron appointments.

Amartya Sen may be a harsh critic of the BJP-RSS world view. But Murli Manohar Joshi, the so-called hardliner in the BJP triumvirate, has greater respect for the Nobel laureate's views. "I agree whole heartedly with some of Sen's ideas," says the human resource development minister, adding, "There are also some excellent RSS schemes in low-cost education."

Murli Manohar Joshi is striving to make history. Not just by making historians see red and appointing RSS sympathisers to key institutions but also by making an impact in the field of education. The forthcoming 83rd Constitutional Amendment Bill making elementary education a fundamental right could be his shot at posterity.

GRAND DESIGNS

ť A constitutional amendment making elementary education a fundamental right.
ť Greater thrust and budgetary allocation for low-cost education.
ť Replacing leftists in key institutions and universities with saffron loyalists.

The bill is not a Joshi brainchild. It stems from a 1993 Supreme Court judgement that declared education a fundamental right (as opposed to a directive principle) for all Indians aged six to 14 years. Introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 1997, the bill is awaiting the final nod from the Law Ministry. Joshi is pressing for its reintroduction in the winter session of Parliament starting end-November. Says the minister: "Judgements can be overturned. But a constitutional amendment will make certain that we no longer ignore education."

Last week 300 NGOs met in the capital to stress the importance of such a legislation. But the physics professor -- who likes to describe himself as "a simple teacher and scientist" -- knows that making education a fundamental right will be meaningless without giving India's poor access to schools.

Joshi's agenda is not entirely altruistic. Politicians are increasingly seeing electoral dividends in education. Joshi does not hesitate to say that Madhya Pradesh's Congress Chief Minister Digvijay Singh -- who won a second term in office in 1998 -- has done a good job in providing low-cost education. The Madhya Pradesh Government's Education Guarantee Scheme for remote habitations is now being duplicated by several state governments and was announced as a Central scheme in the 1998-99 budget. Another two-term chief minister and BJP ally Andhra Pradesh's N. Chandrababu Naidu too learnt quickly that at the end of the millennium even the poorest of India's poor want to educate their children.

That is why Joshi has a historic chance. The basic thrust, he says, will be to come up with innovative techniques. "Low-cost teachers from the community can make a school. The buildings can come up later." Joshi has come up with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which lumps all existing elementary education schemes under one umbrella at the district level. Another step illustrating the political resolve to push literacy was the setting up of a separate department of elementary education and literacy in mid-November.

Joshi also belongs to a party that has the support of a network of NGOs run by the RSS. Take the example of RSS sympathiser P.D. Chitlangia, whose Friends of Tribals Society has set up over 1,000 single-teacher schools in tribal areas. Says Joshi: "From Chitlangia to Amartya Sen to any NGO, I welcome anyone who offers to educate my people."

In his mission to educate India, the saffron politician will undoubtedly derive strength from as well as strengthen the RSS network. But since education is largely overseen by state governments, there are limits which even Joshi cannot cross. Besides, as Joshi says, "Why go on about the RSS? Why don't you mention that I have started 50 computer centres for Urdu scribes, raised funding for promotion of Urdu from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore and told madrasas that if they also teach science with their curriculum I will foot their bills."

In the field of education, the conflict arises not so much with the Muslim community but with Christians, who have established a formidable schooling network in tribal areas. The RSS and BJP see tribal India as the new growth area -- and the Sangh has its own network of Vanvasi Shiksha Kendras. The Sangh's attempt to catch up with Christians in tribal belts will remain a flashpoint.

The RSS, meanwhile, is very happy with Joshi's performance. An RSS insider at its Delhi headquarters at Jhandewalan says, "We think Joshiji has done the best work. He is the most frequent to come here to consult RSS Organising Secretary K. Sudarshan. We know that our project of nation-building cannot be accomplished without basic education."

The National Literacy Mission (NLM), which targets the over-15 age group, is also being restructured. The nlm has over the years drawn flak for becoming a means to patronise left-wing NGOs and entrenched professionals. Bhaskar Chatterjee, director- general of the NLM and joint secretary in charge of adult education, admits: "Though it has successes, some of the total literacy campaigns run by the NLM were exercises in crass stupidity."

The real problem staring Joshi in the face is the fight for resources. India spends just 3.8 per cent of its GDP on education. Joshi points out that countries which have high literacy rates spend around 9 per cent. "We are refused even 5 per cent," he laments. In the 1999-2000 budget, out of the Rs 4,700 crore allotted for education, Rs 3,000 crore went to elementary education. Combined with the states' allocation, India spends Rs 35,000 crore on elementary education every year. In spite of the fact that the cash strapped NDA Government is unlikely to allocate more funds for education, Joshi says, "I have been given the most important task. If you want to have hope, have education."

Cutting subsidies in higher education -- ironically, something also advocated by Sen -- is one way to raise resources. Says Joshi: "I am the only HRD minister to have declared in Parliament that there is a case for hiking university fees. The BJP has the courage to push for cutting subsidies in higher education but other parties oppose this." Joshi has also mooted the idea of an education cess on a host of luxury items. Such proposals have, however, never really worked in the past.

While all these battles are being fought quietly behind the scenes, it is Joshi's unending war with the left-liberal establishment that hogs the headlines. Though the culture department has now been hived off from the HRD ministry, Joshi still has a huge arena in which to pursue his war against "people with perverted minds who are the real fascists". Several vice-chancellorships will have to be filled in the course of the coming year -- notable among them being at Delhi University, Jamia Millia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, Hyderabad University and Vishwa Bharati (Santiniketan).

If Joshi's track record is any indication, only individuals with BJP-RSS loyalties will be selected. The minister offers no apologies for his singleminded devotion to weeding "leftists and the pseudo-left" from academic bodies. "They are suffering from a fear psychosis because they know I will expose the game plan of the so-called leftists occupying important posts and doing no work."

Joshi does not buy the argument that the intellectual tradition of the Hindu rightwing should not enjoy the same sort of credibility the others do. "Is a man an inferior historian because he says there was a temple at Ayodhya?" he retorts. Similarly, he describes the ongoing efforts to rewrite school syllabi as "merely an attempt to instil nationalist values".

Clearly, the saffron tainted minister will continue to create ripples by antagonising the left-liberal establishment. But if Joshi can actually deliver on the elementary education front, his critics may have something to mull over.