This worst of times with the economy in the doldrums, political scandals involving mind-boggling defalcations unfolding every other day, and atrocities against the most vulnerable sections of society — women and children — multiplying almost unchecked among the thousand unnatural shocks that citizens of this beleaguered republic are heir to, could also be the best of times. As the great — but now unfashionable — historian Arnold Toynbee proved with numerous examples in his monumental A Study of History written almost a century ago, the darkest periods of ancient civilisations were often their most intellectually creative. In his eight-volume thesis he cited histories of several ancient societies which confronted with grave challenges, produced transformational creative responses from their intelligentsia.
The two lead features in this issue of EducationWorld provide convincing evidence indicating that the grave challenges confronting the republic and ‘idea of India’ are stimulating creative responses. In many pockets of this vast and varied subcontinent which once hosted the world’s most admired and flourishing civilisations, numerous unsung intellectuals with deep convictions and commitment, are transcending the spreading rot to develop creative responses to insidious challenges poisoning Indian society.
A tiny news item in the media some months ago unearthed information that the University of Pennsylvania has been conducting an annual appraisal of think tanks — unheralded institutions in this country — around the world. According to U Penn’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, India hosts 292 of them — the largest number after the US (1,832) and China (425). Moreover several of them are ranked in U Penn’s Global Go-To Think Tanks league table of the top 150, with the Delhi-based Centre for Civil Society (estb. 1997) ranked 51 worldwide and first in India. This discovery has prompted the first-ever magazine cover story on the country’s leading think tanks written by an experienced special correspondent under the nom de plume of K.V. Priya together with your editor. Their functions and roles are detailed in the introduction to this month’s cover feature, followed by profiles and focus areas of India’s top think tanks. Researching and writing this feature was a revealing and inspiring experience for me. I’m sure reading it will evoke a similar response.
Further evidence of creative response to the critical challenges confronting the country’s crumbling education system, is provided by US-born, Mumbai-based journalist Matthew Schneeberger, who has investigated the ambitious Teach For India (TFI) initiative started three years ago. Inspired by the Teach For America movement initiated in 1989, but adjusted and adapted for Indian conditions, TFI has negotiated formidable hurdles and got off to a good start. To derive satisfaction and hope that all is not lost, I strongly commend our special report feature to you.
Yet perhaps the most dramatic creative response to the huge development challenge which confronts the nation is highlighted on our editorial page. On International Women’s Day (March 8), the Children First Party of India is proposed to become operational with the party’s website going live. On the day an enterprise of great pith and potential will be launched. A small and perhaps hesitant initiative. But then the most momentous journey begins with a single decisive step.
