Curious Case of Indian Knowledge System | Narender Nagarwal

Saturday 29 November 2025

Introduction

Considerable efforts have been undertaken in the proliferation of Indian Knowledge System (IKS) within the academic discourse in the country.

Positioned as a revival of India’s ancient intellectual heritage, the promotion of IKS is being actively pursued under the New Education Policy 2020 by the government. [1] However, a closer examination reveals a complex and paradoxical exercise that raises concerns about the potential erosion of key principles such as rational inquiry, scientific rigour, and historical objectivity. Some of the objectives of the IKS fundamentally conflict with the constitutional scheme of social justice, secularism, and fraternity.

Additionally, the many provisions have violated the Fundamental Duties enshrined under Article 51A of the Constitution of India. [2] The protagonists of the Indian Knowledge System, often supported by the government, are promoting a distorted version of history filled with incorrect claims, illogical assertions, and fabricated events. This deliberate misrepresentation is not just an academic issue but a malicious effort to communalise educational institutions and rewrite history to serve a narrow, ideological narrative. This article is an earnest attempt to unravel the controversial Indian Knowledge System, or IKS, and its questionable consequences.

IKS-A Core Component of NEP 2020

The New Education Policy 2020 has emphasised that

[1] New Education Policy 2020, specifically emphasis on Indian Knowledge System, https://www.education.gov.in/en/nep/indian-knowledge-systems

[2] M P Jain, Constitutional Law of India, LexisNexis Pub. 2023, Article 51A-(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; (c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. (e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; (f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; (h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;