There is a famous quote by Peter Drucker which states: ‘If a subject has become obsolete, the university faculty makes a required course out of it’. This obsolescence is a structural feature of almost every education system, more so in the case of post-colonial societies which are struggling to find their own ways of doing education. Stuck in the trap of colonial era meta-narratives and patronage structures, these societies are yet to revive their own organic links to the educational system. While the colonial “overdeveloped state” and its postcolonial socialist avatar dominates every nook and cranny of education, the society takes a backseat and looks at education and science as not problem solving mechanisms which grow out of the warp and woof of social necessity but merely as a rite of passage that one has to follow before they score a repetitive, mundane, albeit Taylorist or Fordist metamorphosed into white collar jobs. Thomas Kuhn’s Paradigm shifts or Scientific revolutions are impossible in such settings because doing science means imitating the empirical fidelity of the West in such set-ups forgetting about the social and communal consensus which drove such scientific revolutions of the past in the western world. In short, Macaulay is long dead, but his ghost still haunts India.
The Technological Frontier
A few decades back technology used to be a section in newspapers and magazines which provided fodder to nerds and science buffs. In the near past, it entered our lives and revolutionised it like never before. Today, technology remains the Principal Determinant of National Power. The convergence of Artificial Intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, quantum computing, and space exploration besides boosting industrial output; is reconfiguring the architectures of warfare, governance, and economic resilience.The global hegemony is increasingly wielded by those who command critical, cutting-edge technologies. The clashes and conflicts between the United States and China represent not only traditional geopolitical rivalry; but also contests for technological supremacy. Control over the silicon foundries, the cognitive depth of AI ecosystems, and the ever expanding infrastructure of data and cloud has become the central axis of global influence. Thus, today we can ill afford to treat technological literacy in silos and keep it limited to engineering and science schools. It has now been almost 40 years since the word Techno-Nationalism was coined by Robert Rich and our universities operate as if they have never heard of it. Every student therefore, irrespective of his educational discipline should understand the basics of strategic dimensions of technology. This does not necessarily mean a universal mandate for programming or scientific expertise. Instead, the objective is to cultivate a “strategic technological awareness,” which will enable the foundational understanding of Impact of AI on employment, jobs and governance; Data as Strategic Resource; Cybersecurity as individual and national security; Digital platforms and Public opinion; Geopolitical significance of semiconductor manufacturing; and Opportunities and threats posed by emerging technologies.
The Economic Engine
Economics, as if people mattered, has been in print for the past half century. What we need today is economics, as if nation matters. A society ignorant of the basics of wealth creation finds itself quagmired in the reductive trap of wealth distribution, which is a perennial recipe for more poverty. Economic vitality has always been the bedrock of strategic autonomy. Dependency, be it through energy vulnerabilities, import reliance, or the debt traps of trade imbalances or chequebook diplomacy, serves as a primary constraint on a nation’s sovereign choices.
The tremors of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility and biases of the existing supply chain architecture. For us it was a clarion call that true security resides in manufacturing prowess, pharmaceutical sovereignty, and the resilience of domestic industrial ecosystems. Thus, Atmanirbharta of Bharat is not just a mere economic goal but is thoroughly infused with strategic imperatives of our survival and prosperity. Thus, our next generation should essentially understand: Economics manufacturing excellence and innovation, global trade and supply chain architecture, world economic and monetary institutions, entrepreneurship and organic value creation, energy security, resource economics and national imperatives — The symbiotic relationship between economic and national security. Thus, we need to bring economics down from the high chairs of argumentative Indians and variegated poverty action labs into the consciousness and psyche of masses of Indians.
Tainted by Nazism, vilified as Imperialism, battered by poststructural and critical theories, Geopolitics has been referred to as Intellectual poison by number of observers. Though it is back with a bang in the aftermath of 9/11 and evaporation of rule based neo-liberal world order, it still remains beyond the pale of the Indian education system. Our antipathy towards foreign affairs is perhaps civilisational and has been referred to by Al-Biruni by a millennium ago. Thus, the task here is of both civilisational and colonial restructuring and the education system cannot remain aloof from it for long. Today, India stands at pivotal civilisational and geopolitical crossroads. As the world’s largest democracy, demography and emerging economy the way we interact with evolving geopolitics is not only going to affect our destiny but the destiny of the whole earth. Thus, we owe this geopolitical engagement not only for our National Interest and goals but for the survival and prosperity of the whole of humanity.
Therefore, students finishing their higher education should have optimal awareness of: India’s sacred, civilisational, political and strategic geography; the Indian Ocean as a theater of maritime security and unbound opportunities; soft and hard global power structures; concepts such as The heartland, the sea lanes of communications, strategic chokepoints, supply chain bottlenecks, geopolitical hotspots; international institutions as platforms for statecraft; information warfare and the battle for narrative supremacy; and the symbiotic link between technology, trade, and hegemony. The absence of geopolitical literacy is a strategic liability that exposes societies to psychological operations and cognitive subversion. In conclusion, the task of education is to build strategic consciousness amongst citizens so that they will be able to winnow global affairs from the lens of national interest.
