Ankur Kakkar

As Indians, we are curious about the kind of education system we had before the British arrived. Did all sections of society have access to basic education? Were women educated? Were there any medical practitioners? How were scholars and artists trained? Land of Pathshalas: A Story of Indigenous Indian Education provides answers to these questions bypresenting a refreshing narrative of Indian education in the 19th century. It documents a wide range of pre-colonial institutions that catered to different occupations of the time. In doing so, it analyses the methods of knowledge transmission using Indian epistemological categories such as Yoga and dharma. Drawing from a wide range of sources, including government surveys, census reports, foreign accounts, district gazetteers, autobiographical accounts, and personal interviews of traditional practitioners, this book provides a comprehensive overview of indigenous Indian education.