Science and Culture of India

According to andyeducation, a feature of education is the parallel existence of two subsystems: formal education (public and private sectors) and non-formal education. The system of formal education has stages: primary (first stage 1-5th grades, second – 6-8th grades), secondary (first stage – 9-10th grades, second – 11-12th grades). Higher – without a bachelor’s degree (2-3 years of study in colleges), with a degree – study at institutes and universities. In total, there are 228 universities in the country. The Commission for Universities under the Ministry of Education is responsible for the development of higher education in the humanities. Technical education is administered by the All India Council for Technical Education. In 1995, a body was created whose task is to introduce higher education in rural areas – the National Council of Rural Institutes, which implements the ideas of M. Gandhi on education as a means of socio-economic development of the villages. The non-formal education system began to operate from 1979/80. It is designed to give knowledge to children (these are children from the poorest families) and adults (from 15 to 35 years old) who do not have literacy skills. There are more than 300,000 such schools in the country (177,000 of them exclusively for girls) with a total enrollment of approx. 7.5 million people

The largest organizations supervising scientific activity: Council for Scientific and Industrial Development (SNIR), Indian Council for Agricultural Research (IARC), Indian Council for Medical Research. The central science management bodies also include the departments of: nuclear energy, electronics, space research, ocean, defense, environment and forest resources, non-traditional types of energy, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MNT). Industrial enterprises have more than 1200 own research laboratories. MNT coordinates the work of 9 national centers for problems of biology, meteorology, geology, chemistry, new materials and powder metallurgy. The main scientific potential is concentrated in the SNIR, which was created back in 1942. Now it includes 40 institutes and 80 laboratories with an annual budget of 8 billion rupees (2000) and an annual effect from its developments of more than 450 billion rupees. It employs 22 thousand employees, of which 5300 are scientists (60% have a doctorate degree). The main areas of its development, in which India occupies a leading position in the world: the design of aerospace vehicles, drugs, biotechnology, chemistry (catalysts and polymers), petrochemistry, new materials (composites), geo- and radiophysics.

Literature has 3.5 thousand years. The earliest works are considered to be the Vedas, collections of hymns and ritual chants of the Indo-Aryans. The greatest monument is the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana. A major representative of Sanskrit literature was Kalidasa (4th century AD). Famous authors of the Middle Ages are Kabir, Surdas, Mirabai, Tulsidas. In the future, literature developed on the basis of local languages. The founder of Hindi literature was B. Harishchandra (1850-85), prominent representatives were Premchand (1880-1936), Yashpal (1903-76), U. Ashk (1910-97). The most important representative of Bengali literature was R. Tagore (1861-1941), a poet, humanist writer and thinker who received worldwide recognition. A great contribution to the development of Tamil literature was made by R. Kirushnamurti-Kalki (1899–1954), Malayal literature by V. N. Menon (1878–1958), and Urdu literature by K. Chandar (1913–77). The visiting card of the country is the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. The mausoleum was built in the 17th century. in Agra by order of Emperor Shah Jahan. The cave temples of Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta, the temple complexes of Khajuraho and Mahabalipuram, the temples of Jagannath and Surya, as well as the Palace of the Winds in Jaipur, the palace of the Nizam of Hyderabad, the museum-fortress of Amer, Gwalior, Udaipur and the Red Fort in Delhi are very famous. A worthy example of modern architecture is the city of Chandigarh, designed by Corbusier. Leading Indian architects Ch. Correa and B. Doshi. Contemporary painting represents a synthesis of traditional Indian and European schools. Its founders were A. Tagore (1867-1938), D. Roy (1887-1972), A. Sher Gil (1913-41). Music is divided into classical (margi), folk (deshi) and film music. Its basis is the melodic structure of the raga, characterized by certain modal and rhythmic features, a well-established sound range. The pleiad of well-known performers are B.Joshi, R.Shankar, M.Subbulakshmi, father and son A.Rakhi and Z.Hussein. Indian dance has its roots in ancient times. It is divided into classical, folk and film dance. There are 6 main styles of classical dance – Bharata Natyam, Kathak, Odissi, Manipuri, Kathali, Kuchipudi. In Punjab they dance “bhangra”, in Rajasthan “ghumar”, in Gujarat “garbu”. India is the largest film industry, producing over 1,000 feature films a year. Classics of Indian cinema are directors S. Ray and M. Sen, actors R. Kapoor, G. Dutt.