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Education
The Hindu flags shift in Indian academia from rational inquiry to ritual
✍️ The Hindu
🗓 30 Sep 2026, 06:46 AM
👁 9
The Hindu published an editorial warning that Indian higher education is increasingly favouring ritualistic practices over reasoned scholarship.
The Hindu, one of India's leading newspapers, ran an editorial titled "Indian academia’s drift from reason to ritual" highlighting concerns about a perceived shift in the country's higher‑education culture. The article suggests that scholarly discourse in universities is being eclipsed by ritualistic and dogmatic approaches, undermining the tradition of critical inquiry.
According to the editorial, this trend manifests in curricula, research priorities and institutional practices that prioritize conformity over analytical rigor. The piece cautions that such a drift could impair the nation's intellectual vitality and its capacity to innovate.
The newspaper calls on educators, policymakers and students to reaffirm the primacy of reasoned debate and evidence‑based scholarship, urging a re‑orientation toward the foundational values of academic freedom and critical thinking.
According to the editorial, this trend manifests in curricula, research priorities and institutional practices that prioritize conformity over analytical rigor. The piece cautions that such a drift could impair the nation's intellectual vitality and its capacity to innovate.
The newspaper calls on educators, policymakers and students to reaffirm the primacy of reasoned debate and evidence‑based scholarship, urging a re‑orientation toward the foundational values of academic freedom and critical thinking.