Welcome Remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF during the Vimarsh talk by Sh Rajiv Malhotra on the book Who is Raising Your Children: Breaking India with Youth Warriors,

Dear Friends,

I would like to welcome and thank Sh Rajiv Malhotra and Dr Vijaya Viswanathan to the VIF for today’s Vimarsh discussion. Their latest book Who is Raising Your Children: Breaking India with Youth Warriors is the subject of discussion today.

We welcome the Chief Guest Sh Dattatreya Hosabale ji, the General Secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He is one of the leading thinkers and strategists in the organisation. Sh Hosabale was arrested during the emergency years of 1975-1977. He has also served as the General Secretary of ABVP for 15 years. He was the founding editor of Aseema, a Kannada & English monthly. He is fluent in Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, English and Sanskrit.

Sh Rajiv Malhotra is well-known in India. In September 2022, we had discussed his widely acclaimed book Snakes in the Ganga: Breaking India 2.0, which alerted us of the growing trend of wokeism in Indian institutions. Sh Rajiv Malhotra is the founder of the non-profit Infinity Foundation which is dedicated to researching civilisation from historical, social sciences, and mind sciences perspectives.

Dr Vijaya Viswanathan, the co-author holds an MBA degree from Wharton Business School and has had a successful career in manufacturing and finance in the USA, Singapore and Europe. Her core area of work is education. She has studied Vedanta, Dharmic and Civilisational thought. She serves on the Board of the Infinity Foundation.

The book, published by Occam Publishers, is a critique of the Indian educational system followed in Indian schools and posits that the National Education Policy 2020 tend to follow the ideological agenda recommended by organisations such as the United Nations rather than address India’s needs. It recommends a National Education policy rooted in Vedic civilisation, including the teaching of Indian classics and the Indian Knowledge System. Only this way, the author asserts that “India will be able to reclaim its historic role as a Vishwaguru”. The book raises some uncomfortable questions for policymakers, parents and Indian society.

We look forward to hearing from the authors about the book.