Dr. Haribhau R Bhapkar
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 anchors modern education in Design Thinking, innovation, experiential learning, and the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). While these concepts may seem contemporary, they are not Western imports. For millennia, India’s visionaries, saints, and rulers naturally practiced this exact framework: empathising with people, defining societal challenges, ideating solutions, testing prototypes, and scaling impactful systems.
This indigenous approach is what I call the “Bharat Model.” Long before global business schools formalised the term “Design Thinking,” India’s historic leaders used it to transform society.Here are five exemplary Indian gurus, social reformers, and Maharajas who drove massive societal welfare through their visionary policies and actions. Their life works offer a practical, timeless blueprint for successfully implementing NEP 2020 through the lens of IKS:
1. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj | Design For Governance, Strategy: 17th century Maharashtra faced invasions, high taxes, and unsafe citizens. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj walked through villages and understood the pain of farmers.He defined the need as Swarajya with security, justice, and cultural pride. He designed guerrilla warfare, a navy, a network of 300 forts, and Ashta Pradhan for transparent governance. He piloted it in Torna and Raigad, then scaled to 4 lakh sq km with merit-based administration.He protected farmers, respected women, and used Marathi in courts. For NEP 2020, Shivaji teaches strategic leadership, use of local language and geography, and governance that serves citizens first.
2. Tukaram Maharaj |Design For Empathy, Language: In 17th century Maharashtra, common farmers were denied spiritual knowledge because scriptures were only in Sanskrit. Tukaram Maharaj, a farmer himself from Dehu, felt their humiliation and exclusion deeply. He defined the problem not as lack of faith, but lack of access. His solution was radical simplicity: compose Abhangas in Marathi and sing them in village Kirtans. No temple, no priest, no fees were needed. This prototype scaled for 400 years and still gives mental strength to millions. For NEP 2020, Tukaram teaches us multilingual education, accessibility, and designing for the last person first. True design starts with empathy.
3. Adi Shankaracharya| Design For System, Knowledge: In the 8th century, India was intellectually fragmented. Sects fought, and Vedic knowledge was fading. At age 16, Shankaracharya travelled across Bharat and diagnosed the root cause as “Avidya” or ignorance of one truth.He designed Advaita Vedanta as the unifying philosophy. To sustain it, he created 4 Mathas in 4 directions – Sringeri, Dwarka, Puri, and Joshimath. These became prototypes for research, debate, and knowledge preservation. The system was decentralized, self-governing, and ran for 1200 years. For NEP 2020, Shankara’s model shows the power of institutional networks, academic autonomy, and building systems that outlast individuals.
“True social unity and inclusion—whether in historical communities or modern educational campuses—are built by dismantling systemic barriers to foster spaces where every individual feels an equal sense of belonging and service.”
4. Swami Vivekananda| Design for Character, Nation: 19th century India suffered from poverty and colonial inferiority. After walking across India, Vivekananda saw two problems: empty stomachs and broken self-respect.He defined the solution as “Man-making education” and “Service to Man is Service to God”. He prototyped this through Ramakrishna Mission schools, hospitals, and relief work. He tested it globally in Chicago in 1893, where he gave India its voice back. He scaled character building + social service as one model. For NEP 2020, Vivekananda reminds us to link skill, values, entrepreneurship, and nation building in every classroom.
5. Sai Baba Of Shirdi |Design For Inclusion And Harmony: Late 19th century India was divided by religion and caste. Sai Baba lived in a broken mosque in Shirdi and welcomed everyone equally. He defined the problem as lack of trust and unity. His design principle was “Sabka Malik Ek” – One God for All. Dwarka-Mai became the prototype where Hindus and Muslims sat together, ate together, and served together. Today 1000+ Sai temples run free food and hospitals on this model. For NEP 2020, Sai Baba teaches equity, inclusion, and building campuses where every student feels they belong regardless of background.
The Bharat Model|5 Lessons For NEP 2020: What connects all 5? They followed the same Design Thinking cycle.
1. Empathize: All started with fieldwork – Yatra, village stay, listening.
2. Define: They named the root problem – language, ignorance, poverty, division.
3. Ideate: Solutions came from Indian culture – Kirtan, Matha, Seva, Fort, social movement.
4. Prototype: They tested small – 1 village, 1 Ashram, 1 Matha, 1 Fort.
5. Test Or Scale: Only after success did, they go national.
The Gurukul was their design lab. Bhajan and Kirtan were feedback systems. Ashram was the pilot project. If we implement NEP 2020 with this lens, we will not copy the West. We will build an education system that is rooted in IKS, relevant to India, and ready for Atmanirbhar Bharat. That is the true Bharat Model of Design Thinking.
(The author is Head, Department of Mathematics at Central University of Kashmir, Green Campus Ganderbal. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
[email protected]
