WHY THIS NEWSLETTER?

"India's future lies in its classrooms"
- Education Commission (1966 - 1968)

The classrooms in India are multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and vary across all socio-economic classes. They reflect the rich diversity that exists in the Indian society itself. The students and teachers bring diverse cultures of their homes to the campus, which if used in a positive sense become a strength in the entire educational and nation building process. If used contrary, it would result in conflict and degeneration on the campus, which leads to the collapse of academic and societal values, learning environment, inter-personal relations, and social harmony. Thus understanding of one's own culture as also other cultures is the crux of what we may designate as 'education' in a broader context.

The educational systems of the contemporary times has to understand this aspect with empathy towards diversity in order to develop balanced thinking, respect for values such as tolerance, human sensitivity, self-confidence, and mutual co-existence. This newsletter, therefore, is envisaged as a pioneering effort in India to go beyond the margins of educational systems and travel deep into the trysts and travails of broader society and their convergence with the educational institutions and processes.

Beyond The Margins is an attempt to bridge the information gap in the field of diversity and multi-cultural initiatives in education. It brings to the fore the efforts of various educational institutions in trying to address and manage the issues of diversity. This newsletter tries to report on the strategies and practices adopted by various institutions, social groups, and individuals and act as a link between all the interested partners. Stories of success and failure of diversity initiatives in different campuses will be presented to increase the awareness among schools, colleges, and universities and help them plan such activities on their campuses as well.

Beyond The Margins is visualised as a kind of forum to highlight the debates, dialogues, and concerns of multi-cultural education in India and abroad. It provides up to date information on the activities undertaken by the Educational Resources Centre to promote an understanding of diversity and multi-cultural education, and to promote an understanding of India among various foreign student and teacher groups that visit the country from time to time. It also briefly presents the reports of various seminars, conferences, workshops, meetings, camps, etc., organised and attended by ERC. This dissemination of ERC's work across a large number of institutions and individuals in India and abroad is intended to popularise the debate on diversity in order to achieve a harmonious civil society. Each issue of Beyond The Margins presents the views and experiences of academicians, policy-makers, practitioners, educational institutions, non- governmental organisations, students, teachers and other stakeholders in this campaign for a just and humane society.

Research on issues of diversity in the Indian educational system received a lesser priority so far. This newsletter is intended to bring out the work of all those researchers scattered across the country and report to a wider group of people. We welcome your readership and request you to contribute to the enrichment of the contents and coverage. Beyond The Margins invites your comments and suggestions for possible improvement and also for identifying the potential stories and initiatives in your locality and campus.

Dr S. Srinivasa Rao
K. P Rajendran