Save Education, Save Culture, Save Humanity Make the Historic People’s Parliament A Grand Success
Dated 23.10.2025 – Dear Fellow Citizens,
For centuries, education has been the most powerful force of change—dispelling ignorance, nurturing freedom, and building the foundation of democracy. Yet today, this very pillar of our nation stands under grave threat. Across the world, and here in India, education is being pushed away from the poor and has been turned into a privilege of the few.
As we step into the 79th year of Independence, the dreams of our Renaissance thinkers and freedom fighters—of a just, equitable, and democratic education system—are in peril.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, imposed during the COVID-19 crisis without public debate or parliamentary discussion, promotes privatization, commercialization, and communalization of education from preschool to university. Drastic cuts in education budgets are leading to the closure of public institutions—the backbone of India’s educational system. Vernacular languages and English, both vital for the growth of knowledge, are being undermined. Under the garb of “Indianization,” divisive, irrational, and unscientific content is being pushed into curricula, threatening the secular and scientific character of education.
In response, the All India Save Education Committee (AISEC) has, over the last five years, built a nationwide movement—organising seminars, conventions, discussions, debates, dharnas, and rallies. Thousands of teachers, students, parents, and academics have joined hands. Their collective wisdom has shaped the draft People’s Education Policy (PEP) 2025—a beacon of hope for a Scientific, Secular, Democratic, and Universal system of education.
The PEP stands for:
- Education as the paramount responsibility of the Government.
- At least 10% of the Central Budget, 6% of GDP, and 25% of State Budgets allocated to education.
- A complete stop to commercialization, communalization, centralization and discrimination in education.
- A two-language formula with focus on Mother Tongue and English.
- Equal and universal access to education for every child, irrespective of their background.
- Providing a Secular, Scientific and Democratic education for all.
Unlike NEP 2020, which was thrust upon the people, the People’s Education Policy is being built with the active participation of the people. The draft has been placed in the public domain since 22 May 2025 to seek wider feedback. It will be finalized by a historic People’s Parliament at the Ramaiah Institute of Technology Apex Auditorium, Bangalore, on 24 January 2026. Once adopted, it will be submitted to the Central and State Governments with the demand for a time-bound implementation.
Friends, the strength of our nation lies in its educated people. Denying education to millions is denying them a future and their fundamental human right. The moment to act is now. Education once saved humankind—today, we must rise together to save education.
We, the undersigned, call upon every education-loving citizen to join this noble struggle. Together, let us reclaim our educational destiny.
In solidarity
Prof. Irfan Habib, Historian & Fromer Professor of Aligarh Muslim University,
Prof. Romila Thapar, Historian & Former Professor of JNU,
Prof. Chandrasekhar Chakrabarty, Former Vice Chancellor, WBUAFS & President of ABSEC
Prof. L Jawahar Nesan, Former Vice-Chancellor, JSS University, Mysore, Karnataka,
Dr. PS Bisen, Former Vice Chancellor, Jiwaji University, Gwalior & President State Chapter, AISEC, MP
Lieutenant General Zamiruddin Shah, Former Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University,
Prof. Alok Banerjee, Former Vice Chancellor, Kalyani University, West Bengal,
Prof. Tapodhir Bhattacharjee, Former Vice Chancellor, Assam University, Silchar,
Prof. A Murigeppa, Former Vice-Chancellor, Hampi Kannada University,
Prof. Siddiq Wahid, Former Vice-Chancellor, Islamic University of Science & Technology, Kashmir & Professor, Shivnadar University,
Prof. Swadhin Pattanayak, Former Director Institute of Mathematics, Bhubaneswar,
Prof. A H Rajasab, Former Vice-Chancellor of Tumkur University & Chairman of the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy,
Prof. MP Mathai, Former Director, Gandhian Studies, Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad & Former Dean, MG University, Kerala,
Prof. D.V.R.Sai Gopal, Former Vice Chancellor, Cluster University, Kurnool, AP,
Prof. Siddhartha Datta, Former Pro Vice Chancellor, Jadavpur University, Kolkata,
Prof. Khwaja Mohammed Shahid, Former Pro Vice Chancellor, MANUU
Prof. Gauhar Raza, Chief Scientist of CSIR & Poet,
Justice V Gopal Gowda, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
Justice D. Hariparanthaman, Former Judge, Madras High Court
Prof. Dhrubajyoti Mukhopadhyay, Former Professor, Calcutta University & INSA Scientist,
Prof. Arun Kumar, Former Professor & President of Teacher’s Union, JNU
Prof. Sachidananda Sinha, Former Professor of JNU,
Prof. Aditya Mukherjee, Historian, Professor (Retd.) of History JNU,
Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Historian, Professor (Retd.) of History JNU,
Prof. Birendra Kumar Nayak, Former Professor of Utkal University,
Prof. H. Srikant, Professor of North-Eastern Hill University,
Shri Jawahar Sircar, Former Secretary, Education and Culture, Govt of India,
Prof. Amitava Dutta, Former Professor of Jadavpur University & IISER, Kolkata,
Prof. Anita Rampal, Former Professor, Delhi University,
Smt. Patricia Mukhim, Public Intellectual, Shillong,
Prof. Ratan Khasnabis, Former Professor, Calcutta University,
Dr. Miratun Nahar, Retd. Professor of Philosophy, Kolkata,
Prof. Soumitra Banerjee, Professor of IISER, Kolkata,
Prof. R Mahalakshmi, Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, JNU,
Prof. Nandita Narain, Former Professor of St. Stephen College & Former President, DUTA, New Delhi,
Prof. Navneet Sharma, Central University of Himachal Pradesh,
Prof. A R Vasavi, Former Dean of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Science,
Shri Bimal Kumar Chatterjee, Former Advocate General, West Bengal,
Shri Partha Sarathi Sengupta, Senior Advocate, Calcutta High Court,
Prof. Arun Kumar, General Secretary, AIFUCTO,
Prof. Allamaprabhu Bettaduru, Former Principal, President, AISEC, Karnatak,
Shri A. Chandrasekhar, Degree College Principal (Retd) and Human Rights activist, AP,
Prof. BV Muralidhar, Former Principal, Arts College, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, AP,
Prof. P. Sivakumar, Former Principal & Former President of Tamil Nadu Government College Teacher’s Manram,
Shri Kopparthy Venkata Ramana Murthy, Renowned historian, AP,
Prof. A Karunanandan, Historian, HOD of History, Vivekananda College, Chennai,
Dr. Santanu Ray, Former Chair Professor, IIT, Chennai,
Prof. D. V. Kumar, Department of Sociology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong,
Prof. Debasis Chakrabarty, Former Dean, Assam University, Silchar,
Prof. Rajesh Goutam, Former HOD of Anthroplology, Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University, MP,
Prof. Sukalpa Bhattacharjee, Department of English, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong,
Prof. Xavior Mao, Department of Philosophy, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong,
Dr. Batskhem Myrboh, Department of Political Science, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong,
Shri Toki Blah, Public Intellectual, Shillong, Meghalaya,
Dr. Michael Williams, Secretary, Forum of Minority Schools, New Delhi
Dr. Aftab-uj Zaman, Former Dean & Former Director of Research, BCKV & Dean, Sister Nivedita University,
Prof. Dibyendu Maity, Professor, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University,
Prof. Ashutosh Parida, Kendra Sahitya Academi Awardee & Former Scientist IMMT,
Prof. Lambodar Prasad Singh, Former Professor, Utkal University,
Dr. Braja Mohan Mishra, Former Reader & Rajya Sahitya Academy Awardee,
Prof. R Manivannan, Former Head, University of Madras, Chennai,
Prof. J Gandhiraj, President, Association of University Teachers (AUT) and Vice-President, AIFUCTO, Tamil Nadu,
Prof. Mahadev Desai, Former President, AIFUCTO, Gujarat
Dr. Joydeep Biswas, Department of Economics, Cachar College, Silchar, Assam,
Shri Dilip Borah, Former DG of Police, Civil Defence & Commandant General, Home Guards, Assam,
K. Sachidanandan, Litterateur, Former Secretary, Sahitya Akademi,
Prof. A K Ramakrishnan, Former Professor, Centre for West Asian Studies, School of International Studies, JNU,
Prof. P. L. Vishweshwar Rao, Member, Telangana Education Commission & Former Dean, Osmania University,
Prof. Shamshul Islam, Former Professor, Delhi University,
Prof. Subodh Sharma, Retd. Professor of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University,
Prof. Dr. Shyam Sundar Deepti, Government Medical College, Amritsar
Dr. S. N. Iyer, Principal & Vice President of All Gujarat Principal Association,
Dr. Nilesh Maity, Principal, Shishuram Das College, West Bengal,
Dr. Dinesh Baishya, Former Principal, B. Borooah College, Guwahati,
Dr. Ghanashyam Nath, Former Principal, Gauhati Commerce College, Guwahati,
Prof. Tridib Gogoi Former Vice Principal, N. N. Saikia College, Titabor, Assam,
Prof. Girindra Nath Goswami, Former Principal, B. N. College, Dhubri, Assam,
Prof. Chaman Lal, Former Professor, JNU,
Dr. Alok Satpathy, Retired Professor, BB Memorial College, Tripura,
Prof. Harbhajan Singh Bhatia, Former Dean, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
Prof. K M Shrimali, Former Professor, Delhi University,
Prof K L Tuteja, Former Professor of History, Kurukshetra University,
Prof. S Irfan Habib, Formerly Prof. of History of Science, NIEPA,
Prof. Purushottam Bilimal, Former Professor of JNU & Chairman, Kannada Development Authority,
Prof. Ujjwal Kumar Chowdhury, Vice President, Global Media Education Council,
Dr. Ajoy Roy, Retd. Associate Professor, Cachar College, Silchar, Assam,
Dr. Nirmal Kumar Sarkar, Retd. Associate Professor, Karimganj College, Assam,
Prof. Pradeep Mohapatra, Retd. Principal, Mankachar College, Assam,
Shri Purshottam Roy Barman, Sr. Advocate, Tripura High Court and Eminent Human right activist,
Rameswar Bhattacharya, Retd. Associate Professor, MBB college, Agartala, Tripura,
Shri Purnendu Kanti Das, Eminent Science Writer, Former President of Tripura Chemical Society & Retired Reader, Dept. of Chemistry, MBB College,
Dr. Sima Baidya, Assistant Professor of JNU,
Prof. Jainal Abedin, Former President, Assam College Teachers’ Association (ACTA),
Dr. Charu Das, Head, Department of Philosophy, Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati,
Prof. Abdus Sobur, Former Head, Department of Economics, Rupahi College, Assam,
Prof. Jai Prakash, Former Professor, Govt VYT PG Autonomous College, Durg, Chhattisgarh,
Prof. Rajnish Kumar Umrey, Professor Govt VYT PG College, Durg, Chattisgarh,
Dr. Pankaj Mitra, Author, theatre artist, broadcaster, Jharkhand,
Dr. Amitabh Bose, Former Proctor, Kolhan University, Chaibasa, Jharkhand,
Prof. Goutam Maity, Department of Library & Information Science & Teacher’s Association leader
Shri Shibasish Praharaj, Student Activist
AND
Shri Prakash N Shah, Former President of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad & President AISEC,
Prof. Tarun Kanti Naskar, Former Professor of Jadavpur University, Kolkata & General Secretary AISEC
| People’s Parliament, 24 January 2026onDraft People’s Education Policy 2025 – An Alternative to NEP 2020Ramaiah Institute of Technology Apex Auditorium, Bangalore ALL INDIA SAVE EDUCATION COMMITTEE |
