Nurturing Cultural Pride in Classrooms: Renaissance of Dogra Culture

Prof. J.N. Baliya , Sonia Dogra

jnbaliya2015@gmail.com

"The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence."

Rabindranath Tagore

In an increasingly interconnected world, education faces a paradox. While it prepares children to navigate global realities, it often pays insufficient attention to the cultural landscapes that shape their earliest experiences. Schools excel at transmitting information, yet they sometimes overlook a more fundamental responsibility to help young learners understand who they are, where they come from and how their communities have contributed to the larger national story. An education that is disconnected from the lived experiences of learners risks producing academically competent individuals who remain strangers to their own cultural inheritance.

The Jammu region represents a compelling example of this challenge. The Jammu region, also known as the Land of Dogras, borders Punjab in the south, Kashmir in the north, Himachal Pradesh in the east, and the Gujarat district of Pakistan in the far west by Bajwat and Pakistani-occupied Kashmir. Outer plains including tehsils of Kathua, Hiranagar, Samba, Jammu and Akhnoor while outer hills comprises of slopes of Jammu and Kathua district and some areas of Udhampur district including tehsils of Basohli, Billawar, Jammu and Akhnoor.

As we know, the civilizational legacy of Jammu region is expressed through the local languages specially Dogri language, oral traditions, folk literature, performing arts, architecture, indigenous ecological knowledge and a long history of co-existence. It represents a rich intellectual and cultural resource to nation. Yet these living traditions seldom occupy a meaningful place in classroom learning. Consequently, many students develop a greater familiarity with distant cultures but not with the knowledge systems embedded in their own surroundings. Such a disconnect is not merely a cultural loss; it deprives education from one of its most powerful pedagogical resources i.e. the child's immediate social and cultural environment.

Dogra Rulers played significant role to preserve the cultural legacy of the Duggar region. In 1856 Maharaja Gulab Singh handed over the reins of administration to his son, Ranbir Singh whose rule is regarded as an "era of renaissance". Maharaja Ranbir Singh introduced a number of measures to further the process of education in the State. The first printing press was established in Jammu in 1860 during his rule. In order to make school textbooks available, he also established a distinct department for organising the translation of books on every subject. Maharaja established several schools throughout the state. English, Shastri, law, Ayurveda, and Unani medicine were taught in Dogri and Persian in a Jammu high school. The Raghunath Pathshala provided instruction in Hindi and Sanskrit. Free boarding and housing were offered to the pupils. Furthermore, a massive pathshala was set in Uttarbani, near Purmandal. The students were provided with free boarding and lodging facilities. Maharaja Ranbir Singh, ordered the modern Dogri script on Devnagri lines to make it comprehensible and made Dogri one of the official languages. According to Kahn Singh Billawaria, the knowledge of Dogri was obligatory for every Government servant during his reign. It reflects the farsightedness of Maharaja Ranbir Singh toward the cultural rejuvenation and his vision for indigenous knowledge alongside the modern education.

As far as present situation is concerned, the challenge is not to add another chapter on local culture or restrict it to annual celebrations. It is to rethink pedagogy itself. When local history informs historical inquiry, folk narratives enrich language learning, traditional ecological practices illuminate environmental science and community knowledge becomes a source of classroom investigation, culture ceases to be an object of study and becomes a medium of learning. In such an environment, students do not merely learn about their culture rather they learn through it.

This educational philosophy finds clear expression in the National Education Policy (NEP,2020) and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF,2023). Theses both documents advocate learning that is rooted in India's diverse cultural traditions while remaining responsive to contemporary challenges. Their emphasis on cultural participation, multilingualism and contextual learning offers a timely opportunity to reconnect schools with the communities they serve.

Moreover, this is more than an educational reform; it is an investment in cultural continuity. As, it is rightly remarked by John Dewey, "School is a miniature society". Therefore classroom can become the space where historical memory meets critical inquiry, where local knowledge engages with modern knowledge and where young people develop the confidence to carry their cultural inheritance into the future. In an age of rapid social change, perhaps the greatest contribution of education is not simply to prepare students for the world beyond their communities, but to ensure they never lose sight of the communities that shaped them.

The Imperative of NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 marks a significant shift in the philosophy of Indian education. It rejects the narrow view of schooling as merely a means of acquiring academic competencies and instead envisions education as a process of shaping ethical, rooted and culturally aware individuals. Among its foundational principles is "a rootedness and pride in India, and its rich, diverse, ancient and modern culture and knowledge systems and traditions. It recognizes that cultural identity is integral to intellectual development and educational process.

The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 operationalizes this vision by identifying 'Cultural Participation' as a central goal of school education. Importantly, the framework does not view culture as static information to be memorized. Rather, it defines culture as a lived experience that children inherit, negotiate and recreate through participation. Consequently, schools are expected to move beyond organizing occasional cultural programmes and instead embed local history, languages, arts, crafts, ecological knowledge and community traditions within everyday classroom practices.

Why Cultural Pride Matters?

Cultural pride is not about claiming superiority over others; it is about recognizing the value of one's own heritage while respecting the diversity of other cultures. It instils a sense of identity and belonging. It enables young people to understand where they come from and the values that have shaped their communities. Students who are connected to their cultural roots often exhibit greater confidence, empathy and social responsibility.

In the context of the Dogra Cultural landscape, developing cultural pride becomes imperative. The Dogra civilization has gifted India a rich cultural legacy. However, rapid urbanization, changing lifestyles, migration and the pervasive influence of global media have gradually distanced many young people from these cultural treasures. As traditional practices decline and local languages receive less attention, there is risk of losing invaluable intangible heritage.

How Pedagogy can enhance Cultural Pride ?

If education is to nurture culturally confident and socially responsible citizens, pedagogy must remain connected to the communities that schools serve. Learning acquires meaning when children interpret the world they inhabit before engaging with the wider world. Lev Vygotsky has rightly remarked, "Children grow into the intellectual life around them". This requires moving beyond decontextualized instruction towards teaching-learning that draws upon the cultural and social realities of learners.

Such a shift begins by recognising local knowledge as a legitimate educational resource. The Dogri language, oral traditions, folk literature, traditional architecture, agricultural practices and the craftsmanship of local artisans are not merely remnants of the past; they embody historical experience, ecological wisdom and collective memory. If these become part of classroom learning, students can discover that knowledge is created not only in textbooks but also through lived experience of many generations.

This demands inquiry rather than memorisation. Instead of treating Dogra culture as information to be recalled, students can investigate oral histories, document local traditions, explore the relationship between geography, livelihoods and settlement patterns in the region. Such experiences cultivate observation, critical thinking and research skills while strengthening learners' understanding of their own social environment.

Language is central to this process. Every language carries a distinct worldview and preserves the intellectual traditions of its speakers. Meaningful use of mother tongue in classroom interactions, literature and creative expression therefore validates learners' experiences while strengthening conceptual understanding. Equally, engagement with museums, heritage sites, artisans, farmers and community elders expands the classroom into a wider learning ecosystem, exposing students to forms of knowledge rarely found in conventional curricula. Technology can be leveraged in order to provide virtual experience to the students.

Ultimately, pedagogy is not merely about how teachers teach but about what schools choose to value as knowledge. By integrating community knowledge with formal education, schools can transform classrooms into spaces where learners develop intellectual curiosity, cultural confidence and civic responsibility. Instead of teaching about culture, schools should teach through culture.

Key pedagogical approaches include:

* Integrating local history into classroom discussions.

* Storytelling using regional folklore and oral traditions.

* Encouraging bilingual or multilingual learning.

* Inviting local artisans, musicians, farmers, historians and elders into schools.

* Project-based learning on local heritage sites, festivals, architecture and ecology.

* Community-based field visits.

* Celebrating regional literature and performing arts.

* Using local examples in various subjects.

* Use of digital technology like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and other multimedia tools.

Role of Teachers

Teachers as Curriculum Interpreters

Educational policies and curricula provide the framework, but their success ultimately depends on teachers. Every lesson offers an opportunity to connect academic concepts with learners' lived experiences. By contextualising classroom instruction within the social and cultural realities of the respective region, teachers can transform prescribed content into meaningful learning.

Therefore, education fulfils its highest purpose when it enables young people to engage confidently with the wider world without becoming detached from the communities that nurtured them. Pedagogy rooted in cultural landscape does not simply prepare students for the future; it equips them to carry forward the wisdom of the past while shaping a more inclusive and culturally enriched future. By recognising community knowledge as a valuable resource for teaching and learning, it promotes what educational philosophers describe as epistemic justice-the equitable recognition of different ways of knowing. This does not diminish the importance of scientific or global knowledge; rather, it creates a dialogue between local wisdom and global knowledge and enable students to appreciate both.

(J N Baliya is Professor & Dean, Central University of Jammu who is also President, VBUSS, J&K and Ladakh Prant; and Sonia Dogra is Ph.D. Research Scholar, Central University of Jammu)