Abstract

India is well known for its diversity in different aspects such as religion, language, cultures, and race from the ancient period. Though India has been diverse since ancient times, the domination of the caste system and beliefs were present. The caste system explicitly divided the society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, and imparted education based on their caste. During the medieval period, rulers gave much emphasis to Islamic teachings, and the British rulers brought western education into India during British rule. There were significant changes within ancient, medieval, and imperial periods based on the rulers’ policies. This shows that the Indian education system has been in continuous flux since ancient times. This article attempts to understand Indian education from the ancient to the British rule period through the lens of multicultural education. Multicultural education is committed to social justice and equity. In simple words, multicultural education is a reform to give equal educational opportunity irrespective of race, social class, ethnic groups, and gender. It helps students to know more about their own and others’ history, culture, and art. Multicultural education includes all learners from different cultures and instructs to shape an education that fits varied students’ cultural backgrounds in classrooms. This article discusses four major education systems in India: Vedic education, Buddhist education, Muhammadan education, and British education in the light of multiculturalism.