The Prospects for Democracy in India

by K. L. Shrimali, George S. Counts (Foreword)

This richly informative book is perhaps the first book written for American students of international education, comparative education, and government by an Indian scholar familiar with both cultures. Dr. Shrimali received his Ph.D. from Teachers’ College, Columbia University, and has taught in this country. What he has to say about education in the land of Dharma is as valuable as it is interesting. By democracy, Dr. Shrimali means education, which he equates with freedom and equal opportunity.   Dr. Shrimali highlights the major problems of his country—population, culture, and politics—in discussing, in some detail, India’s modern history since separation, and he pays special attention to Indian characteristics and institutions which, he feels, have hindered India’s development as a nation. Highly critical of the English heritage in India, Dr. Shrimali offers scant hope for democracy in India unless there is radical change in some of her institutions.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1970