ABSTRACT
India, with a population of 1.21 billion people, is the second largest country in the world after China. After gaining independence from colonial rule in 1947, it became the largest democracy in the world. The country is endowed with a mosaic of diverse cultures, religions and languages. It is slowly emerging as an important economic power in the region. Education has always been accorded an honoured place in Indian society. Throughout the nation’s struggle for independence, great leaders of the Indian freedom movement always stressed education’s unique significance for national development (National Council of Educational Research and Training [NCERT], 1966, xv).
