ABSTRACT
The Kothari Commission Report, as it is popularly known after the name of its Physicist Chairperson, remains a subject of intense debates in educational circuits and universities even after 53 years. However, to discern the vision of the report, it is important to understand the historical, economic and cultural context of the report. Interestingly, the recommendations of the report are part of the curriculum of education courses in universities but rarely, there is formal engagement with the issues of the historical context and ideological underpinnings of the Commission's report. The report emphasizes that the basis of the distinction between modern and traditional society is development and development means science-based technology which helps modernization and industrialization. It is emphasized repeatedly that self-sufficiency of food can only be achieved by applying principles of science and technology through agriculture. “In a traditional society, production is based largely on the empirical process, experiences and trials and errors.
