01 September 2014

Education in the Agricultural Age/Society

In the Agricultural Age, there were 4 groups in society:
1. Scholars
2. Warriors
3. Merchants
4. Farmers
This was true for all civilisations (India, China, Europe, etc).

Knowledge in the Agricultural Age was low. The knowledge required in people for the effective functioning of society was also low. Whatever knowledge existed was required only for the scholars. It was not required for the other groups – ie, warriors, merchants, farmers. So in all civilisations, only the scholars got education. The others (warriors, merchants, farmers) did not get education.

In India, these social groups were nothing but the Varnas:
1. Scholars – Brahmanas
2. Warriors – Kshatriyas
3. Merchants – Vaishyas
4. Farmers – Shudras

Thus in ancient India, only the Brahmanas had education. The others (Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras) did not have education.

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