ABSTRACT
The development of education in India represents an unstoppable and active process formed by cultural connection, social and political transformations, and financial changes across historical periods. This paper critically examines the route of Indian education from ancient educational traditions to the reforms introduced under the National Education Policy 2020. Ancient Indian education emphasized over-all holistic development, moral ethical values, and first hand experimental learning deep-rooted in spiritual idealistic philosophical traditions. The medieval time period introduced a pluralistic educational process influenced by Islamic culture, while the British colonial time period marked an influential change toward Western-oriented education systems, basically changing the overall structure and objectives of education. Post-independence reforms mainly focused on democratization, growth and modernization of education but persistent challenges such as inequality, quality in teaching learning process, and lack of relevance remained. The National Education Policy 2020 represents an allover reform focused at restructuring the education system to meet current global need and requirement while drawing upon India’s indigenous knowledge systems. Using a review-based historical methodology, this study highlights continuity and transformation in Indian education. It argues that NEP 2020 reflects a combination of traditional educational values and modern policy. The paper contributes to bridging the gap between historical educational process and National Education policy 2020.

Keywords: Indian Education, Educational Transformation, Indigenous Traditions, Colonial Education, Educational Policy, NEP 2020, Historical Analysis