Populist Visions and the Issue of Exclusion: An Exploration of Educational Policy Reforms in India and Pakistan

India and Pakistan were violently split in 1947 due to their shared colonial past, and despite their differing historical trajectories, both have contributed to the increasing politicisation of their educational systems. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in India and the Single National Curriculum (SNC) in Pakistan reflect the governments’ populist and exclusive ideals aimed at democratising education. This chapter explores the concept of populism and its relation to democracy and educational reforms, particularly how right-wing populism in both countries seeks to (re)shape societal divisions through religious nationalism and inclusion-exclusion, claiming that these ideals foster educational democratisation. This chapter brings together various disciplinary perspectives on the right-wing shift in education perpetuated by the rise of populist politics and the challenges to it. It also examines the shifting role of education in both democracies, the divisions and hierarchies present in institutionalised education, and argues that the policy changes are leading to de-democratisation, rather than the intended democratisation.