Design is a protean, open ended and versatile term, which, over the years, has gathered many dimensions and definitions within the folds of its discourse. The impetus to formulate a manifesto for a pluralistic discourse such as design,comes from the growing critical reflections on modern dominant paradigms of education as embodied in Indian institutions of technicaleducation, specifically the CFTIs,vis-à-vis the demands of a larger developmentalparadigm ofthe state.