Even as there is an ongoing controversy that however well the intentions be, schools should not be the playground for religious education, Gujarat, the “model State of India” is all set to introduced and incorporate Bhagavad Gita as mandatory learning into the first language textbooks for classes 9 and 12. The Gujarat government believes that Gita is not just a religious scripture; it is a manual for ethical living. Incorporating Bhagavad Gita in school curriculum will instil moral and ethical values in students.
The decision is part of the state’s implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The Bhagavad Gita’s value-based chapters are being added to the first language textbooks in Gujarat, Hindi, English and Urdu for classes 9 to 12. (Gujarati, Hindi, English, and Urdu) for classes 9-12. Last academic year, a supplementary textbook on the Bhagavad Gita was launched for classes 6-8.
The National Education Policy (NEP)2020 emphasises on incorporating modern and ancient Indian culture, traditions, and knowledge systems in education.
It must be noted that Bhagavad Gita is the most read spiritual and religious book of India. It also is the world’s most recognised and highest translated Hindu book. Dara Shukoh translated the Bhagavad Gita into Persian in the 17th century and some hundred years later, Warren Hastings supervised its translation into English.
While one can appreciate the cultural value and significance of this ancient scripture, the Gujarat government’s decision to include it in the curriculum of government schools for classes 6 to 12 as a compulsory component has raised eyebrows. Some see the move as linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s larger political project of Hindutva.
But it must be noted that when the BJP ruled Gujarat government introduced an Assembly resolution to incorporate Bhagavad Gita education in schools, the resolution was supported by both their current main rivals, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) following which the resolution had got a clearance unanimously.
The teaching of religion in schools in the United States also arose out of a political project. After Andrew Jackson was elected the US president in 1828, he was dubbed as uncouth and unpolished by elite Americans who felt that Bible education was the only way to protest United States from falling into chaos through the election of low-brow individuals. As most American elites in the 1820s and 1830s were Protestant Christians, they incorporated Bible as part of the public school curriculum.
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