The Central government has said that it is for the states to decide whether they want ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to be…
The Central government has said that it is for the states to decide whether they want ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to be taught in schools or not, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
In a written reply, Minister of State (HRD), Upendra Kushwaha said that content related to ‘Bhagavad Gita’ is already included in NCERT’s Class XII Sanskrit text book, Shashwati, Part-II (Chapter IV: Karma Gauravam) since 2007-08.
“Education, being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, and the majority of schools being under the jurisdiction of the State Governments, it is within the ambit of the States/ Union Territories to decide about the subjects to be taught in their schools keeping in view the National Curriculum Framework (NCF),” he said.
Advertisement
The minister further said that the National Curriculum Framework-2005 says that to strengthen our cultural heritage and national identity, the curriculum should enable the younger generation to reinterpret and re-evaluate the part with reference to new priorities and emerging outlooks of a changing societal context.
“The document further states that the cultural diversity of this land should continue to be treasured as our special attribute,” he added.
A private member's Bill may come up for discussion in Parliament that seeks to make the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ compulsory reading in schools and recommends de-recognising institutes that do not follow the suit.
The Bill has been moved by Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Ramesh Bidhuri.
Advertisement
