On Friday, part 1 (for classes 6 to 8) of the textbook was formally released in Gandhinagar while part 2 (for Classes 9 and 10) and part 3 (for Classes 11 and 12) is under the process of finalization, officials said. The decision has been widely reported in the media with The Times of India, Decccan Herald and several other newspapers publishing the report.

Top sources in the government said that students will not be graded for their knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita but “will just be assessed without marks.”

The decision to introduce Bhagavad Gita in schools was taken under the framework of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 drafted by the Centre, minister of state for education Praful Pansheriya said. “The state education department has taken a decision under NEP to include the spiritual principles and values embodied in ‘Shrimad Bhagavad Gita’ as a supplementary textbook in the curriculum of Classes 6 to 8,” the minister said in a post on X.
Pansheriya added, “The students will feel proud and connected to the rich, diverse, ancient culture and knowledge systems and traditions of India through the teachings of ‘Shrimad Bhagavad Gita’ which will instill moral values in them.”

The textbook was therefore launched on the occasion of Gita Jayanti, a Hindu observance marking the day the Bhagavad Gita conversation took place between Arjuna, a Pandava warrior prince, and Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Aaj Tak and the controversial anchor, Sudhir Chaudhary ran a provocative programme on the occasion counter-posing Gita Jayanti with Christmas! (Gita Jayanti पर जानिए गीता का महत्त्व)

#WATCH | Gandhinagar: Gujarat Education Minister Praful Pansheriya says, “Under the guidance of CM Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat government has decided to teach Bhagawad Gita to the students of 6th to 8th standard and the syllabus has been prepared and launched today…It’s an effort… pic.twitter.com/ia85lxR4Hz

— ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2023

Background

On March 17, 2022, The Hindu had reported the decision of the Gujarat government that the Bhagavad Gita will be a part of school syllabus for classes 6 to 12 from the academic year 2022-23. The announcement had then been made by Education Minister Jitu Vaghani in the Assembly during the discussions on the budgetary allocations for the Education department

The State government circular said the idea was to “cultivate a sense of pride and connection to traditions.”

“Shrimad Bhagavad Gita’s values, principles and importance are accepted by people of all religions. In class VI, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita will be introduced in such a way that students will develop an interest in it,” Mr. Vaghani said.

According to him, the students will be explained the importance of the Bhagavad Gita in the beginning and then stories will be introduced in the form of slokas, sloka songs, essays, debates, plays, quizzes, etc. Everything will be provided to the schools by the government. From classes 9-12, the students will be introduced to the chapters in detail.

At the time, the move by the State government to introduce the religious text to the students in the primary schools has found support from the opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party.

Related:

Gujarat: Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind moves High Court against teaching of Bhagavad Gita in schools

Now NCERT removes passages about caste and religious discrimination from social science books

Hate Watch: Kerala Governor says madrasa education responsible for Udaipur beheading

hy Ilham’s rank and vision challenge the project of hate

Meet Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the new Chairperson of Press Council of India

The post Gujarat now adds one more textbook on Gita for Std VI and VIII appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (JUIH) has moved the Gujarat High Court challenging a resolution by the Gujarat state’s Department of Education that makes it mandatory for students of classes 6 to 12 to study the Bhagavad Gita, reported Bar and Bench.

As per the report, the Bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J Shastri sought the government’s response to the plea but refused to entertain the request for a stay order. JUIH said in its plea that the move was an exercise of power that violated Articles 14, 28 and other fundamental rights. Further, it said the move also went against secularism, a basic feature of the Constitution.

The organisation argued that the resolution further violated Article 28, providing that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds. Meanwhile, regarding the Bhagavad Gita it was pointed out that it is a religious book of Hindus. As such, the petitioners voiced concern that educating students in only one religion will indoctrinate youths about one religion over others. They argued that this affects free choice and conscience guaranteed under Articles 21 and 25.

“The impugned resolution under the garb of implementing a value-based education system is rationally (sic), and without adequate determining principle, selects one book as a book of values and mandates teaching the same,” stated the plea.

Accusing the government of wrongly taking inspiration from the latest revisions in the National Education Policy (NEP), petitioners said that the resolution fails to uphold Article 51 A(h) promoting specific temper, humanism, and the spirit of enquiry.

Stressing that moral values in a secular state must focus on equality, fraternity, and justice as enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution, it asked the court to stay the resolution. Although the same was rejected, the division bench listed the case for further hearing on August 18.

The government decision comes amidst a time when the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is also revising its textbooks. However, even here, academicians raised concern about how the NCERT is deleting content related to caste, religious discrimination, references to Jawaharlal Nehru, Mughal emperors and text dealing with Muslim stereotypes in its latest review of school textbooks, reported The Telegraph.

This is especially pertinent amidst an environment of growing Islamophobia given how Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan recently accused madrasas of advocating beheading as a punishment for blasphemy. This was in relation to the heinous Udaipur murder where two Islamic hardliners brutally murdered a Hindu tailor for supporting ex-BJP leader Nupur Sharma.

Such attacks on various educational institutions in India reflect the changing socio-political environment of the country.

Related:

Now NCERT removes passages about caste and religious discrimination from social science books
Hate Watch: Kerala Governor says madrasa education responsible for Udaipur beheading
Why Ilham’s rank and vision challenge the project of hate
Meet Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the new Chairperson of Press Council of India

The post Gujarat: Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind moves High Court against teaching of Bhagavad Gita in schools appeared first on SabrangIndia.