After Gujarat, the ruling BJP government in Karnataka has given indications of introducing the Hindu religious text Bhagavad Gita in school syllabus. Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh on Friday, March 18, said that Bhagavad Gita is “for all” and not just for Hindus. He told reporters that a decision will be taken on teaching Bhagavad Gita to school children under the moral science subject after consultation with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Earlier on Thursday, March 17, it was announced in Gujarat that Bhagavad Gita will be a part of school syllabus for classes 6 to 12 from the next academic year.
“Bhagavad Gita is not only for Hindus, it is for all. If experts say it will definitely be introduced - not from this year but next year,” the state Education Minister said, according to ANI. His comments come only three days after the Karnataka High Court dismissed a batch of pleas by student petitioners against the ban on wearing hijab in classrooms, and ruled that “wearing the hijab is not an essential practice under Islam”, following months of turmoil in the state over the issue. Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh had welcomed the High Court's verdict and said, "I welcome the landmark judgment of the Hon'ble Karnataka High Court on school/college uniform rules. It reiterated that the law of the land is above everything."
Nagesh, who is the Primary and Secondary Education Minister, stated there is a growing demand for inclusion of moral science into the syllabus of children. "If everything is agreed upon, we will consult education experts and decide on the aspects and syllabus of the moral science subject … Why should Bhagavad Gita not be taught to the children?" Minister Nagesh questioned. "Whether we introduce Bhagavad Gita, the education experts should tell us. They might suggest Bhagavad Gita, Ramayan, moral stories or they might also recommend a few portions of Quran and Bible,” he said.
Announcing the addition of Bhagavad Gita to school syllabus, a Gujarat state government circular said the idea is to “cultivate a sense of pride and connection to traditions.” Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani reportedly said that Bhagavad Gita’s values are accepted by people of all religions.
Days before the idea of introducing Bhagavad Gita in school syllabus in Karnataka was floated, the Karnataka High Court in its hijab verdict upheld a February 5 order by the state government, permitting the ‘school managements’ and ‘college development committees’ to decide on the dress code for students. The order states that in government schools, students should adhere to the dress code prescribed by the government while in private schools the dress code will be decided by the school management, or by the College Development Committee (CDC) or College Supervision Committee in the case of pre-university colleges. In case an educational institution has prescribed no dress code, the government order says that “such attire that would accord with equality and integrity, and would not disrupt public order” would be permitted.
Stating that prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction to fundamental rights when they are ‘religion-neutral’, the High Court order had said, “The prescription of dress code for the students, that too within the four walls of the classroom as distinguished from rest of the school premises, does not offend constitutionally protected category of rights, when they are ‘religion-neutral’ and ‘universally applicable’ to all the students.”
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With IANS inputs