Five CMs oppose HRD minister's plan
to 'Indianise' education
George Iype in New Delhi
Union Human Resource Development Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi's attempt to enforce a cultural agenda in the country's schools by changing the curricula on the basis of the Sangh Parivar's philosophy of nationalism has run into troubled waters.
Angered by Dr Joshi's efforts to teach Hindutva in schools, the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh anf Tamil Nadu have written to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, urging him to rein in his colleague.
Opposition to Dr Joshi's pet project is bound to mar the first conference of state education ministers convened by the Centre on October 22 and 23 in New Delhi.
Trouble began when Dr Joshi set up -- two months ago -- a high-level committee to examine the 'value orientation' of the National Council of Educational Research and Training, the apex government body in charge of school syllabi and textbooks.
Official sources said while the committee has not yet made any far-reaching recommendations, the HRD minister is bent on enforcing the Bharatiya Janata Party's cultural agenda in school curricula.
With this in mind, Dr Joshi has decided to put forward proposals from the Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, for discussion during the education ministers' conference.
These proposals call upon the government to 'reform' school curricula by 'nationalising and spiritualising' them and increasing the essentials of Indian culture from '10 to 25 per cent'.
The VBABSS recommendations also talk of amending the constitutional provisions relating to the minorities by changing Articles 29 and 30.
Taking a cue from the VBABSS recommendations, Dr Joshi's ministry has suggested that "education at all levels and in all courses should be Indianised" and new courses should be introduced to increase the country's culture and spirituality in textbooks from the present 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
The ministry has proposed that moral and spiritual education should be introduced at all stages in all schools and universities for inculcation of character and 'desirable' social and national values.
Dr Joshi has also suggested that India's rich heritage of the Vedas and Upanishads should find adequate mention in the curricula of schools, colleges and other higher vocational courses.
Officials say Dr Joshi is going ahead with his Hindutva education project because he believes it cannot be opposed in any court of law since the Supreme Court three years ago defined Hindutva as 'a way of life and not a religion'.
But his efforts to 'saffronise' school and college textbooks have compelled opposition-led state governments to react strongly.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office disclosed that the five chief ministers who have written to Vajpayee have pointed out that school curricula cannot and should not be changed according to the 'ideological leanings of the party in power'.
Interestingly, the NCERT has decided to stand by the state governments and not Dr Joshi.
The council has prepared a report to be presented before the state education ministers. The report argues against Dr Joshi's contention that the National Policy on Education drafted in 1986 is not in accordance with Indian culture and the fundamental duties of citizens.
It states that the NCERT textbook series every year try to incorporate the value of sarva dharma samabhav in primary and upper primary classes.
While the Ramayan and Mahabharat are recommended as supplementary books for classes VI and VII, the NCERT plans to prescribe the Buddhacharita from 1999 for Class VIII, says the report.
Arguing that NCERT textbooks always seek to promote forgiveness and tolerance, the report states that the syllabi in Indian schools are also completely free of any communal and religious bias.
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