Uttar Pradesh kids to read about Deen Dayal Upadhyaya from Class I

Lucknow: Even as the controversy on renaming the Mughalsarai railway station as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway station rages on, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is planning to include books on the life and times of its ideologue from Classes I to VIII.

These will be in the form of comic books and will illustrate the journey of the leader. Though it will not yet be a part of the curriculum, the books are to be read by all children.

Sources said, the books are being published by the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Sewa Pratishthan, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh.

The comic books are being printed in 14 languages and will be sent for distribution in all BJP-ruled states. “The focus of the books will be on ‘Ekatma Manavwad’ (integrated humanism) and some of the books will be a conversation between a teacher and his pupils. Through a question and answer session between the teacher and the students, the philosophy of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya  will be explained. His philosophy would have taken India to greater heights if it had been adopted after Independence. It would have also strengthened our cultural roots,” said a Sangh functionary. Comic books will mostly be for children in the primary classes to generate and sustain their interest while children in Classes IV and V may be quizzed on what they have learnt from the books, said officials.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party alleged that this was a clear attempt to saffronise education by the BJP government. “Gandhi and Nehru are national heroes who played key roles in the freedom movement whereas Deen Dayal Upadhyaya is an ideologue. This move is to saffronise the thinking of the young generation,” said a Congress leader .