Madhya Pradesh govt’s order to include books, authored by RSS leaders, in college education stirs row
Update: 2024-08-13 18:19 GMT
Bhopal: A recent order by the Madhya Pradesh education department directing the colleges across the state to include books, authored by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders, in the curriculum has triggered a political row here with Opposition Congress calling the move as an attempt to promote divisive ideology.
The order has directed all the government and private colleges in Madhya Pradesh to procure a particular set of 88 books ‘without delay’ for inclusion in the curriculum of various undergraduate courses.
The books are authored by the Sangh leaders associated with the Vidya Bharti, the education wing of RSS.
Prominent among the authors whose books have been recommended for inclusion in the undergraduate courses are Suresh Soni, Dinanath Batra, D Atul Kothari, Devendra Rao Deshmukh, and Sandeep Waslekar.
The state education department, in its order, has asked all the colleges in MP to constitute ‘Bharatiya Gyan Parampara Prakoshtha’ (Indian Knowledge Tradition Cell) to work out a plan to introduce these books in various undergraduate courses.
The state government’s move is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which strongly recommends the inclusion of the Indian knowledge traditions in academic curricula, a senior officer of the state education department told this newspaper on Tuesday, unwilling to be quoted.
The order to include 88 books, particularly those authored by Dinanath Batra, ex-general secretary of Vidya Bharti, has been taken serious note of by the Opposition Congress which saw red in the move.
Mr Batra had earlier opposed inclusion of revolutionary Punjabi poet Avtar Pash’s poem ‘Sabse Khatarnaak’ in Class 11 Hindi text book, raising many eyebrows in the academic circles.
“We are worried over the attempt by the state BJP government to indoctrinate the students with a particular ideology, which does not serve the interest of the students and the country”, Congress spokesman K K Mishra said.
He wondered if the books recommended for inclusion in college curriculum have anything to do with the undergraduate courses.
BJP however has strongly defended the move saying that they met all the government parameters on developing the curriculum of undergraduate courses.
“The Congress needs to clarify if they find any content in these books objectionable. One cannot judge the books by merely saying that the authors are linked to a particular organisation. The Congress is making wild allegations without reading these books. This is dirty politics by Congress”, state BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal said.