New Delhi: In line with the much touted National Education Policy 2020, the Madhya Pradesh government has asked colleges across the state to teach students about ‘Indian knowledge systems’ or Bharatiya Gyan Parampara.
The state’s higher education department has written to various government-aided as well as private colleges, asking them to buy titles out of a list of 88 books authored by former and current Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionaries, including a compilation by RSS’s education wing Vidya Bharti.
The list comprises former RSS joint-general secretary Suresh Soni, Dinanath Batra, former general secretary of Vidya Bharti and former Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad general secretary Dr Atul Kothari.
The Madhya Pradesh education department also asked colleges to constitute a dedicated Bharatiya Gyan Parampara Prakoshth – a cell for acquainting the students with Indian knowledge traditions. The list of 88 books are to be purchased by this cell.
According to the New Indian Express, three of these books have been authored by Soni, while 14 of the 88-strong list have been written by Batra, who is said to be one of RSS’s biggest idealogues on education.
Batra had allegedly proposed to remove revolutionary Punjabi poet Avtar Pash’s poem ‘Sabse Khatrnak’ from Class XI Hindi textbook Aaroh.
The Gujarat government had also included Batra’s books in its curriculum for primary and upper-primary school students, the paper reported.
The list of books sent by the state government also include those written by Swami Vivekananda. Many other titles in the list are related to Vedic Mathematics, the paper said.
Reacting to the government’s move, the Congress said that it was an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to poison students’ minds with divisive ideologies and hate.
