Shivraj govt to introduce Gita in Urdu schools; move draws Congress ire

Madhya Pradesh government has decided to introduce Bhagavad Gita even in the curriculum of Urdu schools from academic session 2013-14, inviting rebuke from opposition Congress which accused the government of diverting attention of people from overall "mis-governance".

In its latest circular issued on August 1, Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has decided to add one chapter each based on incidents from Bhagavad Gita in the textbooks of General Hindi prescribed to class III-VIII, Special English and Special Urdu in Class I and II for this academic session.

The circular came within a month of a July 4 notification that a chapter based on incidents in Bhagavad Gita will be added to textbooks of Special Hindi prescribed to Class IX to Class XII and Special English in Class XI and XII for the academic session 2013-14.

Slamming the government move, opposition Congress on Monday alleged that the decision was taken at the behest of RSS and is aimed at dividing society on communal lines to drive political mileage in the election year. "In order to divert people's attention from basic issues and to spread tension in the state in an election year, the BJP government, led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has taken a refuge under the religion by introducing lessons on Gita in school syllabus," said Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh.

He said that all religions have their own set-ups in the state to impart religious-based education and they are discharging their responsibilities in a proper manner. "But with an aim to polarise votes, the chief minister is including lessons only from a particular religion in this secular state," Ajay alleged.

By including teachings of Bhagavad Gita in schools and madarsas, the Chief Minister has clearly shown that he is running the government in the state with the "RSS mindset", Ajay added.

Meanwhile, member of the Muslim Personal Law Board Arif Masood has appealed to Governor Ram Naresh Yadav to revoke the order, saying the circular is against the spirit of Constitution as imparting teachings of a particular religion is against "Rajya Dharma".