The Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana will now be incorporated in the syllabus of 17,000 government schools in the state as the Uttarakhand government directed the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Wednesday.
Uttarakhand Education System Adapting Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana In Their Syllabus
It appears that the NCERT has revised the Class 8 social science textbook where they have pointed out many instances of “religious intolerance” during the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal period era, but with a disclaimer.
Confirming this news, the Uttarakhand Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said in a media interaction, “In a meeting of the Education department with the Chief Minister, we have tasked NCERT to include Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana in the syllabus to be taught in 17,000 government schools of Uttarakhand.”
Further adding that until the new syllabus is introduced, students will recite verses from these texts during daily prayer sessions.
Dhan Singh Rawat noted, “Until this is implemented, verses from the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana will be included in the daily prayer meetings in schools.”
What To Expect In These Updated Books?
Media reported that the part 1 book ‘Exploring Society: Indian and Beyond’ talks about the Sultanate and the Mughal periods, calling Babur as a “brutal and ruthless conqueror, slaughtering entire populations of cities.”
Similarly Akbar’s rule was described as a “blend of brutality and tolerance,” and Aurangzeb, as someone who annihilated temples and gurdwaras.
‘No one should be held responsible today for events of past’
Besides this, the NCERT said it has included a disclaimer with the revisions, in a “Note on Some Darker Periods in History” that “no one should be held responsible today for events of the past.”
Moving ahead, the further chapters titled ‘Reshaping India’s Political Map’ trace the course of Indian history from the 13th to the 17th century.
In these chapters, one can explore the emergence and decline of the Delhi Sultanate and the resistance it faced, the rise of the Vijayanagara Empire, the expansion of the Mughal Empire along with opposition to it, and the emergence of the Sikh community as a political force, as per the reports.
Next comes Sultanate era, these chapters portray the as a time characterised by political unrest and military campaigns that resulted in the looting of rural settlements and urban centres, along with the demolition of places of worship and centres of education.
These parts, mostly discussing the Sultanate and the Mughal periods, include several mentions of “attacks” on temples and the “brutality” of some of the rulers.
According to the NCERT, “The events…(and many more) did happen and left their mark on Indian history; the rationale for including them has been explained in the ‘Note on Some Darker Periods in History’. The historical account given, while it does not sanitise history, is balanced and entirely evidence-based. Besides, in addition to the ‘Note on Some Darker Periods in History’, a cautionary note has been inserted in one of the chapters to make it clear that no one should be held responsible today for events of the past. The emphasis is on an honest approach to history with a view to drawing from it important lessons for a better future.”
