A Hindu Agenda?

Editorial, The Hindustan Times, 22 October, 1998

Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi's prescription for a "spirtualised" school syllabus shows an unambiguous bias in favour of Hindu religious and philosophical texts which is bound to face criticism not only from the so-called secular parties but also from some of the BJP's own allies. Starting with an invocation to Saraswati, the students will be expected, in Dr. Joshi's scheme of things, to devote a major portion of their scholastic life to studying the Vedas and the Upanishads, preferably in Sanskrit. (The) Minister seems to have forgotten the nature of Indian society which accommodates not only Hindus but people of most religions in the world, including relatively small groups like Parsis who have a highly distinctive faith of their own. Any attempt, therefore, to impose only Hindu scriptures will not only be unfair but also carry the threat of fostering sectarian attitudes at a highly impressionable age by extolling one particular religion and philosophy at the expense of the others. It is precisely to avoid such a development that the emphasis in the Indian educational system has been to include passages from the holy books of as many religions as possible to encourage a syncretic approach

It is, of course, open to individual religious groups to propagate their faith through private institutions, just as there can be no legal bar on holding classes on Marxism or atheism. But the government, especially at the national level, cannot pursue any path other than that of strict neutrality where religion is concerned. Any bias in favour of - or against - any religion can have no place in its education, or any other, policy. Indeed, there must be a process of monitoring such insidious attempts by motivated politicians either at the central or the state level to detect any tilts ... Instead of ... the Minister should concentrate on implementing the long neglected project of providing compulsory primary education to all children, and improving the conditions (of) education ... in the rural areas ...