The
Telegraph Editorial Board
08.03.21
Representational image.
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There is
never a dull moment with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the
Centre. The National Institute of Open Schooling, called an autonomous body but
under the Union education ministry, is introducing 15 courses on Indian
knowledge and heritage for levels equivalent to Classes III, V and VIII in 100
madrasas. This is to execute the aims of the National Education Policy, and the
courses will be extended to 500 madrasas. The lessons will include studies of
the Sanskrit language, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Maheshwara Sutras
derived from Panini and so on.
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Yoga as
well as science lessons from the Vedas in the conservation of land, air and
water, the origin of creation and other topics would be taught together with
vocational skills ranging from making beds to organic farming, including cow
rearing and cleaning cowsheds, using Ayurveda in daily life and methods of
cooking and serving. Independent madrasas in Uttar Pradesh have expressed
resistance, saying that even if institutions under the Madrasa Board accept the
new curriculum, private madrasas run by the community have no obligation to do
so. These institutions for Islamic studies already teach English and
mathematics.
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No one
could object to the opening up of education, but will schools run by the Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh be teaching the Quran or Urdu grammar? This question, far
more than other issues — such as the confusions caused by studying the texts of
two religions together and so on — hints at the lack of innocence in the
government’s agenda. There is no one holy book for the majority religion, by
the way. Although the Bharatiya Jnana Parampara courses, reportedly, are not
compulsory, the Union education minister has said that they are part of the
NEP’s aim of creating a pride in Indianness in the learner’s inner self.
Indianness
for the BJP lies solely in glorifying ancient or pre-Mughal India; making
minority community students absorb this lesson is a planned step in defining
the BJP’s idea of India. The deliberate destruction of balance among
differences and the undermining of autonomy in the educational sphere can be
useful in hardening definitions too. Anyone who refuses to learn how to clean a
cowshed may well be seditious or ‘anti-national’. The pot must be stirred
continuously; no dull moment allowed.
Original
Headline: Look back: new madrasa courses
Source: The Telegraph India
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