With Gujarat all set to introduce the Bhagavad Gita in the school syllabus for classes 6-12, Karnataka, which, like Gujarat, has a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, said on Friday if approved by experts, it, too, will ‘definitely’ include the epic in syllabus for students.
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“Bhagavad Gita is not only for the Hindus, it is for all. If experts say, it will definitely be introduced. However, it will not be done for this year, but from next year,” Karnataka education minister BC Nagesh said, according to news agency ANI.
Nagesh made the remarks while speaking to reporters about what he said was the Moral Science subject being ‘left out for years.’ The BJP leader said, “We’ve studied Moral Science in schools. Now, parents feel it should be introduced. At present, we’ve not thought of it, but we want to introduce it in future. Subjects in Moral Science will be decided by experts.”
{{/usCountry}}Nagesh made the remarks while speaking to reporters about what he said was the Moral Science subject being ‘left out for years.’ The BJP leader said, “We’ve studied Moral Science in schools. Now, parents feel it should be introduced. At present, we’ve not thought of it, but we want to introduce it in future. Subjects in Moral Science will be decided by experts.”
{{/usCountry}}The minister continued, “We will speak to the chief minister about whether we will introduce Moral Science. Whatever makes an impact on children will be introduced, be it the Bhagavat Gita, Ramayana or Mahabharata.”
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Nagesh's comments come amid the ongoing controversy in the southern state over a Karnataka government order prohibiting students from wearing religious attires, including hijab, in educational institutes. On March 15, the high court upheld the government order. On Thursday, members of the Muslim community in various districts of the southern state observed a day-long bandh against the judgment.
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Meanwhile, the announcement Gujarat will include the Bhagavad Gita in syllabus was made by state education minister Jitu Vaghani a day ago. The move, which will come into effect from the academic year 2022-23, will be applicable to all government and aided schools affiliated to the Gujarat secondary and higher secondary education board.