State to form panel to make Bhagavad Gita part of school syllabus

Nagesh added that a committee will be formed to consult experts on inclusion of Bhagavad Gita and once a decision is made, the government will proceed further by taking it up with chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.

The Karnataka government on Monday said it will set up a committee to decide on inclusion of Bhagavad Gita, a holy text of the Hindus, to be included in the school syllabus.

Karnataka primary and secondary education minister BC Nagesh said the holy text is part of the school syllabus in Gujarat. (HT File)

“As per the National Education Policy (NEP) and on lines of the state of Gujarat, Bhagavad Gita will be introduced in the state after consulting educational experts,” Karnataka primary and secondary education minister BC Nagesh said, while answering a question in the Upper House of the ongoing legislative session in Bengaluru.

Responding to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Pranesh in the zero hour, Nagesh said the holy text is part of the school syllabus in Gujarat.

He added that a committee will be formed to consult experts on inclusion of Bhagavad Gita and once a decision is made, the government will proceed further by taking it up with chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.

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, at educational institutes. On March 15, the high court had upheld the government order.

Students from the Muslim community continue to protest outside their respective schools and colleges after not being allowed to write exams while wearing the hijab.

With elections next year, the BJP and its right-wing support base have made hijab one of the poll platforms. Under Bommai, the Karnataka BJP government has issued many such contentious decisions including the Anti-Conversion Bill and Special Marriages Act which the right wing refers to as “love jihad” and other Bills. The erstwhile BJP government under BS Yediyurappa had managed to pass the Anti-Cattle Slaughter Bill, which was seen as the saffron outfit’s push to consolidate the Hindu vote bank.

The BJP-ruled Gujarat, on March 17, had announced plans to introduce Bhagavad Gita as part of the school syllabus for classes 6 to 12 from the next academic year.