Ajit Pawar puts foot down on including Manusmruti in school curriculum

The issue was raised by senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who objected to the attempt and requested Pawar to intervene

MUMBAI: The NDA government’s initiative to include verses of the Manusmriti in the Maharashtra board school curriculum, a move that snowballed into a huge controversy, is now being opposed from within the government by the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP. After senior leaders from his party raised objections to the move at an NCP (AP) meeting in Mumbai on Monday, Ajit declared that his party would not allow this to happen as long as it was part of the ‘Mahayuti’ government.

Ajit PAwar, NCP, party president. (HT FILE)

Following the state school education department’s decision to align its School Curriculum Framework (SCF) with the National Education Policy (NEP), the subject ‘Indian Knowledge Systems’ (IKS) was introduced. The draft proposal, for which suggestions and objections have been invited, suggests that the lives of religious personalities such as sages be studied as well as readings from the Bhagavad Gita and Manache Shlok. The inclusion of a verse from the Manusmriti in value studies has raised concerns across many sections of society.

The issue was raised in a review meeting held by the NCP (AP), where state food and civil supplies minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal objected to the attempt and requested Ajit to intervene. “Now our students will be asked to memorise verses from the Manusmriti and Manache Shlok,” he said while addressing an NCP meeting at Garware Club. “This is more dangerous than the ‘Ab ki baar, 400 paar’ slogan raised by the BJP, which helped in creating a perception that the government was looking to change the Constitution. We have burnt the Manusmriti because we were opposed to chaturvarna (the caste system). All this should be stopped immediately.”

Manusmriti, an ancient Hindu text, propagates the ‘chaturvarna’ or four-tier caste system which is opposed by reformists and progressive thinkers. It is blamed for the caste system, which is considered a major social problem in India and led to evil practices such as untouchability.

“This seems to be a small thing but it will have a larger impact when it comes to the elections, as no one is going to accept the Manusmriti,” said Bhujbal. “Maharashtra has given us so many saints such as Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Dnyaneshwar Maharaj among others, and their teachings can be included in the school curriculum. Deepak Kesarkar, the school education minister, needs to be spoken to about it. He himself should have stopped all this.”

Ajit reiterated that his party would not allow inclusion of the Manusmriti as long as it was part of the government. “I have already spoken to the school education minister,” he said. “We will not sacrifice our ideology at any cost and can go to any extent for it. I have made this clear to prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah.”

State government does not endorse Manusmriti

Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Monday emphasised that the state government does not endorse Manusmriti, and it will not be included in any student syllabus.

Kesarkar explained that all educational materials must be approved by the Steering Committee before being made public. “The preface of a book mentioning a verse from Manusmriti was made public without following the proper protocol,” he said. “At the time, the proposal had not been approved by the Steering Committee due to the code of conduct.”

The Steering Committee includes the Education Secretary, Commissioner, Director of SERT, and various experts. The text in question was published without their approval, leading to misunderstandings among the public. He further clarified, “No one supports Manusmriti. Any text related to students must have a positive and meaningful context. The publicly released text will not be included in any student material. References to such texts are for governmental information only and will not reach children.”

Kesarkar also mentioned that Sanskrit is part of the CBSE syllabus, and excluding content from Sanskrit studies is inappropriate. The education department’s committee has apologised for the oversight. “No text will be published without the approval of the Steering Committee,” Kesarkar assured.