MP may introduce Bible, Quran, Granth Sahib teachings in schools

After successfully introducing teachings of Gita in the school curriculum, the Madhya Pradesh government is also planning to introduce teachings of Bible, Quran and Guru Granth Sahib in the 2016-2017 academic session.

“All religions preach tolerance, peace and harmony. There is nothing wrong in introducing teachings of other religions in the school curriculum. The education department has made a proposal in this regard.

However, a final decision whether the teachings of other religions should be introduced in the school’s curriculum will be taken by the members of the curriculum committee,” state school education minister Deepak Joshi told Deccan Herald over telephone.

Arguing that education is not complete without having knowledge of other religions, Joshi said we need to teach our children about all religions if we want them to know about the world they are growing up in.

All 16 members of the curriculum committee will meet on Monday to take the final decision, said an education department official.

Shortly after coming to power in the state in 2003, the BJP had made singing of national song Vande Mataram in all government and local body offices compulsory.

However in 2007, when the state made Surya Namaskar (sun salutation) mantra chants and Pranayam (yoga exercise) compulsory in government schools and the voice of saffronisation in education got louder, some Muslim clerics had moved the court. On the directions of the court, the exercise was  later made voluntary.

The relationship between the saffron party and the school department took an ugly turn in the 2010-2011 academic session when the state government decided to introduce teachings of Gita in the school curriculum. Sometime later, the government made it mandatory for students to recite the Bhojan Mantra before having midday meals.

Critics, however, fear that the latest move might invite trouble. In 2007, singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan had to call off his concert midway at Bharat Bhavan here after Bajrang Dal activists disrupted the show objecting to the singer’s way of singing Vande Mataram.

In the same year, “Meenaxi—A Tale of Three Cities”, a film directed by late painter M F Hussain, also faced problems during its screening in the state.