MP govt wants 'Gita' in school curriculum

“Gita is based on humanity. We are considering to include it in the school curriculum in Madhya Pradesh,” State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters here on Saturday night.

“Nobody can ignore the moral teachings of (the) Gita. Actually, all religions preach goodness and there is no difference in faiths over this issue,” he said while chanting a couplet from the “Gita” which he knows by heart. However, the chief minister indicated that his government was in no hurry to include the “Gita” in the school curriculum saying that the government’s course committee for school education was studying the proposal.

Reacting to the state government’s move, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh said his party has no objection to the proposal if holy books of all religions are  given equal space in it. Singh, who is a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, said religious texts such as the “Quran,” “Guru Granth Sahib” and the “Bible” should also be given space in the school curriculum if “the Gita” is to be included in it.

Earlier, when the Madhya Pradesh government introduced “Surya Namaskar” and “pranayam” in the state government schools on a voluntary basis, it drew flak from some organisations and political parties.