Maha Education Minister for Gita, Vedas in curriculum

Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde on Saturday said he is of the view that Bhagwad Gita, Vedas and Upanishads should be introduced in the education curriculum in schools so that students could derive knowledge and benefit from their rich content.

However, the Minister clarified that these religious texts should be taught in a very simple language so that the students are able to grasp them easily. Tawade said this while launching the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapeeth Research Centre (BVRC) affiliated to the University of Mumbai here.

BVRC has been set up by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to award diplomas and certificates in various disciplines and PhD in Philosophy to students.

“I want to introduce Bhagwad Gita in schools from class one so that its contents can be absorbed by students in easy languages (sic). Bhagwad Gita essentially has in-depth knowledge and can be easily followed by students who can apply them in their day-to-day lives. Our Vedas and Upanishads are not just religious scriptures, but these are of immense philosophical values (sic) to us,” Tawde emphasised.

“All these (Vedas, Upanishads) should not just be confined to temples but also disseminated to the common man, including students. They are a way of life and should be brought in education curriculum,” the Minister told the audience amidst applause.

However, the Minister did not elaborate whether his government would make efforts in this direction and since when, though he hinted that religious texts could be imparted to school students in future.

Tawde also stressed on the need for students to learn their mother tongue effectively and not just English and other Indian languages. While English is necessary to get employment, knowledge of one's mother tongue is absolutely necessary for complete knowledge and understanding, he said.

The Education Minister said his government is setting up an Education Board to promote local languages in the country for the benefit of students. The aim of the government was to go from local to global in the field of education.