Haryana: Role of Saraswati river in Mahabharata to be taught in schools

THE HSHDB CONSTITUTED ‘SARASWATI RIVER SYLLABUS COMMITTEE’ ON AUGUST 26 TO PREPARE THE CURRICULUM

References of the Saraswati river from Vedic and pre-vedic texts; its role in the battle of Mahabharata; medieval-era Sanskrit text Vamanapurana that explicitly mentions the history of the river and the Harappan-era archaeological site ‘Dholavira’ in Gujarat; are among the topics recommended by the Haryana’s ‘Saraswati river syllabus committee’ to be taught in the state schools.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led Haryana government had last month announced to include the history of Saraswati river in the curriculum for students of classes 4th to 12th in its schools with an aim to make students aware about the mythological history of the river. The Haryana Saraswati Heritage Development Board (HSHDB), which is headed by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, constituted a 14-member ‘Saraswati river syllabus committee’ on August 26 to prepare the curriculum.

Officials at the board said the committee submitted its recommendations on Monday. Dhumman Singh Kirmach, vice-chairman of HSHDB, said the recommended topics will be included in the already existing state government’s books of History and Geography. The committee has also suggested including the “role of Saraswati river” wherever Mahabharata or Bhagavad Gita is mentioned in the curriculum. “The Saraswati played a major role in the selection of Kurukshetra as the place for the battle of Mahabharatha. It was chosen because it is situated on the banks of the Saraswati. The committee has suggested teaching all of this to our students,” Kirmach said.