Bhagavad Gita in govt upper school libraries soon
JAIPUR IN 2015, THE GOVT HAD DECIDED TO KEEP A COPY OF THE BOOK AT LIBRARIES OF 13,500 SENIOR AND SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
: The Rajasthan government will keep a copy of Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture, at libraries in 19,000 upper primary schools in the state.
In 2015, the state education department had decided to keep a copy of the book at the libraries of 13,500 senior and senior secondary schools. “We are considering keeping copies of the Bhagavad Gita at libraries of government upper primary schools. We have already kept them at secondary and senior secondary schools,” said education minister Vasudev Devnani.
Earlier this year, the education department had ordered keeping the 15-volume collection of writings by BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay in public libraries of the state.
Devnani said that the Gita is a karma-based scripture and inspires everyone. “In Gita, Lord Krishna inspires Arjun and tells him not to be disappointed. Gita is not related to any religion, it can be read by anyone,” he said.
Devnani scoffed off the idea that the move was part of a saffronisation agenda.
Earlier in the day, Devnani gave away prizes to the winners of competitions in Gita Fest, organised by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. Around 80,000 students participated in the competition. There were contests related to knowledge and study of the Gita.
A Class 10 student of a government school, Nadeem Khan, 16, was declared the winner of an essay competition on Gita in Sanskrit, and two other Muslim students, Zaheen Naqvi of Class 2 and Zorabia Nagori of Class 4, bagged top positions in a contest on the recitation of Gita verses.
“Bhagavad Gita teaches you how to live life. It has solutions to all problems. It is useful for all from any religion or section. Renowned management institutions in and outside the country have accepted Gita as management epic. It is provided in schools so that students learn management and lead a better life,” he said while addressing students at the award function.