Uttarakhand to introduce Vedas, Gita, Upanishad in school curriculum

Uttarakhand to introduce Vedas, Gita, Upanishad in school curriculum

Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawats made the announcement while peaking at the inauguration of the Pariksha Parv 4.0 programme at Doon University

FP StaffMay 01, 2022 16:43:51 IST

Representational image. Firstpost

Uttarakhand education minister Dhan Singh Rawat on Sunday said that the state government is considering including the Vedas, Upanishads and Geeta in the school curriculum. However the general public's opinion will be invited over the issue.

The education minister was speaking at the inauguration of the Pariksha Parv 4.0 programme at Doon University organised by the state commission for protection of child rights and education department.

Rawat said that a meeting of departmental officers has been called on 2 May to prepare the syllabus under the new education policy. The idea of including Vedas, Upanishads and Geeta will also be discussed in the meeting.

Continuing to speak on the occasion, Rawat said children have to be explained that examination is a festival and it must be treated like one. Due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Pariksha Par Charcha' programme, the morale of lakhs of children has increased.

The minister said that it is necessary to hold counseling sessions for children before any examination and parents should be made aware of it. Besides, children should be prepared for the main examinations by conducting monthly examinations.

The education minister also said that the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) should be formed compulsorily in every school. Whereas in the Commission for Protection of Child Rights, a coordination committee should be constituted to reduce the pressure of increasing cases of complaints, he added.

Speaking on the Centre's help and the state's place with regard to the education sector, Rawat said, there are signs of Uttarakhand getting more financial help from the Center for education this time. In the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the state can get more than 1,100 crores for the financial year 2022-23. If this happens, then the government wishes to mobilize necessary resources to provide new furniture for the primary to secondary government schools.

According to reports, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has assured more financial assistance to Uttarakhand this time. For the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the budget limit for the state is fixed at about 907 crores. Rawat said that the Center has agreed to give 25 per cent more.

The meeting of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Project Approval Board (PAB) is likely to be held on 5 May in New Delhi. A team from the education department has left for Delhi for the presentation of the budget proposal on behalf of the state, he informed.

He said, an amount of Rs 47.05 crore has been sought to develop playschools or Bal Vatika in 4705 Anganwadi centers running in government primary schools in the state. To improve the quality of the education system, the state government has proposed to establish 35 Kendriya Vidyalayas and Nau Sainik Schools. In the current financial year, an amount of Rs 25 crore will be required to connect 250 schools with the Vocational Education Scheme.

Similarly, in the current session, an amount of 25 crores has been sought from the Center for additional 1,000 smart classes; 5,173 teachers will be deployed on contract basis or will be outsourced for English education. About 125 crores will be spent on this. 41.58 crore has been proposed for the deployment of computer teachers in 1,386 secondary schools under the National Education Policy. 120 crore has been proposed for the establishment of Navodaya Vidyalayas in four districts of Rudraprayag, Udham Singh Nagar, Bageshwar and Uttarkashi. A hostel scheme has been proposed in each block and 2,850 crore will be spent on the project. 70.20 crore will be spent on providing smart TVs in the first phase in all 14,040 primary schools.

The education minister said that he would hold dialogues with educationists and representatives of voluntary organisations to improve the quality of education and educational environment in schools in the state. He acknowledged that the quality of education remains a big challenge in the state although there has been a rapid increase in the number of government schools.

Aakshay Tritiya Significance - अक्षय तृतीया का महत्व

 

अक्षय तृतीया का महत्व

Adi Sankara Travel Route

 

Stregthen yourself and your society

Strengthening our society is in our hands. In the current political, population, and anti-Sanatan scenario, it is we who must take the initiative of making our family and society strong to face any untoward incidents. We must learn from other communities and embrace the activities which bind them so well in their culture. 

I believe the following are the steps we can take to make ourselves and our society strong enough to handle situations if it gets aggravated sometime in the next decade or two. 

Visit a temple every week along with your family. Form a group of like-minded temple visitors and visit different temples across your city or state. By visiting a temple, you will not only see the spectacular architecture of our oldest old temples but will also be inclined spiritually towards it. We can also understand and know the history and culture of those temples. It will be easier for us to impart those pieces of knowledge to our kids/progenies. 

People from other communities ensure that they visit their place of worship every Friday and Sunday. Good that we have all the weekdays at our disposal to visit our temples. And there is nothing wrong with accepting the goodness of others. 

Associate yourself with some social organization both political and apolitical. Organizations like RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal or Bharat Sevahsram, Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Isha Foundation, Art of Living, Patanjali, etc. Association with a political organization will help all of us in long run to follow one nationalist thought process which is immensely required for our own people. Association with a social organization will be helpful to grow their presence in all corners of the society. They are doing wonderful work in the villages and uplifting the downtrodden in our society and restricting religious conversion. 

Prefer buying products from companies of your affiliation. For groceries and ayurvedic medicines make sure you buy products from Patanjali, Sri Sri, Isha Foundation, Brahma Kumaris, etc. This step is to encourage the social organizations increase their presence in all states. For manufacturing of these products, they establish large-scale factories and provide jobs to hundreds and thousands of people across the region. Their presence in remote areas dissipates the missionaries luring innocent villagers from religious conversion. 

Regularly donate in temples to make it more grandeur. Do not donate cash rather prefer buying food and puja items for the temple. Make a habit of donating some money every month to a temple of your choice. Preferably the temple nearby your home. 

Help grow the temple, its spread in the area so that nearby society people can associate themselves with it. In case of any trouble or distress, the temple and the people supporting the temple can help. Perform morning and evening pujas at home. Make it a habit for yourself and your family members. Celebrate all festivals. 

In today’s world by blindly following secularism we have forgot our traditional practices of offering and performing puja on daily basis. Practice regular puja and encourage your kids to do the same. 

To start with, you can make a habit of reciting the Slokas given in the first chapter of this book. Visit Goshalas and Anath Ashrams. Beware there are many organizations deceiving people in the name of these. Look for the management committee or founders. Ensure that they are from your affiliation. Encourage Gaushalas and visit Anath ashrams (not missionary-sponsored ashrams). Do Gau Seva and help poor orphan kids in their education and livelihood. Form a group and donate to beggars for their betterment. Encourage your near and dear ones to buy food and clothing items for them. Missionaries tend to lure beggars to change their religion by offering food and money. You can also form a group, collect some money, and help beggars sitting around the temples. 

Fix one festival as your family festival and celebrate that with grandeur. During that festival invite friends and family for prasadam and bhojan. Make sure that you celebrate one festival in a year at your home in which you can invite all your friends and their families. Encourage all your friends to do the same. This will increase the bonding between people living in the society. Fix Sri Rama Navami festival once a year or Satyanarayan Puja every month as a must at everyone’s home and society. Help Pujari brahmins earn their lively hood from this profession. Consider one yearly festival and a monthly ceremony to be performed at home. Encourage people living in your society to join the puja. Also, encourage others to do the same. 

Learn Sanskrit and provide Sanskrit education to your kids. Enroll yourself and your kids in Bal Bharati sessions or Sanskrit Bharati courses. Contact details are provided in the “Website and Contacts” section. Help organize Sanskrit classes in your own society. Encourage kids to learn Suktas, Slokas for their mental well-being. Keep the Sloka recitation contest at your society to encourage the kids. Support initiatives like free temples from government clutches and forceful and deceived religious conversion. State governments consider the cash and jewelry donations offered to temples as government earning and spent that in all kinds of minority appeasements. 

So, we should support the cause of freeing the temple from the government and hand it over to able temple bodies headed by mutt adhayakshas. Government can monitor if the funds are spent properly for the betterment of the temple and the society. Buy books from Gita Press and other social organizations supporting your affiliations. This will help not only spreading our rich literature but will help sustain these organizations to continue their hardship in social awakening. Make a habit of gifting Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas on birthdays. Form a group of like-minded people and discuss Sanatan dharma and how to strengthen yourself as a society from any difficult situations or events. 

Make physical exercise must for all family and society members. Provide Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, shooting, and fencing, or any sports coaching to your kids. Make them mentally and physically strong to face any challenges. Forget casteism completely. Embrace and provide help to any needy from your affiliate society as a priority. Opportunists from other communities get the benefit of our belief in casteism and criticize us. They studied or study us in detail as they are one among us separated and joined new path. But we never try to understand and learn their principles and dogmas.

Sanatan is by birth Secular. No need to stress further on secularism. Rather focus on strengthening your family and society. Do not fall prey to over secularism or compromise with your Sanatan culture. Always think twice if the step of yours going to boost or strengthen Sanatan culture or not. If yes, do the work. If not, please avoid that. 

Demography plays a very important role when mass movement happens. You can read events of India’s partition 1947, Direct Action Day, 1946, 1971 and 1990s Exodus of Kashmiris or recent exodus events in West Bengal. So, work towards strengthening your family by having more family members. Finally, create an ecosystem in such a way that in case of any need others can come and help you. We are generally singled out in front of marauding mobs for example but not limited to Delhi riots in 2020 and post-poll violence in West Bengal 2021. 

Must have books at all homes. Read and let everyone read these scriptures at home. 

• Sri Ramcharitmanas 

• Bhagavad Gita 

• Upanishads 

• Puranas 

• Mahabharata