MP Govt Includes Ramayana, Mahabharata In Graduation Courses, Opposition Objects

According to the government, this decision has been taken as part of an effort to integrate cultural principles in higher education.

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New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to include the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana as elective subjects in the first-year graduation courses of the state. According to the government, this decision has been taken as part of an effort to integrate cultural principles in higher education. The Higher Education Department has said that Ramayana, Mahabharata and Ramcharitmanas have been included in the curriculum of engineering students.

"On the recommendation of the syllabus committee, the applied philosophy of Shri Ramcharitmanas has been introduced as an elective (optional) course under the philosophy subject for first-year students of graduation (BA) from the academic session of 2021-22," Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Mohan Yadav was quoted by PTI in its report. The minister further said that the government has also introduced Urdu Gazal as a subject.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Arif Masood while attacking the BJP government in MP said that the government is trying to hide its failures on issues such as education, infrastructure and employment. He further said that the slogan of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is false. If the slogan was true then the government would have introduced the Quran and the Bible along with the Ramayana.

Earlier last year, the Jawaharlal Nehru University also had organized a leadership seminar based on the lessons from the Ramayana.

On the subject of teaching about Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay in universities, the Education Minister said that "Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay is taught in many universities of the world, will be taught here too." He further said that "these steps have been taken under the new National Education Policy. The teachers of our Board of Studies have prepared the syllabus under NEP-2020. If we can carry forward our glorious history, no one should have any problem with it." Significantly, Madhya Pradesh is one of the states which has started working on NEP-2020 in school as well as in higher education.

(With input from Agencies)