Karnataka To Introduce Gita Lessons In Moral Education For Students From December

The government has decided to introduce Bhagavad Gita as a separate subject and include in moral education, said Primary and Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh in the state Legislative Council

Karnataka Primary & Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh.

The Karnataka government is set to introduce Bhagavad Gita classes as part of moral education for students in schools across the state from December 2022. The government has decided to introduce Bhagavad Gita as a separate subject and include in moral education, said Primary and Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh in the state Legislative Council on Monday.

Nagesh made the remarks while replying to a query during the Assembly session.

"We are contemplating to begin teaching the Bhagavad Gita from this academic year. It will be taught under a moral science subject. The discussion is going on. A committee will be formed and we will take a decision soon," he said.

The query was raised by BJP MLC MK Pranesh. He asked: "The government says there is no proposal to implement teachings of Bhagavad Gita to students in Karnataka. Is the government hesitant to teach Bhagavad Gita? Why has the interest shown by the government earlier while issuing statements evaporated?"

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said that it was his government's stand to include the Bhagavad Gita into the syllabus as a part of moral science subject. Minister for Large and Medium Industries Murugesh Nirani has stated that Bhagavad Gita has human values and children need to learn about those values.

The government of Gujarat has taken a decision to add Bhagavad Gita in the syllabus and a decision should be taken in Karnataka also to introduce Bhagavad Gita to children, he had said.

However, senior Congress leader and former minister from Mysuru, Tanveer Sait stirred controversy over the weekend by stating that introducing the Bhagavad Gita in the syllabus "is more dangerous than Covid pandemic".

Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy questioned the state government on the proposal and added that teaching of the Bhagavad Gita won't fill empty stomachs.

"The state is facing thousands of problems and the teachings of Bhagavad Gita won't provide food for people. Emotional matters are gaining importance in the country. The innocents are being misled. There is an end to this trend and we will wait until then," he said.

(With IANS inputs)