Bhagavad Gita in NCERT textbooks, Sanskrit 'shlokas' to be taught for class 6-12th students

New Delhi, Dec 22: The Bhagavad Gita, the most revered of all the Hindu texts, is reportedly part of NCERT textbooks and the Sanskrit shlokas will be taught for the students of class XI to XII. This piece of information was given the Minister of State for Education, Annapurna Devi in Parliament on Monday.

Annapurna Devi, in a written reply in the Parliament, claimed that the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Division in All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) was established with a vision to promote interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research on all aspects of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), and also to preserve and disseminate IKS knowledge for further research and societal applications, a daily reported.

"To become the knowledge power in this century, we must understand our heritage and teach the world the 'Indian way' of doing things," she added.

The Para 4.27 of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 refers to the traditional knowledge of India that is both sustainable and strives for the welfare of all. "In order to become the Knowledge power in this century, it is imperative that we understand our heritage and teach the world the 'Indian way' of doing things. Ministry of Education has established Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Division in AICTE in 2020 with a vision to promote interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research on all aspects of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), preserve and disseminate IKS knowledge for further research and societal applications," the Ministry of Education had earlier said in a statement.

The Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata (chapters 23-40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva), dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE and is typical of the Hindu synthesis.

However, the opposition are against the government decision and wants the syllabus from other religious books as well, according to another report.