Islamic Institute in Kerala to teach Bhagvad Gita, Sanskrit Hindu texts as part of its syllabus

The institute is basically a Sharia college where other languages such as English and Urdu are taught. It is affiliated to the Calicut University

New Delhi, Jan 17: An Islamic Institute in Kerala will include basic Sanskrit grammar in Class 11 and 12 and then Bhagvad Gita as well as other Hindu texts in the Deva Bhasha from next year onwards.

The new syllabus will come into operation starting June 2023 when the new academic year would begin. The Academy of Sharia and Advanced Studies (ASAS) which is run by Malik Deeenar Islamic Complex (MIC) was recently in the news for teaching Sanskrit, also known as Deva Bhasha to its students with the help of Hindu scholars, news agency PTI reported. The institute said that this decision was taken to inculcate in the students, knowledge and awareness of other religions.

The institute is primarily a Sharia college, where other languages such as Urdu and English are also taught. The institute also offers a degree course in Arts. The institute is affiliated to the Calicut University.

For the past seven the MIC ASAS was teaching selective portions of the Bhagvad Gita, Upanishads, Mahabharata and Ramayan in Sanskrit, Hafiz Aboobacker, one of the coordinators at the institute, told PTI. He also said that the latest one is a syllabus for an eight-year course starting from plus two till post graduation.

He further added that the students would now have the option to opt for a degree or post-graduation course in Sanskrit. He also told the news agency that the syllabus was a joint effort of Dr. C M Neelakandan, a retired professor of Sanskrit Literature from the Sree Shankaracharya University of Sanskri and Dr. Shamseeer P C, assistant professor, department of Sanskrit, Kerala University. He further added that the idea is not to just teach the students a language, but to also familiarise them with ancient Hindu texts, so that they can understand religion and make an informed decision for themselves.

He also said that it would also help build secular and democratic ideas among the students. In the plus two, students would be familiarised with basic grammar, words, declensions, gender, number and sentence construction in Sanskrit. During the first two years of their undergraduate studies, they would be taught Mahakavya, basic grammar, Sanskrit drama, computer, Sanskrit stotra, grammar, prose and Tarkasamgraha, which is a treatise in Sanskrit giving a foundational exposition of the ancient Indian system of logic and reasoning.

In the final year, Bhagvad Gita, translation and Sankhya would be taught to students according to the syllabus that was shared by the institute. During post-graduation, the syllabus would include Vedic Suktas, Vedantasara, Dramaturgy, Upanishads, Natyasastra, yoga, Bhasa study and Book review, the institute also told PTI.