Not just Gita, all religions must be taught in schools: Church

The Catholic Church has criticised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's intent of making Bhagvad Gita part of school curriculum.

"The Bhagvad Gita is a treasure of knowledge. Children should be imparted the knowledge of Gita. I am seriously thinking of introducing it as a moral science subject," Chouhan had said.

But, the proposal has received flak for excluding other religions while only introducing lessons from Hindu scriptures.

"Introducing religious scriptures is welcome. But all religions in the country should get equal representation," said Bhopal's Archbishop Leo Cornelio.

The move to introduce only Bhagvad Gita is against India's secular character of religious equality, he pointed.

Archbishop Cornelio rued that ever since the BJP government came to power in 2003, it has only made efforts to promote Hindu religion.

Agreeing with the same, Madhya Pradesh Catholic Churches' spokesman Fr Anand Muttangal said, plans to introduce only a Hindu religious book is as an attempt to incite communal feelings.

"We would say the government must introduce all religious scriptures into the educational system in the larger interest of society," he added.

Muslims as well have opposed the move of introducing Hindu religious scriptures while excluding books of other religions.

Interestingly, the BJP-ruled government two years ago had made surya namaskar (sun salutation) and yoga mandatory for students in schools. The move incurred the wrath of minority institutions that filed a petition in High Court.

In addition to this, an attempt further to saffronise schools was made when BJP government strived to make 'bhojan mantra' compulsory before government-sponsored midday meals.