"No harm in including inspiring things": Harish Rawat on inclusion of Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana in school curriculum
Jul 16, 2025
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 16 : Reacting to the inclusion of Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana in school curriculum, Congress leader Harish Rawat said that there is no harm in including good, inspiring things from religious texts in the syllabus.Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 16 : Reacting to the inclusion of Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana in school curriculum, Congress leader Harish Rawat said that there is no harm in including good, inspiring things from religious texts in the syllabus.
"The Bhagavad Gita is about Karmayoga. The teachings of Karmayoga are always appropriate. There is no harm in including good, inspiring things from religious texts in the syllabus. However, this should not be one-sided. Other texts also contain valuable teachings, and they should be included as well. If the work is being done with the perspective of advancing a saffronization agenda, it will have a negative impact on our education system," he told ANI.
Calling the new education policy a "symbol of saffronization," Rawat said, "The new education policy has become a symbol of saffronization, and its dangers are going to be very serious for the country and education," he further said.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that a review meeting of the Education Department has decided that the Gita will be taught in all state schools, and the process has begun.
"Bhagwat Gita is a holy book that contains the knowledge given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, which helps an individual's lifetime if read thoroughly... We decided in a review meeting of the Education Department that Gita will be taught in all schools of the state... This process has started...," Dhami told reporters.
Earlier, Uttarakhand Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the state government has asked the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to include the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana in the syllabus of 17,000 government schools.
"In a meeting of the Education department with the Chief Minister, we have tasked NCERT to include Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana in the syllabus to be taught in 17,000 government schools of Uttarakhand," Rawat told ANI.
He added that until the new syllabus is introduced, students will recite verses from these texts during daily prayer sessions."Until this is implemented, verses from the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana will be included in the daily prayer meetings in schools," he further said.
