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Non-Hindu students flay Indianisation of education

Shobha Warrier in Madras

Most students in Madras I spoke to have reacted angrily to the way the Bharatiya Janata Party "was trying to politicise the education system".

While most Hindu students were not against learning the Vedas and the Upanishads, Sikh, Christian and Muslim students expressed their displeasure.

"Is this the only way to Indianise and modernise? Does that mean we are not Indians if we do not learn the Vedas, the Upanishads and Sanskrit? No, they have no right to spiritualise India. After all, what is spirituality?" one student angrily demanded.

Birenderjit Singh, 17, a 12th standard student at the Kendriya Vidyalaya was "shocked to read about the new educational policy proposals. I see a lot of Hindutva elements in the proposals, which I don't think is good for the country or the education system. Teaching the Vedas and Upanishads in school and making Sanskrit compulsory would hurt the sentiments of the minorities.

"I am a Sikh and won't be as enthusiastic as a Hindu to learn the Vedas or the Upanishads. It is stupid to say that I would be a true Indian only if I learn all these things. Knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads won't make anyone more Indian than the other."

He has no objection, though, if it were optional. "But they have no right to impose them on everyone," he said. "If they do so, they are in for trouble as they are segregating the student community itself."

Meera Krishnan, 19, a second-year student at the Ethiaraj college, says she studied at a convent school where moral science was compulsory and was 100 per cent about Christianity.

"The prayer we used to chant were about Jesus Christ and we were taught the good aspects of their religion. Does anyone protest when Christian missionary schools teach moral science based on their religion? No one.

"Yes, I agree it was a private school. But their ideas were imposed on us. So I don't understand why people should make such hue and cry against teaching the Vedas or the Upanishads in school. I feel there's nothing wrong..."

"When you have such a rich heritage, why not make the younger generation aware of it? Only if we learn about it, will we feel proud of it. But they should not make it compulsory at school.... Being a Hindu, I may find nothing wrong... But the Christians, the Muslims and the Sikhs may not be as eager, which too is understandable."

Both Azrakhanam and Nausheen Khan (final year computer science students from the SIET College) were annoyed by the plan, ignoring the issue whether the Vedas and the Upanishads were associated with the Hindu religion and not India. ''We are Indians but we are not Hindus, we are Muslims. In a secular country, we have every right to decide what we should learn."

Ramya of SIET College fully agrees with that view. "Politicisation of education is not a good idea. Let them make these things optional," she said.

Cigi C, 16, who studies in the 12th standard in the St Dominic's Anglo Indian school is furious.

"See, already India is breaking up. Why do they want to create more problems and more fissures? How can they say that we will become 'Indians' only by learning the Vedas and the Upanishads? How can it be good for all students? After all, they are the holy books of the Hindus. Are they not trying to force the Hindu religion on us? Do they want to make India a Hindu country? Suppose we Catholics try to force our religion on others? How will they feel?"

Amrose Pradeep, 17, a 12th standard student from the Santhome higher secondary school, says religion was very personal and nobody, not even the government, has any right to interfere with a person's religious feelings.

"It is a not a question of feeling alienated. I'd feel irritated if I were forced to learn the Vedas and the Upanishads. Even though I feel every Indian should have access to all religious books, I maintain that imposing religion and religious books on others is not a good idea at all.

"We are Catholics, still my father reads the Vedas and the Upanishads. But in schools, we shouldn't be talking about religion. I never look at my friends as Hindus or Christians; they are my friends. The BJP should not spoil the friendly atmosphere in school."

At the DAV matriculation school attended by Gayathri Krishnaswamy, 16, students chant the Vedas and attend moral instruction classes. But she feels that if the Indian government gave emphasis on any particular religion and imposed it on all the students, "it would be violating the very essence of our Constitution, the freedom to follow your religion."

She feels that "in India, except in the history textbooks, that too briefly, we do not learn anything about India and its rich heritage. In fact, I'd suggest we have the Bible, the Koran and the Vedas in our curriculum."

But she felt the Vedas and the Upanishads did not only represent the Hindus. "They contain such good values that all the students, irrespective of the community they belong to, would benefit. The atmosphere in schools and colleges is so tense these days that many students suffer from mental breakdowns... We chant the Vedas and it helps you unwind a lot. It's more like meditation. But if they give students the option to learn it, they would never take it up. In fact, they would reject it without understanding its advantages, because we are already overburdened. Who wants to learn some more lessons and write some more exams?"

Shyam Sundar, 16, of the Sankara senior higher secondary school also does not accept the BJP's plans to "Indianise and spiritulaise" India.

"They are trying to spiritualise India through Hindu ideas, which will isolate the minorities. We consider ourselves Indians first, not Hindus. By introducing such ridiculous ideas, the BJP would divide students on the basis of religion. Even otherwise, we have a lot of problems. Do we need some more? I feel religion is very personal."

Arjun, 16, of the Vanavani high school was horrified at the idea of learning Vedas and the Upanishads in school.

"Who gave them the idea that one has to have Vedas, the Upanishads and Sanskrit in schools to "Indianise and modernise" the education system? Let them modernise our curriculum first. It is so outdated that I am learning something written 20 years ago. India is a secular country and we give equal importance and opportunities to all the Indians, irrespective of the religion they follow. The BJP is trying to politicise the education system and that will have bad repercussions in future."

Saraswathi, 14, of the Rani Meyyamayi School likes the idea of learning the Vedas and the Upanishads in school.

"My mother works as a maid. So, I don't get access to library books like many other rich girls. And I'm very interested in Indian philosophy. I feel if we read such good books, we will become better human beings. I feel it is a good idea to learn the Vedas and the Upanishads in school. Who says it will alienate Muslims and Christians? When you are in school, you are not a Christian or a Muslim or a Hindu, you are only a student."

Kavitha, 15, who studies at the Jesus Christ Church high school backs that view.

"Ours is a school for poor children. Since my father sells bangles, I cannot pay high fees and go to a big school. In our school, we have moral instruction classes and we are taught about Jesus Christ. I, a Hindu, never felt bad learning about Jesus Christ. So, why should they feel "irritated" if they have to learn the Hindu books? In school, there is no discrimination between Hindus and Christians. All these books teach only good things and students should not get upset about them."

But all the students were caustic about the "immature" politicians who walked out when the Saraswati Vandana was rendered.

"I am horrified. Are you sending these kind of people to the assembly and Parliament? Do they not know how to respect a prayer," Saraswathi asked.

"Saraswati Vandana is a prayer is to God. There is only one god and whether it is Saraswati Vandana or a Christian prayer, we are praying to the almighty. These politicians should learn to respect a prayer." Cigi fumed.

"I don't find anything wrong in singing the Saraswati Vandana and we sing it every day in school. After all, Saraswathi is the goddess of learning," said Birenderjit Singh.

All the students backed the teaching of Sanskrit at school, feeling there was nothing wrong in it, particularly since it was a scoring subject. The students were annoyed by the idea of introducing a subject called "home-keeping" for girls. Even the boys, who would not be affected, were against the idea.

"I'm totally against their idea on women's education. We will have to fight tooth and nail against it. I don't think there is anything in the proposals to make the minorities feel alienated. But there is a lot in them for the women to feel alienated," said Meera.

The students were of the unanimous view that the present education system was outdated, examination-oriented and theoretical in approach. They were upset that examinations had been reduced to just memory tests.

All the students said they were upset with the quality of the teachers. They were not well informed and were unwilling to update their knowledge, preferring to stick to their notebooks.

Meera perhaps sums it up best, "In India, we have become so intolerant and rigid that we aren't willing to discuss or debate anything. Whether it is the Constitution or the Presidential system or the education system, we don't even want to hold a discussion. Instead of staging a walkout, the ministers should have debated, discussed and dissected everything in detail.''

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