Biographies of gods, local heroes for students soon

JAIPUR: State education department will introduce biographies of gods, historical figures and local heroes for school students of different classes, from the upcoming academic session.
The biographies to be introduced include books on Bhagwan Parashurama, Maharishi Naval, a saint of Valmiki Samaj, Maharishi Balinath of Bairwa Samaj and Major Dalpat Singh Shekawat known for his valour in the battle of Haifa. Lord Parashurama is considered fifth avatar of Lord Vishnu and among the most revered deities among the believer of Hindu faith. The inclusion of biographies has started with the revision of textbooks by the state government in 2016.

Highlighting the aims of this exercise, education minister Vasudev Devnani says that inclusion of these heroes in a phase-wise manner is to instil a sense of nationalism, love for motherhood and social harmony. “This year, these two biographies will be included in the textbooks,” said Devnani. The additions are being made on the basis of suggestions they were received from the elected representatives and common men. Shekawat was a World War I hero who attained martyrdom has been a revered figure among the marshal communities including Rajputs in the state. The names of Maharishi Naval and Maharishi Balinath were recomend by BJP MLA from Kota North Prahlad Gunjal

State government had revised the entire syllabus in two phases from class I-XII in 2015-16. The revision saw omission and downsizing of several chapters while it saw addition of new chapters and biographies. These biographies include Shaheed Hemu Kalani, Maharaja Surajmal, Sant Kanwar Ram, Khawaja Nizamuddin and Khawaja Gharib Nawaz. He reiterated that that revision—addition or omission is largely done to correct the distorted version of history.

Congress has been accusing the BJP government of including the biographies and downsizing the role of Congress leaders to build a narrative which suits them. Devnani took on Congress party for opposing the addition of biographies by stating that protest is mere reflection of ‘Nehruvian’ model of politics. “They (Congress) have gone to the extent of blackened the page which had a mention of Veer Sawarkar in the textbook and distributed to students. The have always played the politics of vengeance,” said Devnani.