The students in all state-run schools, including primary, middle, secondary and senior secondary, in Punjab will now have to sing the Gujarati devotional song ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ every Monday during the morning Assembly.
The move, part of the ongoing activities to mark 150th birth anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi, drew sharp reaction with Opposition parties saying that it will only create confusion among the students. ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ is considered as Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan.
In a notification issued Thursday, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) said that as per the action plan for the 150th Gandhi Jayanti celebrations, the students at all government schools of Punjab “will sing Vaishnava Jana To” and in “original language”. Written in the 15th century by Narsinh Mehta in Gujarati, the song talks about the life and ideals of the Vaishnava Jana or followers of Hindu god Vishnu.
SCERT director Inderjit Singh said that the notification has been issued as per the orders from Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. “The decision has been taken to imbibe values that Mahatma Gandhi held dear in children and to make them aware of this devotional song and it’s association with him. Our orders are in line with MHRD orders.”
As per the SCERT notification, the teachers have to ensure that students learn the lyrics and sing it in the morning assembly every Monday. The computer teachers have been directed to download the bhajan from the Internet and play it in schools so students could master it.
Along with the notification sent to the schools, the SCERT has attached a copy of the bhajan’s lyrics in Devnagari script.
“I cannot comment on how practical it would be but as per the orders, teachers have to make students sing it,” Inderjit Singh added.
The government schools in Punjab were earlier ordered to organise ‘tithi bhoj’ mid-day meal for students as part of celebrations to mark 150th birth anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi. These activities are going on as part of action plan being executed from October 2018 to October 2019.
Meanwhile, the move drew a flak from the Shiromani Akali Dal with former education minister Daljeet Singh Cheema saying that the move will create a confusion for the students. “Students are already singing national anthem. Singing a song in Gujarati, a language that is completely alien to them, won’t make them understand principles of Mahatma Gandhi. Instead, they should be taught more about Gandhi in their own language, Punjabi, so that it gets imbibed in their minds,” said Cheema.
Echoing similar views, AAP MLA and party spokesperson Kultar Singh Sandhwan said, “This order flouts Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology. He vouched for complete swaraj and talked about importance of regional languages in panchayati raj. He was never a votary of imposing language of one state onto the other. Expecting students, who are well-versed in Punjabi, to sing in Gujarati isn’t a good idea. Instead, the students should be taught about Gandhi in our own language. Gujarati is a beautiful language but imposing it on students in Punjab is quite illogical”.
However, Vijay Sampla, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said that there should be no objection to singing of the bhajan in schools in Punjab or anywhere. “Who are we to object to bhajan, which was sung by Gandhi? His ideals and principles are for all to follow. It is not about Congress or BJP here. It is about Gandhi,” the BJP leader said. Sampla said the bhajan is in Hindi not Gujarati. “It is in Hindi according to me. But even if it is in Gujarati, there is no issue. Students can learn it,” he said.
Punjab education minister OP Soni and education secretary Krishan Kumar did not respond to calls.
Teachers, meanwhile, expressed concern that it won’t be easy for students in government schools, who are mostly comfortable in Punjabi and face issues in even speaking Hindi properly, to learn and sing a Gujarati song at such short notice.
“The exercise would be merely an eyewash as neither teachers nor students know Gujarati. We will try explaining meaning of lyrics to students but source of our knowledge will also be internet only,” said Dharamjit Singh, a teacher based in Ludhiana.
On October 2 last year, – the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had released a medley of ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ with artistes from over 40 countries singing it.
The official MEA release said, “The famous Gujarati hymn was penned by the 15th century poet Narsinh Mehta and was one of the favourite bhajans of Mahatma Gandhi who included it into the roster of prayers routinely sung before his meetings.”
