Nitish faces BJP pressures to include chapters on Hindu epics in Bihar school curriculum

PATNA—A week after the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh introduced chapters on Hindu epics in the curriculum for undergraduate students, the Nitish Kumar government is facing pressures from the BJP to do the same in the state too.

At least two BJP ministers have sought for including such chapters in the state school curriculum too, leaving the government in a quandary.

Labour minister Jivesh Mishra of the BJP said Lord Rama has been part of the Indian culture and the government should launch efforts to include Ramcharitamans in the school curriculum so that the next generation could know about him.

“The next generation must be told about the ‘Maryada Purushottam’ (the man who is supreme in honour) Ram,” the minister said, urging the state education minister to act in this regard.

The minister for forest and environment Neeraj Kumar Singh, BJP, too made the same demand to the education saying the state government should follow the idea implemented by the MP government. He said he would also write to the Prime Minister, urging him to implement this move all over the country, and not in any state.

JD-U leader and education minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said there was no such proposal pending with the government while describing such demand as the personal observation of the politicians.

“Including chapters on mythological characters in curriculum is not wrong but we have not received any such proposal from anywhere,” Chaudhary said.

The Nitish Kumar government has already been under pressure to change the name of Bakhtiyarpur, a town in Bihar named after Muslim invader Bakhtiyar Khilji.

The BJP leaders say Khilji had destroyed the world-famous ancient Nalanda University and killed around 3,000 Buddhist monks, and hence it is very painful to see a place named after this invader.