The Gujarat Education Board of Catholic Institutions based in Mirzapur, Ahmedabad has written to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel requesting the state government to 'include the principles of all holy books in the school curriculum in keeping with National Education Policy 2020 to make India a vibrant democratic country.' 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ In response to The Indian Express report published Friday on English being mandatory from Class 1 and Bhagavad Gita for classes 6 to 12 in Gujarat, Father Teles Fernandes, secretary of Gujarat Education Board of Catholic Institutions in his letter stated, "the introduction of Bhagwad Gita from Classes 6 to 12 in Gujarat government schools from the academic year 2022-23 is not an issue in itself but given the diversity in religious plurality in our beloved country India it would be imperative that the impressionistic minds of the young students are also given the taste of other whole scriptures of major world religions like the Quran, Avesta, Baha 'i, Bible, Tanakh and Talmud, Guru Granth Sahib et al". Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani Thursday announced that Bhagavad Gita would be introduced in schools in line with the Indian Knowledge System to make students understand sholkas and teachings of Gita. The letter further states, "We need to build an inclusive India where everybody is free to follow his/her belief system, way of life, customs and traditions with healthy appreciation of one and another's religion. India has always welcomed everyone with open arms and they in turn have contributed much to the beautiful idea of India that the world has come to appreciate and reckon with".
