No ban study of Marxism 8212; Govt

NEW DELHI, OCT 28: The Government assured both Houses of Parliament on Thursday that it had no intention to ban the study of Marxism or a...

NEW DELHI, OCT 28: The Government assured both Houses of Parliament on Thursday that it had no intention to ban the study of Marxism or any other political theory in educational institutions.

Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani said in the Lok Sabha during zero hour that the Government was opposed to banning any subject from being studied. He said he had no knowledge about the reported decision taken by the Central Board of Secondary Education CBSE about removing Marxism as one of the subjects from the curricula and would ascertain the facts from Human Resource Development Minister Murali Monohar Joshi who would be asked to make a statement.

The issue was raised by Somnath Chatterjee CPI-M, Geeta Mukherjee CPI and some other members belonging to Left parties who were supported by Madhavrao Scindia Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav SP.

In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the House, Jaswant Singh, External Affairs Minister said the Government would not close doors to knowledge about any political theory and ban study of any ism8217; in the country. The matter was raised by Gurudas Dasgupta CPI and some other members on the basis of a news item published in an English daily.

In the Lok Sabha, Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra BJP said though he was opposed to the deletion of Marxixm as one of the subjects to be taught in educational institutions, it must be admitted that there was no country in the world which was committed to the political theory. Even the Marxist Government in West Bengal had abandoned Marxism, he added.

Mulayam Singh Yadav said it was not correct on the part of any member in the House to declare an ism8217; out of date or dead. All political theories should be studied in educational institutions,he said.

Congress chief whip in the House Priya Ranjan Munshi opposed the reported deletion of Marxism from curricula in schools and alleged that the West Bengal Government had distorted the history of partition of Bengal and many other historical documents in its own interest. One book written by Rabindranath Tagore had been taken away as text book for school children, he added.