Declare Bhagavad Gita national book, make it compulsory in education system: VHP

The saffron outfit also demanded that programmes on reading of the scripture be organised periodically at government institutions to promote values and a strong sense of duty among bureaucrats as there has been ''a continuous collapse of ethical values''. ''It is because of our faulty education system. We demand that the government must make teaching-learning of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita compulsory across all levels of education to stop the eroding of values. It should be made part of the curriculum,'' VHP national secretary Acharya Radha Krishna Manodi told a press conference. 

He said teachers including those belonging to minority communities should also be made to study the Bhagavad Gita and the teaching-learning of all the 18 chapters be made a part of the teachers' training curriculum to enable them to instill ethical values and sense of duty in students. ''The study of the Bhagavad Gita should be made compulsory for all those undergoing teachers' education and training. Education on the Bhagavad Gita should be made compulsory for all the teachers in India including those belonging to Muslim and Christian communities,'' Manodi, who heads the Vishva Gita Sansthan of the VHP, said. 

To promote values and a strong sense of duty among bureaucrats, the VHP leader said programmes on reading of the Bhagavad Gita should be organised at the government institutions every fortnight. ''The promotion of reading of Bhagavad Gita can protect the social, cultural and spiritual values of our country, end divisions in our society and make India much more stronger. We demand the Bhagavad Gita be declared the national book of India,'' he said Manodi said that a delegation of the VHP's Vishwa Gita Sansthan will soon submit a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan with its demands.