Bhagavad Gita Studied By Hindus And Muslims In Schools

Schools across the country may have modified textbooks over the decades, but an institution in Lucknow has persisted with the Bhagavad Gita as a moral science textbook for the last 75 years. Hindu as well as Muslim students have to study it.

Besides being the "prescribed book" for the moral science subject, the holy scripture is also a compulsory subject for all students of Gita Vidyalaya in the Babuganj area here.

"Holy scriptures like the Gita guide human beings, their behavior towards individual, family and society. So by teaching lessons from the Gita we, in a way, are teaching students about the importance of their life and making them realize their responsibilities," school principal U.P. Mishra told the sources.According to school officials, three friends - Hanuman Prasad, Jai Prakash and R.S. Kotwal - decided to establish the school for not only promoting education but also to inculcate moral values among kids.

The school gradually became one of the prominent learning centres in Lucknow.

Some prominent admirers of the school who visited it during its early years include patriot Sarojini Naidu and former union minister Govind Ballabh Pant.
The school students have to clear written and oral examinations annually that test their knowledge of the text.

At present, there are over 200 students - both girls and boys - from Class 6 to Class 10 in the school.

"On a daily basis, five 'shlokas' (verses) are taught to students. We not only make students learn the shlokas, we also try that students understand their meaning and relate them with the day-to-day activities in their lives," said Savita Saxena, a teacher.

"Every year, students have to appear for a written examination that mainly comprises 10 questions framed from different chapters of the Bhagvad Gita," the teacher said.

"While questions for students of Class 6-8 are objective in nature, questions for students of Class 9-10 are based on application of moral teachings in the Gita and they are supposed to answer them in a subjective manner," Sharma added. IANS