NEW DELHI: BJD leader B Mahtab has wondered whether reciting something in Sanskrit is not secular as he raised in Lok Sabha the issue of certain entities not agreeing with the decision for compulsory recitation of common prayers in Sanskrit by students in all Kendriya Vidyalayas.
A petition has also been filed in the Supreme Court regarding the revised education code for Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) Sangathan schools comprising compulsory recitation of common prayers in Sanskrit by students.
During the Zero Hour, Mahtab asked the government to put forth its view on the matter in the House as well as in the Supreme Court.
He said some parents, children and organizations from certain communities do not agree with this common prayer in KVs, which are run by the central government.
Mahtab said it was a common fact that the common prayers that are being sung in Kendriya Vidyalayas are from Upanishads, which are widely acclaimed by one and all in this world.
“Our original Constitution has the motifs of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Upanishads which are on display both in the Parliament House Library and also in the Teen Murti Bhavan Library and it was never questioned as to why it had features of Hindu religion….
“Today, we hear that the secular character is being tarnished because of the invocations in Sanskrit,” he noted.
He also referred to Sanskrit shloka ‘Yato Dharma Tato Jaya’ which is part of the Supreme Court logo.
Even in Lok Sabha, Dharma Chakra Pravartanaya is written in the panel, Mahtab said and asked whether it means that something “which is being recited in Sanskrit is not secular?”
He said that Upanishads have given us ‘Asathoma Sad Gamaya, Tamasoma Jyotir Gamaya’ (From ignorance lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light) and that is recited in Kendriya Vidyalayas.
“Why should someone go to the Supreme Court challenging it that it impinges on the secular character?” he wondered. PTI
