MP govt to make biography of Savarkar a part school syllabus

Madhya Pradesh will teach the biography of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as a compulsory subject for students of the state board, school education minister Inder Singh Parmar announced on Thursday.

Talking to the media in Bhopal, Parmar said, “He [Savarkar] had a remarkable contribution in India’s independence... he deserves the respect... Unfortunately, Congress did not teach about the true Indian revolutionaries...”

The announcement came after MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan earlier this year announced that Gita, and life stories of personalities like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru will be included in the state board syllabus.

The details of the process for the implementation are yet to be made public. However, a school education department official on condition of anonymity said, “We are following NCERT books so there is no chance of changing the syllabus but the life stories of all the great people will be taught separately as moral science,” the official added.

Congress hit out at the BJP-led state government over the decision. “Teaching Savarkar is an insult to the brave martyrs because Savarkar wrote an apology to the British for being released from jail...,” MP Congress Committee spokesperson KK Mishra said.

The state is set to go to the polls later this year.