Jan
20
RSS-Style Education
January 20, 2004 | Comments Off on RSS-Style Education
The Sunday Express has an article on the Sangh-affiliated Vanbandhu Parishad (VP), or Friends of Tribal Society, schools being established and run in tribal areas. BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has credited these schools with expanding the membership of his party. With former Bollywood star Hema Malini as the brand ambassador of the schools, the VP plans to add another 500 schools over the year. As of July 2003, the VP had 222, 775 students. The VP materials illustrate the type of education provided:
Among the material required to be provided to every student are ‘‘Maan Saraswati/Bharat mata ka chitra. Mahapurushon aur devi devtaon ke chitra. Om chitra.’’ The days on which special functions are organised include Ramnaumi and Janamashtmi, festivals unknown in the Gond areas. The same thread runs through the teaching of other subjects. Take for example an exercise prescribed for the teaching of multiplication tables termed ‘Shriram’, ‘‘Start counting from 1. Recite every multiple of 3 along with the word Shriram. With enough practice drop the number itself and just say Shriram. The same thing can be done with the other multiplication tables.’’
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