Kya Aap Saathvi Pass se Tez Hai ?

In a secular state like India, what stand should government take in religious education? What should be their stand towards conversion and mixed marriages?

Well, the Left Government of Kerala had taken a clear stand on this, and it has attracted a lot of hue, cry and protest from various religious and social organizations. Even though there are a very few religious organizations supporting the government’s stand, their influence on the overall religious communities of Kerala is almost null.

For the uninitiated, here’s some background to this:

The State Education Council of Kerala has introduced a new class book for class 7 Social Studies. One particular section in the text book is titled “Mathamillatha Jeevan” (verbatim English translation: A life with out religion or Jeevan, who has no religion – Jeevan (life), being pratogonist’s name.

Here’s the verbatim translation of the above page.

Headmaster began to fill in the application form for a student, in presence of his parents.

“What is your name? ”
“Jeevan”
“Your father’s name?”
“Anvar Rasheed”
“And your mother’s?”
“Lakshmi Devi”
Headmaster heads towards the parents.
“What should I enter for child’s religion?”
“Nothing. Leave it blank.”
“And caste”
“Leave that too.”
“What if he wants a religion when he grows up?”
“In that case, let him choose the religion he wants.”

So what do you think? Is promotion of a selecting the religion for himself (how improbable it may be), whenever he is capable of doing that, really a threat to religious beliefs? Does that affect the secular system in place in any way? Will it make the society better, or worse?

How does this affect a 7th class student, who doesn’t even know what does it means if he is a Hindu, Muslim or Christian. Does that matter to him while selecting his friends?

In fact, an ideal education society should be able to provide unbiased view about all religions, and allows someone to take decisions on. Let this be the first step towards this. This step towards a secular education came 60 years after being a secular state. Better late than never.

In all it’s probability, government will be forced to withdraw the text books. If not, the very next government in power might remove it as well. So, people who take a blind stand against this, Kya Aap Saatvi Pass se Tez Hai?
A few links:

Cong wants class 7 textbook to be withdrawn in Kerala
Muslim students burn school textbook copies in Kerala
Muslim bodies seek recall of textbook
Kerala Left accused of textbook atheism