Pratul Sharma By

NEW DELHI: “Certainly, no sex-education,” said Dinanath Batra, the education ideologue sitting in frugal one-room shared accommodation on the second floor of Saraswati Bal Mandir School, in West Delhi’s Naraina Vihar.

Immersed in books on Indian thought, pictures of Sangh ideologue Guru Gowalkar and Goddess Saraswati adorning the walls of his room, 85-year-old talks about his views on education, “There is no need to teach about the reproductive system to the children till the age 19. They can learn about it when they are about to get married. Instead their super energy should be channelised to other things.”

Sangh ideologue Dinanath Batra has already sent suggestions to the HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the soon-to-be-unveiled draft of a new national education policy.

From an overarching education regulatory body on the lines of election commission and Supreme Court, and separate cadre for education services, to mandatory teaching of ancient Indian science and history, Vedic mathematics, Sanskrit, skill development, for all classes from primary to university, Batra has drawn an exhaustive wish list to overhaul the current education system.

“We will hold 500 seminars across the country to discuss our ideas and the new education policy. The current education system is devised by the followers of Marx and Thomas Macaulay. We want the new policy to include cultural and nationalist values,” he said.

Those who have known Batra, agree that he is a doughty fighter. Batra forced the publisher Penguin to pulp Wendy Doniger’s book The Hindus: An Alternative History, for being ‘offensive’ towards Hindus. He took the Court route against teaching of AK Ramanujan's essay, ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas’ at Delhi University; and pointed out similar “offensive” content in the NCERT books prepared during the UPA regime.

Born in 1930 in Dera Ghazi Khan, now in Pakistan, Batra served as school teacher, and then served on various RSS education bodies. He was earlier advisor to the then HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi during the NDA I tenure. He now runs ‘Siksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas.’

Often panned by critics for trying to saffronise education, he counters by saying, “Talking about pride of India is not saffronisation.”

The much sought-after ideologue is clear about what needs to be done to change the education system. “The current system is divided in silos of primary, middle, higher systems with no common link. We have proposed mandatory core curriculum to be taught in all classes,” said Batra.

“The core curriculum would include subjects like ancient Indian science, Indian history, Vedic mathematics, Sanskrit, personality development, life values, physical training,” Batra said, adding that physical training will not be just games but also include vichar, practice of brahmacharya (celibacy), yoga, value education free of superstition.

In the letter sent to Modi and Irani, Batra suggests six per cent of the GDP be spent on education, and focus on girls education. MPs and MLAs should be allowed to spend 10 per cent of the MPLAD funds on education. Batra is learnt to have even sought an appointment with the prime minister to further discuss the ideas.

One of the suggestions also mooted has already been initiated by the HRD ministry. Teachers’ Education through B.Ed degree has been increased from nine months to two years.

His new assignment, which he is yet to accept includes, is to advise Haryana government on education. As state government decided to make Bhagavad Gita a part of curriculum, he said they should not be overzealous in doing so. Instead, aim to include the gist of Gita, so that students can learn.

Batra’s Wish List