Rajasthan Education Minister Vasudev Devnani. Rajasthan Education Minister Vasudev Devnani.

Rajasthan education minister Vasudev Devnani on Monday said that the law of gravitation was discovered by Brahmagupta the second, a thousand years before Isaac Newton. Devnani, who is minister for primary and secondary education in the Vasundhara Raje government, was speaking during the 72nd foundation day celebrations of the University of Rajasthan on Monday morning.

“Abhi mai teen chaar din pehle padh raha tha, ki Newton ka… gurtwakarshan ka niyam kisne kiya? To bataya ki Newton ne kiya, maine bhi padha, aapne bhi padha. Gehrai me jayenge, to Brahmagupta Dwitiya ne usse ek hazar saal pehle is gurutwakarshan ka niyam diya tha (A few days ago, I was reading about Newton…who came up with the law of gravitation? Newton did, this is what I read, you read. If you delve deeper, Bramhagupta the second had given us this rule a thousand years before Newton),” said Devnani.

Devnani asked during his speech why this isn’t added to the educational curriculum. “Why don’t we include this? Yes, the mechanism has been developed later by modern scientists and we will teach that too, but such topics have to be made suitable for India,” said Devnani. He also spoke about the changes made in textbooks since the BJP came into power in the state.

“The changes that have been done in the textbooks of classes 1 to 12… Even in our Rajasthan, for years, it was taught that Akbar was great, you and I both read that. But today, the chapter about Akbar the great has been removed and has been replaced by Maharana Pratap,” said Devnani. The minister also spoke about the 2016 protests in Jawaharlal Nehru University, referring to student leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

“Roz roz jab akhbaro me padhte hai, hinsa ki, todphod ki, aagjani ki, is prakar ke rashtrabirodhi jo gatibidhiya hoti hai, usko mere vishwavidhyalay kaise roke. Ab Jawaharlal University ka jab…Mai bahut zyada zikr nahi karta…wo apne Kanhaiya ka baat apne sabko jankari hai. Rajasthan me koi Kanhaiya paida na ho (Every day we read in newspapers about violence, ruckus and arson, such anti-national activities, how do my universities stop them…Now, when it comes to Jawaharlal University, I don’t mention it much. Everyone knows about Kanhaiya. No Kanhaiya should be born in Rajasthan),” said Devnani.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.