Gujarat PUCL's "secular" chief approvingly quotes RSS boss Mohan Bhagwat on new education policy

Bhagwat

By A Representative
In a surprise move, a senior official of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has quoted RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to justify his arguments in on working out a new education policy, for which Union human resources minister Smriti Irani had sought comments by December 15.
In his letter to Irani, dated December 15, Gautam Thaker, general secretary PUCL, Gujarat, singles out Bhagwat to justify why commercialization of education should be discouraged. Reference to Bhagwat, rather than any other prominent educationist, to prove his point is intriguing, as it comes amidst human rights organizations, including PUCL, increasingly criticizing the Narendra Modi government for “following” RSS’ Hindutva diktat.
Recently, Kavita Shrivastava, all-India PUCL vice-president, for instance, believes, "The RSS mindset has been working fast after Modi came to power.”
“The RSS policy is that if you insist on a different point of view or disagree with the RSS, they will eliminate you.” Calling it “the legacy of Nathuram Godse”, who killed Gandhiji, she added, it is being resurrected to “silence” rationalists likes of Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi, whose murders have provoked widescale protest against the Modi government.
Thaker quotes Bhagwat as saying that in recent years there has been “incessant commercialization of education”, as a result of which education has become “out of reach of the common man.” Bhagwat adds, “As a result of this, the aims of education are not being fulfilled.”
Bhagwat has been further quoted as saying that “the government should work for promoting quality educational in such a way that such commercialize does not take place”, adding, “The process must begin by fixing criteria for the selection of teachers who are able to provide quality education.”
Interestingly, in his letter to Irani, Thaker, while providing his views on new education policy, does not even once recall the controversial books by veteran RSS "educationist" Dinanath Batra, which are now part of the state’s educational curriculum in Gujarat, with Haryana now all set to follow suit.
Batra’s books propose to ban the teaching of foreign languages in schools, “redraw” the map of India to include neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, etc., advises young minds not to celebrate birthdays with cake and candles, and, even as derogatorily identifying blacks as “Negroes”, seeking to suggest that they are criminals needed to be dumped.
Writing as general secretary, Citizen for Democracy (Gujarat), Thaker, curiously, despite quoting Bhagwat, talks of the need for “secularization” of education, which seeks to scientific temper, on one hand, and value-based education on the lines of those suggested by Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave.
Seeking the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in its letter and spirit to promote universalization of education, Thaker insists that all children up to the age of 18 should be provided with free and compulsory education.
Thaker’s letter to Irani – written in Gujarati, and sent on December 15, the deadline by which the ministry had sought suggestions from public on working out a new education policy – said that private investment in higher education, which was to the tune of 62.32 billion dollars in 2013-14, would double by 2018.
“Already, 60 per cent of students study in private institutes”, Thaker said, pointing out that their main is not to promote education per se but to “profiteer” at the expense of the general public, which is “not proper.”

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra* The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat, has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.

Counterview

Search This Blog