India: Views of Hindutva RIght Wing Thinkers on Indian Culture and Values, Form part of of Refersher Course for University Teachers

The Telegraph

DU course on Indian values for teachers

First published on 29-Nov-2017

Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi: Delhi University on Tuesday launched orientation and refresher courses for teachers themed on "Education with Indian Values" and "Indian Culture Thoughts and Thinkers", eight months after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke on the country's ancient glory at a conference in the varsity. The Centre for Professional Development in Higher Education (CPDHE), an academic staff college of the University Grants Commission at DU, started the courses for about 200 freshly recruited teachers and senior faculty members of universities. Former BJP Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Sharma addressed the teachers on the first day of the refresher programme, which would continue till December 19. Sharma - not to be confused with culture minister Mahesh Sharma - spoke about the thoughts of Deendayal Upadhyaya, the former president of the Jan Sangh, the BJP's earlier avatar. He later told The Telegraph he had touched upon the theory of integral humanism that Upadhyaya had advocated. Nityanand Agasti, the coordinator for the programme, said the list of thinkers might include the RSS's second sarsanghchalak, M.S. Golwalkar, Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, B.R. Ambedkar and BHU founder Madan Mohan Malaviya. CPDHE director Prof. Geeta Singh said the list would also include Jawaharlal Nehru and veteran communist leader M.N. Roy. "This programme will be free from any political bias," Singh said. The list might also include Raja Rammohun Roy, Swami Vivekananda, mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Dayanand Saraswati. On March 26, over 50 vice-chancellors and 700 academics had taken part in the conference Bhagwat had addressed.