Masterstroke by Modi govt… India takes THIS big step to reduce China’s influence, Buddhist monasteries to now…
In order to unify education programs and protect religious education from the influence of China, India is going to launch its first school curriculum for Buddhist monasteries this month. Along with this, the spirit of patriotism is to be instilled in the Himalayan religious centers near the border with China. Notably, many new institutions were established due to the arrival of Tibetans in the 1950s. Monks at some monasteries, such as Gontse Gardon Rabgye Ling in Arunachal Pradesh, say their curriculum focuses on Buddhist philosophy along with modern education.
Maling Gombu, a Buddhist activist of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, ‘We are trying to create Indian identity through Buddhism along with education. So that China can never control our monasteries in the Himalayas. Gombu, a member of the team promoting Indian Buddhist traditions and national education in Arunachal Pradesh, also said that thousands of children living and studying in remote monasteries are entitled to education recognized and certified by India.
Right now there is no uniformity in the syllabi
China claims the border state as its own, but India does not. About 600 monasteries spread across Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh offer training in four strands of Tibetan and Indian Buddhist traditions. They also teach modern subjects and English. But there is no uniformity in curriculum outside the national education effort that seeks to create a broad identity from a mix of India’s languages and religions.
Prepared after 5 years of evaluation
Rajiv Kumar Singh, director of the National Institute of Open Schooling of the Ministry of Education, said, “Non-religious education given by monks or nuns is not recognised outside the monasteries. The new curriculum aims to prepare Indian and Tibetan students for academic life in India. This curriculum has been prepared after five years of evaluation. They (Tibetans) are free to learn Tibetan history and their tradition, but they should learn about India because they live here and they need proper education to get jobs outside the monasteries.”
20 monasteries agreed to adopt the curriculum
A government document showed that 20 monasteries located near the 3,000-km border with China have agreed to adopt the new curriculum. The rest will be included later this year. Officials said that the adoption of the new curriculum will have to be negotiated with the monasteries individually. They will also have to print new textbooks and appoint teachers in schools. These schools are mostly in less populated areas.
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