Bhopal: A controversy has broken out in Madhya Pradesh over teaching MBBS students the ideas of RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar and BJP's Deendayal Upadhyaya. While former Chief Minister Kamal Nath has raised an objection to this, the ruling dispensation has also jumped into the fray with Member of Parliament VD Sharma saying that the ideals of the BJP need to be read as its contribution to the freedom of the country is important.
Claiming that the BJP has no contribution in the golden history of the country's freedom struggle, Kamal Nath said that the party is deliberately trying to distort history by glorifying its people. According to the Congress, the BJP wants to impose the ideology of the RSS on these students and is engaging in saffronising education.
On the other hand, state Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said that it is normal to include the ideology of the RSS in the curriculum and there is no harm in this. As far as the Congress is concerned, he said, their ideal Gandhi has been included, but if one looks at today's Gandhis, the country knows what they have done.
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Stating that doctors should have values, Sarang said that Dr Hedgewar was dedicated to the country and made significant contributions to its freedom. He also said that the lessons of Arvind Charak, Swami Vivekananda, Deendayal Upadhyaya and BR Ambedkar will also be taught. He added that whenever there is talk of glorifying these great men, the Congress has problems.
At the same time, Congress spokesperson KK Mishra caustically remarked that veterinary doctor Dr Mohan Bhagwat and thinker late Kailash Sarang should also be included in the curriculum so that humans can be treated better.
Meanwhile, state Cooperatives and Public Service Management Minister Arvind Bhadoria said that though he was not aware of the matter, history has been written about the people who played a role in the making of the country. Though these writers taught 200 lessons about Akbar, he said, very little has been written about Maharana Pratap and hence history needs to be rewritten. He is of the view that the way the country's proud saga is written should be reconsidered.
The controversy broke out after a note issued by Sarang regarding this got leaked. In the note, it was stated that in the foundation course for medical students, a lecture has been added from this session. In this, the principles of the country's thinkers and value-based medical education will be included for the intellectual development of the students. Those who have been chosen for this include Maharishi Charak, along with Acharya Sushruta, regarded as the father of surgery, Swami Vivekananda, RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar, Jan Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyay and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.
