No article of the Indian Constitution prohibits teaching the ‘Gita’ and ‘Ramayana’ in schools
Several social media users have shared posts claiming a certain article from the Constitution of India bans teaching ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Gita’ in schools.
Claim: “आर्टिकल 30” मदरसों में कुरान, हदीस पढ़ाई जायेंगी । “आर्टिकल 30A” स्कूलों या गुरुकुलों में भगवद्गीता , वेद , पुराण , ग्रंथ नहीं पढ़ाई जाएंगे । क्या यही है “भारत” की धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता। इसमें बदलाव जरूरी है”
(Translation: Article 30 allows madrasas to teach the Quran and Hadees in religious schools. Article 30(A) prohibits teaching the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas and the Puranas in schools. Is this India’s “religious freedom”? Changing this is necessary.)
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The most widely liked and retweeted tweets for this claim belong to two accounts, both impersonating journalist Arnab Goswami.
This tweet was retweeted nearly 2,900 times and liked by 7,700 users.
"आर्टिकल 30" मदरसों में कुरान, हदीस पढ़ाई जायेंगी ।
"आर्टिकल 30A" स्कूलों या गुरुकुलों में भगवद्गीता , वेद , पुराण , ग्रंथ नहीं पढ़ाई जाएंगे ।
क्या यही है "भारत" की धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता।
इसमें बदलाव जरूरी है।— Arnab Goswami (@Arnab5222) May 5, 2020
(Archived)
"आर्टिकल 30" मदरसों में कुरान, हदीस पढ़ाई जायेंगी ।
"आर्टिकल 30A" स्कूलों या गुरुकुलों में भगवद्गीता , वेद , पुराण , ग्रंथ नहीं पढ़ाई जाएंगे ।
क्या यही है "भारत" की धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता।
इसमें बदलाव जरूरी है।— अर्नब गोस्वामी (@ArnabMGoswamii) May 4, 2020
Truth
Using a keyword search, two things were found.
- There is no article such as Article 30(A)
- Article 30 of the Indian constitution deals with minority rights and does not prohibit teaching Hindu texts in schools.
Articles 29 and 30 of our constitution fall under fundamental rights, that deal with the cultural and educational rights of Indian citizens. Article 30 specifically deals with minority educational rights.
Clause (1) of Article 30 discusses the rights of religious and linguistic minorities to establish schools, which has a subclause to ensure that the amount set to acquire property to build such institutions is fair and does not hinder or restrict these rights.
[Source: National Portal of India (Link)]
The claim made in the viral posts is false as Article 30(A) does not exist.
Article 30(1) only states that linguistic and religious minorities have the right to establish and administer educational institutions and does not prohibit or ban teaching Hindu texts in schools in any way.
