Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his life should not be included as a part of school curriculum to be studied by students, saying that there are many stalwarts in history who have sacrificed many things for India –and students must read them instead.
"Am reading in the news that some states want to include Narendra Modi's life struggles as a part of their school curriculum...I firmly believe that the life story of living individual should not be included as a part of the school curriculum," Modi said in a series of tweets that were retweeted several hundreds times within minutes on Friday morning.
The Prime Minister Added, "India has a rich history of several stalwarts who made India what it is today. Young minds should read about these greats & emulate them."
I firmly believe that the life story of living individuals should not be included as a part of the school curriculum.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 30, 2014
Modi's comments came amid reports about some states planning to include lessons from his life in school syllabus. The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, for example, has been considering proposals to include a chapter on Modi's life in school textbooks.
"School textbooks already have chapters on biographies of freedom fighters and even Prime Ministers who have done well. So a biography of Mr Modi in textbooks will inspire students, as he has had a humble beginning as a tea vendor and now he has become the Prime Minister," Madhya Pradesh school education minister Paras Jain had told NDTV earlier this week.
On Thursday, Gujarat education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama had told reporters that the state has decided to include lessons from the life of Modi in school syllabus from next year.
Earlier, Rajasthan education minister Kali Charan Saraf had also said that he was planning to include lessons on Modi and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's life in the school curriculum.
The Congress in the state of Madhya Pradesh has criticised the proposal, suggesting that including Vajpayee's life in textbooks would instead be appropriate.
"The BJP government, by doing this, is hoping to score some brownie points with the new Prime Minister," NDTV quoted an unnamed Congress leader.
