Experts praise mandatory reading of preamble by students

Umar Sharieef | NT

Bengaluru: In a welcome move, the Congress government in the state on Thursday mandated that educational institutions, including professional colleges ensure daily reading of the Constitution preamble by students.

Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa issued the directive in this regard. He instructed all the educational institutions in the state to make it mandatory for the students to read the preamble of the Constitution and understand its interpretation. However, the directive from the minister received a mixed reaction among activists and academics.

Welcoming the move, advocate and activist Vinay Sreenivas, told News Trail that although it was a welcoming decision, this alone will not create much change. “The government should also conduct Constitu - tion literacy classes like Kerala despite making it mandatory for the institutions to read preamble,” he said. He also added that it is important for the institutions to teach students about Dr Ambedkar and the government must consider doing it.

The move assumes significance as it comes amid the Congress government’s decision to not implement National Education Policy, and de-saffronizing the school textbooks. Gurumurthy Kasinathan, Director of National Coalition on the Education Emergency, educator, and director at IT for Change, told News Trail that the government should encourage educational institutions to follow such moves and not force them.

“It is indeed a welcoming move, but the government should not force the educational institutions to make it mandatory,” he said. Asked if the move can have any impact on the students who witnessed communal row during the BJP regime, Kasinathan replied it will certainly have an impact.

“Preamble is the heart of the Constitution and it teaches to promote fraternity and dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation,” he said, adding it will help the students understand the value and help them in resolving hatred. Interestingly, CM Siddaramaiah promised the Kannada writers and scholars to de-saffronize the textbooks to ensure the students’ minds are not polluted.