Now the controversy over the book on Vivekananda

[ad_1]

A new book on Swami Vivekananda which claims the spiritual leader told Hindus to exercise a “killer instinct” against people of other faiths has raised eyebrows.

The book titled
Swami Vivekanand has been listed as miscellaneous reading material by the Maharashtra Department of Education. Written by Shubhada Athawale-Pathak, the book was published by Bharatiya Vichar Sadhana, who is affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

A paragraph, which appears on pages 12 and 13 of the book, reads as follows: “Swami Vivekananda has always expressed his dissatisfaction with the decrease in the number of Hindus over the past decades. He had also insisted on returning all Hindus converted by the Muslim and Christian aggressors to their original religion. Our ancestors fought to save religion in the past. According to Swami Vivekananda’s theory, if non-Hindus continue to cause trouble, then we should have killer instincts.

A state government educator said it was a matter of debate whether Swami Vivekananda ever made such a statement as the paragraph does not mention any reference. He said, “By claiming that these thoughts come from Swami Vivekananda, it glorifies the concept of
ghar wapsi and attacks on Muslims today.

In December 2017, the state government decided to purchase new books worth ₹41 crore as miscellaneous readings under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The selection of books was under scanner after several of them were found to have obscene content. Additionally, the department has commissioned more books on Prime Minister Narendra Modi than on Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Education Minister Vinod Tawde was not available for comment.

[ad_2]

Leave a Comment