Madhya Pradesh police recruits told to read Bhagavad Gita; Congress slams move as bid to saffronise force

BHOPAL: Around 4,000 newly recruited Madhya Pradesh police constables undergoing training at eight centres have been directed to read chapters from the 'Bhagavad Gita' every evening during the Hindu month of Margashirsha. Additional Director General of Police (Training) Raja Babu Singh maintained that the initiative aims to guide trainee constables toward leading righteous and disciplined lives. It will help the newly recruited strike a balance between intelligence quotient (IQ) and emotional quotient (EQ). At a time when a young student is getting killed by on-duty constables in Bhopal, reading chapters of the Bhagavad Gita will certainly have a positive effect on the lives of the newly recruited cops, the ADG (Training) told the TNIE on Friday. The Margashirsha month which started from Thursday, as per scriptures is the month of Lord Krishna. He himself says in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita that Masaanam Margashirshoham, meaning I am Margashirsha among months. The superintendent of police (SPs) of all police training schools have been asked to make the recruits undergoing training there, to read one chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, if possible, before the meditation at night throughout the holy month of Margashirsha. Reading the Bhagavad Gita will help the recruits the art of living a spartan life, he added. Notably, the directive comes four months after the ADG (Training) had encouraged recruits to recite verses from Goswami Tulsidass Ramcharitmanas, believing it would instil discipline and ethical clarity among them. The opposition Congress, however, has criticised the move, calling it an attempt to radicalise and saffronise the police force. In a democratic country like India, each and every individual is at liberty to follow their religion and faith. What has been directed by the ADG-Training is an attempt to radicalise the police force in MP. Its not in line with the spirit of our countrys Constitution, state Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta said, while slamming the state polices training wings head. The ruling BJP has defended the ADG-Trainings decision and criticised the Congress for opposing the initiative. Its shocking that people of one political party are terming the Bhagavad Gita as communal. The ancient book is revered by people across the world for its content about lifes philosophy and not religion, but the Congress seems to be determined to communalise it. ADG (Training) Raja Babu Singhs focus on the Bhagavad Gita isnt new. While being posted as the ADG of Gwalior Range some years back, he had distributed Bhagavad Gita copies among jail inmates and initiated similar reading sessions. Singh is not only focusing on making the young recruits recite the chapters from the Bhagavad Gita every evening till December 4 at the eight PTS. He also plans to hold three days of Heartfulness Meditation sessions between December 19 and 21, marking World Meditation Day on December 21. Sessions will be conducted at heritage and historical sites such as Upper Lake (Bhopal), Rajwada (Indore), Dhuandhar Falls (Jabalpur), Mahakaleshwar Temple (Ujjain), and Khajuraho Temples (Chhatarpur). The programme will be open to all citizens and led by 76 trained Heartfulness instructors within police ranks across 55 districts, with zero cost to the department.