MBBS Foundation Course for MP students to now Include Lectures on Hindutva, Ayurveda Icons

Confirmation to this effect has come from the State Education Minister Vishwas Sarang on Sunday, when the Minister also clarified that apart from these leaders, the MBBS students will also learn about Maharshi Charaka, one of the principal contributors to the Ayurveda, and sage Sushrut, known as the father of surgery in India.

Interestingly, Hedgewar, Upadhyaya, Swami Vivekanand are part of the Hindutva pantheon of the Sangh, believed to be the ideological mentor of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

The National Medical Commission (NMC) decides the syllabus of the MBBS course. It sets topics for each subject but the education department of States is empowered to prepare the content of the Foundation Course subject.

The lectures on Hedgewar, Upadhyaya and others are likely to be clubbed in the topic of medical ethics in the foundation course, they added.

Lectures in the foundation course are generally given to students for a month after they take admission for MBBS. The next academic session for MBBS students is likely to start by this year-end.

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"The students of the first-year course of MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) will be lectured about Hedgewarji, Upadhyayji, Swami Vivekanandji, Ambedkarji and other great personalities. Lessons on these great personalities will inculcate values, principles, social and medical ethics in the students," Sarang told PTI.

"The NMC has said that ethical values should be the part of the foundation course in the first year (of MBBS). So we thought of incorporating these great personalities for building the character of students," he said.

The minister said that states finalise the content of the foundation course.

Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a surgeon, founded the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh in Nagpur in 1925, based on the ideology of Hindutva. Deendayal Upadhyaya was one of the prominent leaders of the Bhartiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the BJP.

"RSS first chief Hedgewarji, Upadhyayaji, Vivekanandji and BR Ambedkarji were great visionaries and human beings. Their lives were based on values. Their thoughts, conduct, and the very personalities are inspiring," the minister said.

He said Hedgewar had actively participated in India's freedom struggle.

"Deendayalji's thought of 'Antyodaya' for helping the last man (the poorest of the poor) was exemplary. Swami Vivekanandji travelled far off lands to showcase the Indian vision. B R Ambedkar was born in a poor family but he went on to frame our Constitution. We have decided to teach (MBBS) students about the inspiring lives of these great personalities from the coming academic session (2021)," Sarang added.

The move, however, has been criticized by Congress as it alleged that BJP is trying to thrust its ideology and agenda on other people.

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