In what could be a landmark decision by an educational institution in the country, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi University in Bhopal will soon start a curriculum that will teach the basics of technological inventions done in the ancient times, promoted by seers and sages.
The curriculum will be in Hindi and students will be taught about various aspects of engineering with reference to the Vedas, the work of mathematician Bhaskaracharya and sage-scientist Acharya Kanad, reports Hindustan Times.
“Whenever we talk about our rich legacy of Hindu rishis and munis, people oppose it. But it is a fact that Indian seers came out with many inventions in engineering, medical science and astronomy thousands of years ago,” vice-chancellor Mohan Lal Chhipa told the newspaper.
Apart from Vedas, it will also include earliest scriptures of Hinduism, works of sage Bhrigu’s Shilp Samhita on engineering science and metallurgy, the Narad Shilp Shastra on arts and crafts, and Charaka Samhita, the report adds.
University sources told HT that the curriculum has been designed to promote Indian science and culture, which is mostly influenced by western science.
The programme will be added into the syllabus as a subject, named as Bharatiya Gyan aur Parampara (Indian knowledge and tradition). Students will be introduced to the subject this academic session but no examination will be conducted for it.
Some experts have criticised the programme calling it a mode of promoting Hinduism, not engineering.