Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal during the launch of 'Deshbhakti Curriculum' at Chhatrasal Stadium sang two lines dedicating to the pivotal revolution in the educational syllabus of government schools in Delhi. The CM grabbed attention when he sang few lines from Dushyant Kumar's poem 'Ho gayi hai peer parvat si'. The audience present at the launch cheered the AAP chief and praised him.
The Aam Aadmi Party shared the video of the event on it's official Twitter handle.
At the launch, Mr Kejriwal said, "In the last 74 years, we taught physics, chemistry and maths in our schools but did not teach 'deshbhakti' to the children. Patriotism is within all of us but it needs a push. Every child in Delhi will be a patriot in the truest sense. The 'Deshbhakti Curriculum' will prove to be instrumental in the country's development and will take India forward rapidly." "Today we only feel patriotic while raising the Tricolour or singing the national anthem. The problem is it only props up when we do something of this sort."
Raising the slogans 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Matram', the chief minister said, "We need to develop an environment wherein we all and our children constantly feel patriotic at every step we take. Patriotism has to be a continually evolving feeling within all of us." Kejriwal said all kinds of professionals are coming up 'deshbhakt professionals' are not being developed.
The 'Deshbhakti Curriculum' will be rolled out from nursery to Class 12 as and when schools reopen for the respective grades. The curriculum won't have any textbooks. Facilitator's handbooks have been designed for three cohorts -- nursery to class five; classes six to eight and classes nine to 12 -- and these will be used to inculcate patriotism among the students through simple activities.
The facilitator's handbooks for two cohorts -- classes 6 to 8 and 9-12 -- and 100 stories of freedom fighters and patriots were also unveiled at the launch event.
According to officials, the topics include taking responsibility towards the country and its progress, constructive criticism, respect for and harmonious coexistence with others, critically thinking about issues confronting the country, comprehensive conception of patriotism, linking patriotism to the lived realities and everyday actions of students and working for the country's development with pride and honesty.
Some of the chapters are: 'My India is glorious but why not developed', 'Deshbhakti: My country my pride', 'Who is a Deshbhakt' and 'India of my dreams.
The teaching method would be activities-based such as maintaining a 'Deshbhakti diary', participating in 'Deshbhakti dhyan', 'Flag day' activity and group discussion, among others.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced the plan for Deshbhakti Curriculum on the 73rd Independence Day celebrations in 2019. The curriculum has been prepared by the Delhi Government school teachers, with inputs from NGO partners and experts.
