The number of Hindu-based schools in India started by nationalists has grown sharply since they have gained power in the nation, reports the Christian Science Monitor (Feb. 16).
A growing network of k-12 schools teaching Hindu values and nationhood started by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak (RSS), the religious parent organization of the Hindu nationalist Dangh Parivar movement, has mushroomed across India. In the province of Rajasthani alone, some 200 RSS schools in the1980s “have become 600 schools today, a ratio repeated across India,” writes Robert Marquand.
Students are taught classes in Hindu moral science and memorize lines from the Veda, the Hindu sacred text. “Hindutva” values are stressed, which argue for the superiority and preeminence of India’s 5,000-year-old civilization. Although girls attend the schools, they are mainly taught to prepare for marriage and motherhood rather than a career.