First it was Singur movement, then Kanyashree and now Vivekananda’s famous Chicago address, the state school department in West Bengal is going to add topics, which the BJP so far had considered it to be its monopoly.
“Now Swamiji’s Chicago speech is going to be part of the school text book,” said an official of the school education department.
Last year the ruling Trinamol Congress government had landed itself on a sticky wicket over refusing to plug on to Prime Minister’s speech on the occasion of 125th year of Swami Vivekananda’s famous Chicago address.
Obviously, it gave the BJP a mileage to campaign against the Trinamool Congress.
Though the ruling party soon launched a year long programme to mark the 125th year of the Chicago address and did everything it could do to renovate Vivekananda’s ancestral home in North Kolkata, the BJP continued to harp back on the government’s non participation in the Centre’s programme on Chicago address.
However, as a damage control device and to silence the saffron party, the government has decided to go leap forward to include Chicago speech as part of the syllabus. The government is yet to decide on the standard in which it can be included.
The government earlier had faced flak for including Singur movement and Kanyashree, which were dubbed as nothing but the government and the ruling party’s propaganda. The Chicago address and above everything else inclusion of Viveknanda will help to redeem the government of its partisan attitude.
Moreover, it will stop the BJP from criticising the government of neglecting its Hindu luminaries.