India's New Age

India is at a very pivotal precipice that will shape it's future on the global stage. Last year India housed the largest successful democratic election in human history, an astounding achievement for a developing post-imperial country. Narendra Modi the winner of the election and now Prime Minister of India is ushering in a new age for India. In Gujarat the state where Modi is from the state government is redesigning the education curriculum with a more, "India-centric" theme. In a country that values education highly and was founded on complete secularism is this a wise move to teach Hindu based lessons in all subjects? Though India religiously is predominantly composed of Hindus other religions exist within the subcontinent that is home to 1.3 billion people. Disregarding these other religions in a state institution will create trouble for a country who's religious lines are deep and date back several centuries. For a country who has more honor students than the United States has students, will teaching Hindu-centric lessons be more beneficial or harmful to India's longevity? Living in the United States, with a similar foundation in secularism like India, going to school and being taught lessons about the bible would not have aided in my intellectual development -- especially if I was taught these lessons at a young age. Keeping government establishments secular is key to national success. With the past election and the rise of India's Nationalist-Hindu political parties changes like these will become less common and more troubling.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/11/hindu-right-ideology-indian-textbooks-gujarat-20141147028501733.html