The Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi's blatant defence of his attempts to saffronise Indian education and rewrite Indian history to suit the RSS vision of a pernicious "Hindu rashtra" would have elated the most strident fascist propagandist. Even Hitler's propaganda minister, Goebbels had employed a degree of sophistication to churn out untruths. Joshi on this occasion told the parliament brazen untruths. The first was his statement that he had consulted all the chief ministers and the state education ministers on the changes in the curriculum that he was seeking. At no point of time had there been any consultation with the state governments. This was repeatedly asserted by the West Bengal education minister and also by education ministers from nine other states who openly disapproved of the proposed curriculum. The sending of a letter alongwith the draft curriculum is not tantamount to consultation. In any case many state governments, particularly Tripura has replied stating that they do not agree with the proposed "value education" in the curriculum framework. But Joshi is brazen.

He proceeded to churn out another untruth. He claimed leading intellectuals like the late Prof. Ravindra Kumar, Prof. Yashpal, Kapila Vatsayan and S.Z. Qasim were members of the committee that examined the curriculum framework. These intellectuals are eminent enough to meet this charge and give their explanations. But the fact remains that by merely inviting such intellectuals to address some gathering, again, is not tantamount to their involvement in framing the curriculum.

The irony is not lost when Joshi quotes Goebbels in the Lok Sabha (without ofcourse, naming him) to buttress his untruths.

The fact of the matter is simple. Education is on the concurrent list of our federal Constitution. No decision on this can be taken without the consultation and approval of the state governments. There are established mechanisms such as the central advisory board on education (CABE) and the education ministers conference. The Vajpayee government has refused to reconstitute the former while the latter effort has been abandoned by Joshi after his fiasco to impose the rendition of Saraswati vandana on an earlier occassion. Yet Joshi claims in parliament that "no other government has been so democratic…." (sic)

The perfidy of the RSS knows no bounds. It is only natural that the BJP allies in the NDA have also joined the secular opposition in castigating such efforts. The measures already taken to include subjects like astrology and Vedic mathematics, seen in the context of this curriculum framework that gives prominence to religious education, medieval gender attitudes and on the learning of Sanskrit and also with the attempts to rewrite Indian history clearly point towards the RSS declared objective of saffronising the education system as a necessary prerequisite for the establishment of a rabidly intolerant Hindu rashtra.

Despite the fact that the lust for power and the urge to share the spoils of office may not force the BJP allies in the NDA who were critical of these efforts to vote against the Vajpayee government, the message is clear. The BJP stands isolated in these efforts. The only support it receives is from the RSS. A majority of the Indian people and their representatives in the parliament will not allow this government to impose the RSS agenda. The secular democratic foundations of the Indian republic cannot be allowed to be hijacked by fascistic communalists.