The
Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Centre and the Delhi
Government on a public interest litigation (PIL) for direction to include a
chapter on 'Dharma and Religion' in the syllabus and curriculum of the primary
and secondary schools in order to educate the masses and control religion-based
hatred and hate speeches.
The
plea further sought direction to the Centre and the Delhi state government to
use the proper meaning of the religion that is Panth or Sampradaya, not the
Dharma as a synonym of the term religion in official documents like Birth
Certificates, Aadhar Card, School Certificate, Ration Card, Driving Licence,
Domicile Certificate, Death Certificate and Bank Account etc.
The
bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela after
noting down the submissions, issued notice to all respondents and listed the
matter for January 2024 for further hearing on the issue.
The
plea has been moved by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a practising lawyer and
Delhi BJP leader, stating that Dharma is non-divisive, non-exclusive and
non-conclusive. Dharma is a quest for understanding the cosmic order of the
universe and consciousness order at a personal level. 'Dharma', in fact,
transcended narrow boundaries of religion.
According
to the petition, Dharma offers limitless freedom of choice of methods as well
as goals. It is inherently secular which can even include those who
question'Dharma' itself. It encourages free inquiry and never seeks to confine
people to categories and denominations. It is this inherent tolerance and
Catholicity that enabled people, in ancient times, to pursue faiths independent
of their rulers and vice-versa.
The
rights and duties of the rulers and citizens, though never codified were always
respected. Each institution of the society, each individual, almost intuitively
knew where to draw the line, where to define the limit. Tolerance is,
therefore, integral to 'Dharma', plurality is inherent in it. This tolerance
and plurality do not find space in the concept of religion, the plea added
It
also stated that Panth and Sampradaya have some lack of knowledge. There are
many things in Sampradaya that are not logical. There have been many wars and
war-like situations for religion. Religion works on a mass of people. In
religion, people follow someone or someone's path. On the other hand, Dharma is
a work of wisdom.