The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the State government to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the authorities to include a chapter on “dharma” and “religion” in the syllabus of primary and secondary schools “in order to educate the masses and control the religion-based hatred and hate speeches”.
In his petition, lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay asserted that “dharma” is not religion as the former is “non-divisive”, “non-exclusive”, and “transcends narrow boundaries of religion”.
He sought for a direction to use the “proper meaning” of the term “religion” and not use it as a synonym of “dharma” in official documents, including the birth certificate, Aadhaar card, school certificate, ration card, driving licence, domicile certificate, death certificate, and bank account.
