Indian Court Tells Counsel To Read Gita Before Arguing Case

In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the government has ordered schools to incorporate "Gita Sar"-- the essence of Gita-- into the curriculum. According to yesterday's  Indian Express, the Catholic Bishops Council last month filed suit asking the Madhya Pradesh high court to order the government to instead include a summary of all religions in the curriculum, and not to favor a particular faith.  Plaintiffs argued that giving other religions equal prominence with Hinduism conforms to the Constitutional idea of a secular India.  Last week, the court issued an order instructing plaintiff's counsel to take two months to read the entire Gita before arguing the case so that counsel can "clearly understand whether the Gita is a philosophy of life or is associated with any religion."