Sanskrit Prayer's compulsion in Kendriya Vidyalayas creater controversy, HRD distances itself

The central government has sought to distance itself from a controversy regarding compulsory recitation of Sanskrit and Hindi hymns in the morning assembly of the Kendriya Vidyalayas. The court is likely to take up the petition for hearing by a bench headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman on September 10. The petitioner, a Jabalpur-based lawyer, has maintained that the compulsory singing of Sanskrit hymn 'Asato ma Sadgamaya' at the school assembly every morning strangles the spirit of scientific inquiry and amounts to “religious instruction”, prohibited under the constitution.