UP minister wants ‘Johnny Johnny’, ‘Rain Rain’ out of syllabus

Lucknow: Johnny may soon stop eating sugar. Rain may no longer be asked to go away.

UP higher education minister Yogendra Upadhyaya said Monday he would write to Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan seeking removal of two of world’s most familiar nursery rhymes — “Johnny Johnny Yes Papa” and “Rain Rain Go Away” — from NCERT textbooks, insisting they run contrary to Indian culture and values.

“These poems should be removed from CBSE and ICSE curriculum,” Upadhyaya said in Lucknow.

He had been claiming since last week at public events that “Johnny Johnny…” encourages children to lie while “Rain Rain…” promotes selfishness over collective welfare. “Education devoid of moral values is detrimental to both society and nation,” Upadhyaya said Monday. “I have no opposition to any language, English education, or modern education systems. I have a problem with content or expressions that inadvertently conveys wrong messages to kids.”

He said Indian culture stands for “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya” — welfare and happiness of all — and cautioned parents and teachers against exposing children to ideas that could lead to “kusanskaar”, or bad values.

Upadhyaya also proposed replacing “Rain Rain Go Away” with Indian rhymes such as “Kale megha pani de, pani de”. “There, rain is not driven away. It is invited,” he said. “Rain nourishes all, sustains agriculture and is indispensable to life. Yet, in this rhyme, it is being asked to depart for sake of one child’s amusement.”

Reiterating his stand, the minister said he would continue opposing any rhyme that conflicts with Indian values. “Children can be unhappy for some time if they are not given gifts,” he said. “But absence of moral values will have a lifelong impact on them.”