Indian state says 'no sir' to nursery rhymes

NEW DELHI: An Indian state has decided to drop popular nursery rhymes like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep" from textbooks for first-graders for being too Western, reports said yesterday.

"We want our children to have value education in local color," newspapers reported Narottam Mishra, Minister of Education for Central Madhya Pradesh State, as saying. Mishra said the Western nursery rhymes would be replaced by rhymes by Indian authors to inculcate "a sense of patriotism" in children, and to "reduce Western influence."

India Wednesday, AFP