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31/07/22 16:28 PM IST

‘Gilli danda’ among 75 ‘Bharatiya sports’ set to be introduced in schools

In News 
  • “Raja mantri chor sipahi”, “posham pa”, “gilli danda”, “yubi lakpi”, different forms of “kabbadi” and “kanche” are among 75 “Bharatiya games” the Centre has announced it will introduce in schools under the education ministry’s Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) initiative.
About IKS Initiative
  • The initiative was launched by Union home minister Amit Shah on the second anniversary of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP).
  • The list of “Bharatiya games” compiled with the help of experts also includes “langdi” (hopscotch), javelin throw, “patang uddayan” (kite-flying), “seeta uddhar” (prisoner’s base), “mardani khel” (a form of martial arts) and “vish amrit”.
  • “Santhal katti”, a version of “gilli danda” played by Odisha’s Santhal tribe, is also part of the list.
  • Yubi lakpi” is a game played in Manipur using a coconut. It has similarities to rugby.
  • The 75 indigenous games are from different parts of the country.
  • The idea is not just to simply promote Indian games in schools. The actual idea is to make sports more inclusive at the school level.
  • The idea is to introduce local games through physical education teachers in their schools.
  • Most of them are less resource intensive and encourage creativity, camaraderie and connect with the culture.
IKS 
  • The IKS division was established by the ministry as an innovation cell at the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in 2020 to promote interdisciplinary research on aspects of indigenous knowledge.
Gilli Danda 
  • ‘gilli danda’ is more than 5,000 years old. It was also mentioned in a verse in Mahabharata which says that Krishna, Arjun and Bhima are playing ‘gilli danda’.
  • Many regional games have almost similar rules but have different names.
  • pagadi pat’, which is also in IKS list, is a board game having its roots in southern India. It is almost similar to what we know as ‘ludo’ now.
  • Another game, ‘yubi lakpi’, a traditional game played using a coconut in northeastern states, is almost similar to what is known as rugby globally.
  • ‘vish amrit’ is based on winning positivity over darkness. In this game, players of one team run after players of another team and give them ‘vish’ (poison). As soon as ‘vish’ is given, the person stays there until teammates come to give him/her ‘amrit’ (antidote). No game nowadays has such a concept of supporting your teammates.
  • Each month, a seasonally appropriate Indian game will be introduced in schools through physical training (PT) teachers. The PT teachers will upload pictures and short videos of the games.
Source- Hindustan Times 

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