Karnataka government drops chapter of RSS founder KB Hedgewar from school textbooks

The Karnataka cabinet has decided to remove the lessons of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) founder KB Hedgewar from the school textbooks, said state education minister Madhu Bangarappa on Thursday. He said that the supplementary textbooks will be provided with revised changes and clarified that new textbooks will not be printed.

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Speaking to the reporters after cabinet meeting on Thursday, the minister said, “We have done everything for the better education of school children in Karnataka. We have dropped the lessons on KB Hedgewar which were included by the previous BJP government.” Bangarappa further said that the government has reintroduced the old syllabus which was revoked by the erstwhile BJP government in Karnataka. “The previous government has made some inclusions and exclusions in the syllabus. We removed all the changes and just reintroduced the old syllabus. The supplementary textbooks with the changes will reach schools in another 10 to 15 days,” added the education minister.

In the last week of May, over 30 academicians and writers met CM Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru and submitted a memorandum with various demands to reform the education sector, including the controversial revisions in textbooks and ban on hijab in educational institutions. He then promised a strict action against anything that pollutes children’s minds.

Last year the Textbook Revision Committee - headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha - drew flak after the government-appointed panel was accused of attempting to 'saffronise' school curriculum by not studying the works of social reformers and progressive thinkers'. Chapters on social reformer Narayana Guru, freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, and works of progressive writers such as Sara Aboobacker and P Lankesh were removed by the committee.

The committee also drew flak for including chapters on RSS founder KB Hedgewar, and the works of right-wing ideologues such as Chakravarti Sulibele, Govinda Pai and Bannanje Govindacharya.