Kannada, social science text books to undergo 18 revisions in Karnataka: Govt
On Thursday, the Karnataka minister for primary and secondary education, Madhu Bangarappa, said that all changes introduced by the BJP government in 2022 were reversed.
Days after the Karnataka Cabinet approved revision of school textbooks to undo the changes made during the previous BJP regime, the state government has ordered 18 major changes in Kananda and Social Science subjects for classes 6 to 10.
According to the revisions released by the Karnataka Textbook Society, the Congress government has replaced RSS founder KB Hedgewar’s ‘Nijavada Adarsha Purusha Yaragabeku’ with a lesson titled ‘Sukumara Swamiya Kathe’ by Shivakotyacharya in class 10 Kannada textbook. It has dropped the poem featuring Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar ‘Kalavannu Geddavaru’ by KT Gatti with ‘Blood Group’ by Vijayamala Ranganath in Class 8 Kannada textbook.
On Thursday, the state’s minister for primary and secondary education, Madhu Bangarappa, said that all changes introduced by the BJP government in 2022 were reversed. “Whatever changes they have done last year, we have changed it and reintroduced whatever was there last to last year. In the interest of the children, we have done the least now. That is only in Kannada language from class 6 to 10, and social studies from classes 6 to 10.”
The Congress, in its poll manifesto ahead of this year’s assembly elections, promised to reverse such changes made to textbooks during the BJP regime. On May 29, about 30 academicians and writers met chief minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru and submitted a memorandum with various demands to reform the education sector, including revisions in textbooks, and the ban on wearing the hijab in educational institutions.
In addition, the Congress government reintroduced ‘Magalige Bareda Patra’ by first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, translated by Siddanahalli Krishna Sharma, in the class 8 Kannada textbook. The previous BJP government had dropped the lesson and introduced ‘Bhoo Kailasa’, a play by Parampalli Narasimha Aithal, which has now been excluded. Shatavadhani R Ganesh’s ‘Shreshta Bharatiya Chintanegalu’ has been replaced with Sara Aboobacker’s ‘Yudha’ in Class 10 Kannada textbook.
Other changes include omission of a prose by Hindutva ideologue Chakravarthy Sulibele, ‘Taayi Bharatiya Amara Putraru’, from Class 10 Kannada textbook. It also replaced Shatavadhani Ganesh’s ‘Shreshta Bharatiya Chintanegalu’ with Sara Aboobacker’s ‘Yudha’ in Class 10 Kannada textbook.
In the social science textbook of class 6, the Congress government has introduced lessons on ‘Culture of Vedic Period’, ‘Rise of new Religions’, ‘Human Rights’. In the class 7 social science textbook, they have added components on ‘Women Social Reformers’ and ‘Women Freedom Fighters’, on the Wadiyar kings, Sir M Visvesvaraya, and Sir Mirza Ismail in the lesson on princely states.
The Congress government has also decided to remove a portion that showed regionalism as a threat to national unity from the class 10 social science textbook.
The textbook committee has brought back most of the components put in place by a committee headed by writer Baragur Ramachandrappa between 2013 and 2018 when the Congress government was in power. The state government has said that the changes were made after review by subject experts. The revisions would be sent to all schools as corrigendum, and the changes would also be announced on the department’s website.
Last year, the Textbook Revision Committee, headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha, drew flak from writers, academics, religious leaders and Opposition parties, who accused the government-appointed panel of attempting to “saffronise” the curriculum by dropping works of social reformers and progressive thinkers. Doubts were also raised about the credentials of Chakratirtha and other members of the committee.
Among the objections raised included the omission of chapters on social reformer Narayana Guru, freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, and works of progressive writers such as Sara Aboobacker and P Lankesh. Meanwhile, chapters on RSS founder KB Hedgewar, works of right-wing ideologues such as Chakravarti Sulibele, Govinda Pai and Bannanje Govindacharya, among others, were included.
Objections were also raised over omissions and commissions in chapters relating to religious icons such as 12th century social reformer Basavanna, and personalities such as Ambedkar. Some noted writers, including Devanur Mahadev, G Ramakrishna and SG Siddaramaiah, had withdrawn permission for use of their works in the textbooks in protest.
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