Karnataka govt must roll back ‘saffronised’ textbooks or protests won’t stop: DK Shivkumar

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, June 09, 2022: Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivkumar, while protesting at Vidhan Soudha against the alleged ‘saffronisation’ of textbooks in the state, said that their protests would continue till the government rolled back the revised textbooks.

 

“The government has destroyed education here in the state. They have completely saffronized the textbooks. They must roll back the revised textbooks. We will continue our protest and won’t stop here,” said DK Shivkumar.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, who also participated in the protest, sparked a controversy by comparing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to dogs.

“When I talk individually, there are some 25 people who come at me like barking dogs, like Mudhol dogs. Our people don’t talk, and that’s why we have distributed books from our office," said Congress leader Siddaramiah.

The Karnataka government, in 2020, set up a textbook revision committee. The committee, headed by writer Rohith Chakrathirtha, recently revised social science textbooks from Classes 6 to 10 and Kannada language textbooks from Classes 1 to 10.

Reports said that chapters on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, Lingayat social reformer Basavanna, Dravidian movement pioneer Periyar, reformers Narayana Guru and Swami Vivekananda were allegedly removed from the syllabus or severely distorted.

However, a speech by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar made its way to the revised class 10 Kannada textbook.

The row began after the Karnataka Congress accused the BJP-led government of ’saffronising’ education.

However, the Karnataka government had already ordered the printing of school textbooks ahead of the academic year.

Former CM Siddaramaiah demanded Chief Minister Bommai stop printing the textbooks and discuss the changes with experts before going ahead. State Congress chief DK Shivakumar (DKS) also wrote to CM Bommai urging him to drop the new syllabus and continue with the old.

Courtesy: The Hindu