Karnataka to drop ‘misinformation’ from newly reviewed textbooks

The state government released a circular detailing the inclusion of topics.

South First accessed the report, which mentioned changes made by the government.

Some of the major changes brought into the revised work include:

• Reinserting the prefix “Samvidhana Shilpi” — which translates roughly to “The architect of the Indian Constitution” for BR Ambedkar in the Class 9 textbook.
• A lesson on Bhakti and Sufi saints in the Class 7 Social Science textbook.
• Re-insertion of the prominent contributions of the Siddaganga Math and the Adichunchanagiri Math in the Class 6 Social Science textbook.
• Re-insertion of the achievements of the Surapura Naikas in the Class 7 Social Science textbook.

Meanwhile, the report mentions only the reinsertions related to 12th-century reformer Basaveshwara, but the exact content to be included remains unclear.

There were objections by the Lingayat community over the omission of the revolt of Basaveshwara against Brahminism.

The state’s literary figures and educationists have not welcomed the government report.

Instead, they have demanded the dropping of the full set of changes made by the revision committee, and thrown their weight behind the previous committee headed by writer Baragur Ramachandrappa.

Noted literary scholar and Sahitya Academy Award winner G Ramakrishna told South First: “It is the height of absurdity in handling the textbook controversy and it was tendentious. Starting from appointing a review committee without its formal announcement to encouraging the committee that had a limited mandate to overreach, genuine procedures were brazenly violated.”

The committee for textbook review stoked a controversy in May by dropping a lesson on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh from the Class 10 textbook.

After a statewide public uproar, the committee retained the lesson, which was taken from a book on Bhagat Singh and authored by Ramakrishna.

The scholar, while reacting to the incident, told South First, “The committee’s nonsensical way of functioning was exposed when they did not bother to consult the author or take permission.”

Ramakrishna also lashed out at the composition of the committee, which was exclusive on caste and gender lines and did not have any experience in reviewing school textbooks.

Reacting to the state government’s recent clarification on the textbook review, Karnataka BJP spokesperson MG Mahesh told South First, “There was no controversial step by the state government ever. It was an orchestrated hue and cry by self-proclaimed intellectuals, literary groups, and left-inclined literary figures.”

Controversial changes

Here are a few controversial changes made by the Rohit Chakrathirtha textbook review committee:

• The Class 9 Social Science Part 1 textbook, titled Religious Promoters and Social Reformers, mentioned that Basaveshwara reformed Veerashaivism. The previous version of the textbook stated that Basaveshwara was a strong opponent of the caste system and that he threw away the sacred thread after his thread ceremony. This omission was objected to by the Veerashaiva Lingayat community.
• The review committee dropped excerpts from the works of distinguished writers of the state, such as P Lankesh and AN Murthy Rao, and inserted writings of RSS founder KB Hedgewar.
• The phrase that terms B.R Ambedkar the architect of the Constitution was removed.
• The committee cut off parts on Bhakti and Sufi saints, such as Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa, and Shishunala Sharif.

The controversy timeline

The Department of Public Instruction, under the BJP government in July 2020, dropped chapters on 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan from the Class 7 textbook, sparking controversy.

The sparks flew again, in December that year, when the Karnataka State Brahmin Development Board met then chief minister BS Yediyurappa and objected to certain excerpts in the Class 6 Social Science Part 1 textbook.

Chapter 5, titled The Culture of the Vedic Period, stated, “Offering milk, ghee, cereals, during yagnas led to a shortage of food.”

In September 2021, a 16-member committee headed by Chakrathirtha was set up to revise the textbooks from Classes 1 to Class 10.

The committee’s report, submitted in March this year, led to an uproar from all corners of society, including Dalit organisations, literary groups, and communities like the Veerashaiva Lingayat and the Vokkaliga Sabha.

On June 4, the Karnataka government announced the dissolution of the committee.