In Karnataka textbook controversy Congress finds leverage to battle BJP on Hindutva agenda | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
While the early concerns in revisions prescribed by the textbook committee were over the chopping of portions of lessons on the Muslim king, Tipu Sultan, the emergence of the final textbooks for Kannada and social sciences has resulted in a plethora of grouses cutting across communities over revisions done under the guardianship of the BJP government.
The opposition Congress party in Karnataka which has been continuously rattled and on the backfoot in addressing the divisive Hindutva political agenda unleashed through various organs of the Sangh Parivar has found a handle to take on the BJP and the RSS in a controversy over saffronisation of school textbooks by a committee constituted by the BJP government.
Over the last few weeks, as textbooks tailored by a review committee headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha, a teacher with right-wing associations have emerged in the public domain it has unleashed a torrent of protests over the presentation of the contributions of historical figures and writers not in synch with the right-wing Hindutva ideology of the Sangh Parivar.
While the early concerns in revisions prescribed by the textbook committee were over the chopping of portions of lessons on the Muslim king, Tipu Sultan, the emergence of the final textbooks for Kannada and social sciences has resulted in a plethora of grouses cutting across communities over revisions done under the guardianship of the BJP government.
While progressive thinkers and writers – who have deep roots in the society in Karnataka – have objected to the chopping of works of distinguished writers like P Lankesh, Sara Abu Backer, A N Murthy Rao and the inclusion of work by Hindutva flag bearers like the RSS founder R B Hedgewar, an ideologue Chakravarthy Sulibele, Sanskrit scholars Bannanje Govindacharya and Shathavadhani Ganesh – the political singe has come from the tinkering with lessons on caste and community icons like Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Lingayat saint Basavanna.
The fact that the chairman of the textbook committee had apparently insulted the state poet Kuvempu, and the state anthem written by him, in social media posts in the past did not go down well with the dominant Vokkaliga caste group as well.
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