No Chapter on Savarkar, Hedgewar: Karnataka Govt Orders Revision in Content of Class 6, 10 Textbooks

Days after the Cabinet approval to revise classroom textbooks, the Karnataka government has ordered revision in content of Kannada and social science textbooks of Classes 6 and 10 with 18 major changes, including the removal of contentious chapters on RSS founder KB Hedgewar and Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar.

Several other chapters such as ‘Shreshta Bharatiya Chintanegalu’ by Shatavadhani R Ganesh has been replaced by Sara Aboobacker’s ‘Yudha’, ‘Bhookailasa’ — a mythological drama written by Parampalli Narasimha replaced with Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘Letter to My Daughter’.

A chapter written by right-wing ideologue Chakravarthy Sulibele has been dropped. Several other lessons and poems on BR Ambedkar and Savitribai Phule have been added to the text. In social science, lessons on ‘Culture of Vedic Period’, ‘Rise of New Religions’ have been added along with Wadiyar kings of Mysore and their Diwans.

An essay on regionalism, which was shown as a threat to the idea of national unity, has been removed from the textbook. The essay had pointed out how linguistic fanaticism that leads to regionalism was against the idea of nationalism and how it hampered the unity of a nation by citing the split of Andhra Pradesh.

Most of the lessons, which were included during the Congress rule in 2013-2018 by a committee headed by writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa, have been added again.

The decision to roll back the changes made in the textbook syllabus during BJP’s tenure was one of the promises made by the Congress in the run-up to the state elections. Soon after the writers and thinkers met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Congress government had formed an interim committee headed by notable thinker Baraguru Ramachandrappa to analyse the syllabus and provide a report on the necessary changes that had to be made. The committee will then implement the necessary changes.

As the academic year has already begun the government will be providing a supplementary booklet to students which comprises the necessary changes. The printing of these booklets would cost around 10-12 lakhs and would be provided to students with 6-10days as claimed by the Education minister of the state.

Speaking after the cabinet meeting that took place a couple of days ago where a decision on textbook revision was made, education minister Madhu Bangarappa laid down the details.

“As per our commitment in our manifesto and in the interest of students, there will be changes in chapters. For one month, there will be no main subjects taught. So what we have thought is to give a supplementary booklet with all the changes for one month. Within less than 10 days, it will reach all the schools. Now, my task is to print it at earliest and deliver it to schools.

“Complementary booklet will be only for this academic year. For next year onwards, to change the thinking process, and for better studies, we will create a technical team to work on planning for next academic now only,” said the education minister.