Page 18 - EducationWorld June 2022_Neat

Education News

KARNATAKA Education programme of
New textbooks row the top-ranked National
Law School of India
University, Bengaluru re-
OLLOWING 82 WEEKS OF LOCK- jected an invitation from
DOWN because of the Covid-19 the state government to
Fpandemic, 74,000 schools honour him for his pro-
affiliated with the Karnataka state motion of the National
board reopened for on-campus Education Policy 2020.
offline learning on May 16 — three “The state government
weeks earlier than scheduled. But has resorted to com-
right at the start of the new academic munalise and saffronise
year 2022-23 while children are yet education and in this
to receive new textbooks, a massive process, no curriculum
row has erupted over ‘saffronisa- Education minister Nagesh: brewing storm framework, constitution-
tion’ of textbooks by the state's BJP al values and education
government. against changes which obfuscate policy have been followed. Since
Rumours that primary-secondary Dalit icon Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s this exercise and the programme to
social science textbooks were being severe criticism of the Hindu caste which I am invited both are led by
rewritten to project the BJP’s hin- system. In a class VI textbook, the the education minister, I stand by
dutva perspective began to circulate new version is: “In his old age, he constitutional values and boycott it,”
last September when former BJP quit Hindu Dharma and accepted he wrote in response to the invite.
education minister S. Suresh Kumar Buddha Dharma that is part of the n the thick of this brewing storm,
constituted a 15-member Textbook Indian tradition,” fudging Ambed- Karnataka’s education minister
Revision Committee (TRC) headed kar’s criticism of Hinduism’s hierar- IB . C . N a g e s h denies charges that
R
by oh ith C h a k ra tirth a , a Kan- chical caste system, in which Dalits the BJP government is rewriting
nada language novelist and staunch are at bottom. textbooks from a hindutva perspec-
BJP and sangh p arivar (RSS/BJP The agenda of the RSS and BJP tive. “In our view, there is no colour
family) supporter. leadership, which tends to equate or politics in school textbooks.
These rumours were confirmed in mythology with history, to rewrite Saffronisation of textbooks is only
March when media reports indicated history from a new hindutva and in the eyes of the Congress. They
that the committee has extensively Aryan perspective is hardly a secret. (Congress) see colour in everything.
revised class VI-X social science But in peninsular India which has Congress fears that they will lose the
English and Kannada textbooks. Ac- ancient Dravidian languages and vote of ‘greens’ (Muslims). That’s
cording to these reports, chapters on culture, opposition to the RSS/BJP why they are alleging that textbooks
Mysore’s Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan, agenda is deep-rooted. Therefore, are saffronised,” Nagesh told report-
social reformer Basavanna, Dravid- even before the new textbooks are ers in Mysuru. TRC chairman Rohith
ian movement pioneer Periyar and out, seven Kannada language lit- Chakratirtha is also defiant and
social reformer Narayana Guru, who terateurs including G. Ramakrishna believes the revised texts reflect “new
opposed the caste system, which and Devanuru Mahadeva have writ- thinking”.
were in previous textbooks have been ten to the government withdrawing Nevertheless, evidence that in
deleted. their consent to include their works the run-up to the legislative as-
In addition, opposition Congress as lessons in the new texts, while sembly election scheduled for next
party spokespersons highlight that some writers and educationists have summer the BJP is implementing
subtle textual changes have been resigned from government bod- its familiar strategy of consolidat-
made to rewrite history. For in- ies. Senior writer and scholar Ham ing the Hindu vote by demonising
stance, a chapter titled ‘The Freedom Pa Nagarajaiah has resigned his the state’s 8 million-strong Muslim
struggle’ in the revised class X social position as president of Rashtrakavi minority, is mounting. During the
science text reads: “In spite of the Kuvempu Pratishthana, a govern- past six months, Muslim girls have
diversity in India, the Indian Na- ment constituted committee to pro- been forbidden to wear the hijab in
tional Congress struggled to kindle mote state poet-laureate Kuvempu’s classrooms; sangh p arivar groups
patriotic feelings in India. They sepa- works. have called for a ban on halal meat
V
rated Hindus and Muslims through Moreover, well-reputed . P . prescribed by the Quran, and elec-
manipulative techniques”. N ira n j a n a ra dh y a , who heads the tronic loudspeakers in mosques used
Dalit activists are also up in arms Universalisation of Equitable Quality for several decades to call Muslims to

18 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2022