Karnataka intellectuals stand up to Hindu nationalists who rewrite school textbooks
A number of intellectuals and educators resigned from public bodies after the BJP-led state government changed social sciences and literature textbooks removing references to major reformers while adding material drawn from the ideology of Hindutva. Silence about inciting communal hatred is cause of concern and fear.
Bangalore (AsiaNews) – In Karnataka, a group of intellectuals and educators resigned from government bodies over changes made to school textbooks by the state government, which is led by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The protest, which comes a few days after the state government imposed an anti-conversion law, targets the “saffronisation” of education underway in the state. Saffron is the colour of the flags of Hindu nationalists.
In 2020, after the BJP won state elections in 2018, the state set up a review committee headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha, tasked with reviewing social science and literature textbooks in Kannada, Karnataka’s main language.
As a result, textbooks for Grades 6 to 10 were revised with the suppression or reduction of chapters dedicated to great social reformers; for example, the section on the great local poet Kuvempu, author of the state anthem, was profoundly changed.
With respect to Kannada literature, a speech by Keshav Baliram, the founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), one of the main Hindu right-wing movements, was added.
Such changes sparked the protest by intellectuals, including writer S. G. Siddaramaiah who withdrew his permission to include one of his poems in one of the textbooks.
“The government’s silence and lack of action on those who have been openly inciting communal hatred undermining the State and federal structure has left us anxious and scared,” reads the letter signed by the resigning intellectuals and educators.
Several student groups in Karnataka have also protested against the changes introduced in the textbooks.
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04/01/2007
