Karnataka Congress to stage demonstration against textbook revision on June 9

BENGALURU: Alleging disregard to eminent litterateurs and historic personalities including Basaveshwara by dropping or altering their work in textbooks in Karnataka, the state unit of the Congress has decided to stage a demonstration on June 9. The party has taken up the campaign after many intellectuals alleged that there was an attempt to saffronise the textbooks by removing chapters by eminent writers and inserting a chapter on RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar.

"In support of all those who opposed the revision of textbooks, all our MLAs and MPs will stage a sit-in demonstration in front of Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha at 10 AM on June 9. This, we are organising because the content of the textbooks is an insult to our historical figures," Congress Karnataka unit chief D K Shivakumar told reporters here on Tuesday.

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Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has already made it clear that the government will not remove the lesson on Hedgewar. He also disapproved the charges that Basaveshwara's chapter has been removed. However, he said his government is open to suggestions on the textbook-related issues. The Congress leader also alleged that sub-standard ferlitisers were being supplied to farmers.

The controversy had erupted with some organizations raising objections over the alleged replacing of a chapter on Bhagat Singh with an essay on a speech by Hedgewar in the revised Kannada textbook for Class 10.