Another writer revokes permission to use his work in textbooks; says more writers to follow suit

After G Ramakrishna and Devanur Mahadeva, writer professor SG Siddaramiah has also revoked permission to use his works in class 9 Kannada textbook as a protest against the ‘communalisation’ of education.

Siddaramiah also resigned as the President of Rashtrakavi Dr GS Shivarudrappa Pratishthana, along with other members including Dr SN Raghavendra Rao, Dr Chandrashekar Nangali and Dr Nataraj Budhal. Submitting their resignation to the chief minister of Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai, they have expressed their anger over the unconstitutional oppression in the educational, cultural and political climate of Karnataka. The writers condemned the government’s inaction towards elements attacking the democratic and federal system of Karnataka.

Calling the textbook review process ‘undemocratic’ and ‘unethical’, writers Ramakrishna and Mahadeva had revoked their permission last week against using their works in the class 10 Kannada textbook.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Siddaramiah said, “This protest is not against any particular person but the distorted lessons and ideologies that are being propagated into the young minds. In the name of nationalism, the state is instilling communal and corrupt thoughts into the minds of the students. I learnt that my poem ‘Mannegelasada Hennumagalu’ is included in the class 9 textbook. I do not want my work to be included in a textbook that is communal. Moreover, the class 10 Kannada textbook also has lessons especially that of Bannanje Govindacharya where it disrespects women. I do not wish to be part of such an ecosystem.” He has also claimed that more writers including Chandrashekar Talya might revoke their works from textbooks.

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“Having worked as a teacher for 35 years and being part of the textbook review committee, I don’t want to betray the state and the children by being part of such a communal ecosystem. Ultimately, the poor children are paying the price for the government’s mismanagement,” he added.

Meanwhile, nearly 80 per cent of the textbooks are already printed, but are yet to reach the schools. A senior official from the primary and secondary education department said, “If writers back out at the last minute when textbook printing is nearing completion, we cannot do anything about it. Most of the textbooks are already printed and will be reaching students in the coming days.”

Educationist backs out of government programme

In the light of the textbook and the hijab row in Karnataka, noted educationist Dr Niranjanaradhya VP has expressed his disappointment with the ongoing controversies in the education space in Karnataka.

He has backed out from a congratulatory event of Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) that is scheduled to take place on June 3. In a letter addressed to the director of DSERT, Niranjanaradhya said he believes the Karnataka High Court order of March 15 on hijab is being twisted and misinterpreted by the government to target a particular community.

“The educational rights of Muslim girls are snatched away by state in the name of hijab. Moreover, the primary education department has dropped the lessons of Bhagat Singh, Sara Abubakar and Murthy Rao, and have included anti-constitutional personalities like KG Hedgewar in the textbooks. This is an attempt to saffronise the textbooks through unconstitutional means. These developments in the education scene have pained me and hence I will not be participating in the event as a mark of protest,” said Niranjanaradhya, who is also the head of position paper at DSERT.

The textbook row in Karnataka began when student organisations and opposition parties alleged that lessons on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and works of progressive writers such as P Lankesh, Sara Abubakar among others had been dropped and replaced with the speeches of RSS founder KB Hedgewar in Kannada class 10 textbooks. One of the major criticisms was also that a committee headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha, a staunch right wing ideologue, was formed in 2020 to review and change certain portions of the textbooks.

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