The family of Kannada writer K.T. Gatti, whose essay on the Cellular Jail in Andaman where Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar was incarcerated had turned controversial, has released a clarification.
Yashoda Ammembala, the wife of Mr. Gatti who is unwell, while issuing a statement on his behalf, has argued the lesson ‘Kalavannu Geddavaru’, now part of school textbook, should be read as part of the language curriculum and not the history curriculum. “Being a travelogue, it is not meant to be considered a source for historic facts,” she said in her note. The lesson in Class VIII Kannada second language textbook has been criticised for “glorification” of Savarkar.
