BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has decided to soon publish the changed content of revised school textbooks alongside the old textbook on the web portal of Karnataka Text Book Society to let readers make an unbiased comparison in the changes made to the state syllabus textbooks.
Sources said the government will publish only the contested and controversial passages of the old and revised textbooks. Primary and secondary education minister BC Nagesh told TOI that the move is aimed at ensuring transparency in the revision process and the government was open to making a course correction if readers raised "genuine objections" to any part of the text. The textbook revision has raised the hackles of writers and parties which have alleged that the exercise is a bid to saffronise the school curriculum.
BJP nervous about likely negative impact, so resorted to publishing content: MLA
The move to post the controversial passages on the website comes three days after chief minister Basavaraj Bommai dissolved the textbook review committee based on the findings of a report submitted by the education minister.
Congress MLA Priyank Kharge said that how could BJP be confident of facing the electorate in the coming elections with so many communities unhappy about the content in the revised textbooks. "Obviously, BJP is nervous about the likely negative impact of textbook revision. Therefore, it has resorted to publishing the changed content. Let's see whether they walk the talk," he added.
Upload was voluminous
The Karnataka Text Book Society website has already published PDF copies of the revised textbooks of Social Sciences from Class 6 to 10, and that of Kannada language from Class 1 to 10. However, sources said the move did not amount to much in quelling the controversy since people could not assess the changes as the text uploaded was found to be voluminous.
Therefore, minister Nagesh said, education department officials will upload only the highlighted passages.
Meanwhile, BJP MLC Arun Shahpur said politics has upstaged academics and the best way to arrest this trend is to let the common man - "the real stakeholders" - make an honest comparison of the content on their own and not guided or influenced by vested elements.
While allegations that textbook committee chief Rohith Chakratirtha forwarded a distorted version of the state anthem written by poet laureate Kuvempu angered the Vokkaliga community, alleged misrepresentation of 12th-century reformer Basavanna is said to have miffed the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community. On Sunday, Congress alleged affront to Dr BR Ambedkar as his contribution to the drafting of the Indian Constitution was undermined.
