Bengaluru, May 23: Strongly defending the move to revise school textbooks, Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh on Monday alleged that confusion is unnecessarily being created among the people and students, along with attempts to create communal hatred by spreading falsehood.
Alleging that facts were distorted or hidden from the textbooks, especially from the history books earlier, to suit certain motives, he said when attempts are underway to put out actual facts, the "so-called self-declared intellectuals and education experts" and Congress leaders are unable to digest it, and hence are spreading lies.
"Those unable to digest the smooth functioning education department are spreading lies. It started with rumours that a lesson on Tipu Sultan was being omitted from the textbook, even before the textbook revision committee report came. Then, when the book went for printing, it was alleged that a lesson on Bhagat Singh had been dropped, despite my immediate clarification that no such omission had been made," Nagesh said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said false information was spread subsequently regarding the omission of chapters on Basavanna, Narayana Guru and now allegations of distorting facts on Kuvempu.
"Unnecessarily confusion is being created among the people and students, along with attempts to create communal hatred," he alleged, as he asked as to why no one questioned when certain chapters were omitted by the previous textbook revision committee headed by Prof. Baraguru Ramachandrappa, constituted by the previous Congress regime.
The controversy had erupted recently following objections raised by some organisations against inclusion of a speech by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in the Class 10 Kannada revised textbook, allegedly by omitting a chapter on Bhagat Singh.
Clarifying on the omission of a chapter on Narayana Guru, the minister said there have been complaints from teachers regarding Class 10 history textbooks over burdening the students, since the Congress government's tenure under Siddaramaiah, as the syllabus cannot be completed in a year.
"So, we removed the chapter on Narayana Guru from history textbook and included it in the Kannada book as it is, while the chapter on Narayana Guru has remained as it is in Class 6 textbook," he said, noting that even senior politicians started spreading these lies on social media without even having gone through the textbook or knowing the facts.
Further stating that a chapter on Bhagat Singh has not been removed, Nagesh said information regarding other revolutionary freedom fighters like Chandra Shekhar Azad, Sukhdev, and Rajguru, have been added in the revised textbook.
"We are at least happy the Congress which had called revolutionaries as terrorists has started speaking about them," he said, pointing out that the previous textbook committee had reduced contents regarding chapters on Mysuru Maharajahs, while adding more information on Tipu Sultan.
"Why Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar were silent then?" the minister asked.
Admitting that the present committee has removed certain lines from a chapter on Periyar as it said Rama represents Vedic culture and Ravana represented Dravidian movement, he asked, "Should we teach our students such things?"
The minister said misinformation is being spread that Kuvempu has been disrespected in the textbook, while the fact is nothing in the said chapter was revised from what was earlier.
"We have in fact added a couple of chapters on Kuvempu and his writings like Ramayana Darshanam, while the previous committee had removed some chapters," he said, as he hit out at "so-called self-declared intellectuals and education experts."
At every step, Hindu history or historical figures were "avoided", he said, even in Kannada the word "Indian Ocean" was used instead of "Hindu Maha Sagara", as the ocean is called in the vernacular language, because it has the word Hindu in it.
Nagesh said the previous committee constituted by the Congress regime had removed chapters on B R Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and distorted facts on Swami Vivekananda, while a chapter on Jawaharlal Nehru's letter to his daughter was added by removing lessons on "Sindhu Culture".
He added that even writers and literary figures are seen with a prism of caste or religion by alleging that works of Brahmin literary figures are being included in the revised textbooks.
As much as 78 per cent textbooks had already reached students and the remaining will also reach soon, Nagesh further said, as he defended inclusion of Hedgewar's speech stating that the RSS founder dedicated his entire life for the nation, first beginning as a revolutionary and then with Congress.
Hedgewar came out of Congress as it associated itself with the Khilafat movement, and then founded the RSS to motivate youngsters for the cause of the nation, the minister further said.
Writers and thinkers with RSS background also have equal rights under the Constitution, like the Left and so-called secular intellectuals or thinkers have, he said.
The minister also strongly defended Rohith Chakrathirtha, the head of the current textbook committee, and hit back at his detractors pointing out that he was a professor teaching CET and IIT students.
The committee headed by Chakrathirtha, which was constituted to examine social science and language textbooks, has revised social science textbooks from Classes 6 to 10 and Kannada language textbooks from Classes 1 to 10.
Congress also hits back at Education Minister B C Nagesh on the micro blogging site twitter:
ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಚಿವರೇ, ಪಠ್ಯ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಪೋಕರಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷನನ್ನು ಸಮರ್ಥಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಸಿಇಟಿ ಪ್ರೊಫೆಸರ್ ಆಗಿದ್ದರು ಎಂದಿದ್ದೀರಿ.
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) May 23, 2022
ಸಿಇಟಿ ಯುನಿವರ್ಸಿಟಿ ಇದೆಯೇ? ಎಲ್ಲಿದೆ? ಅಥವಾ ವಾಟ್ಸಾಪ್ ಯೂನಿವರ್ಸಿಟಿಯ ರೀತಿ ಅದೂ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರೊಪೆಗಂಡಾ ಯುನಿವರ್ಸಿಟಿಯೇ?
ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟಪಡಿಸಿ!
ಇಲ್ಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಇಲಾಖೆ ಶತಮೂರ್ಖರ ಕೈಯ್ಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ
ಕುವೆಂಪು ಈ ನಾಡಿಗೆ, ದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ಇಡೀ ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ಸ್ಪೂರ್ತಿಯ ಸೆಲೆಯಾದವರು.
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) May 23, 2022
ಲೇಖಕರ ಪರಿಚಯದಲ್ಲಿ
ಸಂಘ ಸಿದ್ದಾಂತ ಪ್ರತಿಪಾದಕರನ್ನು ವಿಜೃಂಭಿಸಿ, ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಕವಿಯನ್ನು ಕೇವಲವಾಗಿ ಬಿಂಬಿಸಿದ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ತನ್ನ ಆಂತರ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿನ ಕುವೆಂಪು ದ್ವೇಷವನ್ನು ಅನಾವರಣಗೊಳಿಸಿದೆ.
RSSನ ಮುಖವಾಣಿ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳಂತವನ್ನು ಪಠ್ಯಪುಸ್ತಕವೆಂದು ಒಪ್ಪಲಾಗದು. pic.twitter.com/jGBnmzsvtZ
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Jaipur, Mar 28: Young Riyan Parag showed why he is considered a precocious talent as he struck a stunning 84 not out off 45 balls to set up a 12-run win for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in their IPL match here on Thursday.
Sent in to bat, RR were reduced to 36 for 3 in the eighth over but the 22-year-old Parag single-handedly took the home side to 185 for 5 with a magnificent unbeaten knock studded with seven fours and six sixes.
Parag, who was promoted to number 4 by the team management this season and made 43 in the previous match, took 25 runs off veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje with scores of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 in the final over to hit his highest T20 score.
Chasing 186 for a win, DC could only manage 173 for 5 in 20 overs though South African youngster Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 23 balls) kept them in the hunt till the final over from which they needed 17 runs.
Avesh Khan conceded just four runs to help RR win their second consecutive match.
South African pacer Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece to also contribute in the RR win.
"Definitely disappointed. The best thing to do from here is to learn from it. The bowlers did well through the 15-16 overs. But the batters did well at the death, hopefully we do better in the next game," DC skipper Rishabh Pant said.
DC were reduced to 34 for 2 in the fourth over with Burger taking two wickets in three balls in a fine display of fast bowling.
Burger, who was brought in as Impact Sub for Shimron Hetmyer, dismissed opener Mitchell Marsh (23 off 12 balls) and Ricky Bhui (0) in the fourth over.
DC captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat at the fall of Bhui's wicket and along with senior batter David Warner built the innings without taking too much risk. Delhi were 89 for 2 at the halfway stage.
Warner was the more aggressive one as he got the boundaries to keep DC in the hunt. The senior Australian batter fell one run short of his fifty courtesy a brilliant diving catch by Sandeep Sharma off the bowling of Avesh in the 12th over.
Warner and Pant were involved in a crucial 67-run partnership for the third wicket.
Playing in his 100th IPL match and 14 months after a horrible car crash, Pant tried to build the innings with occasional boundaries. But he got out for a 26-ball 28 as Chahal induced a faint lower edge for Sanju Samson to do the rest behind the stumps in the 14th over.
The asking rate shot up to more than 13 runs an over and DC needed 66 from the last five overs.
Stubbs kept DC in the game with two consecutive sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in the 17th over, but in the end the Delhi side were short by 12 runs.
They needed 34 runs from the final two overs which they could not get. It was DC's second consecutive loss.
Earlier, Parag shared 54 and 52 runs respectively with Ravichandran Ashwin (29) and Dhruv Jurel (20) after RR made a shaky start.
Royals captain Samson struck three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over bowled by pacer Mukesh Kumar before nicking a Khaleel Ahmed delivery two overs later to Pant to get out for 15.
RR were 30 for 2 by then as Mukesh had given DC their first breakthrough with the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal (5).
The Royals were in more trouble after wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav literally forced his captain Pant to take a review, which later proved to be successful, to dismiss Englishman Jos Buttler for an LBW decision.
Ashwin came out to bat at number five and he lofted a Kuldeep delivery for a six to help RR reach 58 for 3 at halfway stage. He gave Nortje even a harsher treatment with two sixes in the next over that yielded 15 runs.
Ashwin, however, holed out to Tristan Stubbs near the boundary ropes for a 19-ball 29.
Parag then made his presence felt, striking two boundaries and a six off Ahmed to take RR past 100 in the 15th over.