Panel recommends retaining chapters on Tipu Sultan in Karnataka textbooks
Bengaluru, Dec 12: An expert panel set up by the BJP government in Karnataka to look into the issue of removing chapters on Tipu Sultan from textbooks has submitted its recommendation, saying the 18th century Mysuru ruler cannot be ignored from the school syllabus.
The Committee, comprising historians and academicians, submitted its report on December 9 to the then Karnataka Textbook Society chairman H N Gopalakrishna.
"We have recommended that Tipu Sultan cannot be ignored from Karnataka's history because it will lead to a missing link," a member of the committee told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Two reports were submitted by the committee one for textbooks of primary classes (classes 6 and 7) and another one for high school (Tenth) a KTBS official said.
In both the reports, the committee maintained that there could have been negative shades in historical characters, which could be found in all the rulers.
"If we highlight only Tipu Sultan then we will have to portray other rulers too in a similar manner," the committee member pointed out.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had in October indicated his government's plans to remove lessons on Tipu Sultan from middle school history textbooks, saying he did not believe the controversial ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom was a freedom fighter.
"Tipu - we are going to drop everything and even in text book also (lesson regarding him) ...we are thinking to cancel," he said, days after BJP MLA Appachu Rajan demanded removal of the lessons saying it carried "wrong information".
Ranjan alleged that Tipu had carried out large-scale genocide and conversion in Kodagu.
He even submitted a memorandum with "documentary evidence" to prove his point, following which the expert committee was constituted.
The expert panel took note of Ranjan's allegations and examined them. However, it did not find evidence sufficient to agree with the MLA's claims, the member said.
"Leaders and people of Kodagu district have been talking about the genocide but when we look at the demographic divide now, things have changed a lot.
I won't call it genocide," another historian, who was part of the committee, said.
Soon after the BJP government came to power in Karnataka in July, it abolished the birth anniversary celebrations of Tipu Sultan, an annual government event the party had been opposing since November, 2015 when it was launched during the Congress rule, led by Siddaramaiah.
The BJP and right wing organisations have been strongly opposing Tipu, calling the erstwhile Mysore king a "religious bigot."
The saffron party has also alleged that the Congress party was celebrating the birthday of a religious bigot as part of its minority appeasement politics.
The Karnataka Textbook Society will submit the report to the State government which will take a call on it, according to a panel member.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Death toll rises to nine; search ops continue at Bargi Dam
Jabalpur (PTI): The death toll in the Bargi Dam tragedy rose to nine on Friday, as rescuers recovered the bodies of five more persons who were on the cruise boat that overturned in the reservoir in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur.
Talking to PTI Videos, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Minister Dharmendra Bhav Singh Lodhi said, "Four bodies were recovered on Thursday, while five were found in the early hours during the rescue operation, taking the toll to nine."
As many as 22 people have been rescued so far, he said.
The minister said that a thorough probe will be conducted, and the issue of life jackets, raised by one of the survivors, will also be investigated.
The rescue operation is underway in full swing to trace the missing persons, Lodhi said.
A cruise boat with 29 passengers and two crew members onboard overturned in the Bargi Dam after encountering a sudden storm on Thursday evening, officials said.
The Bargi Dam is constructed on the Narmada River in Jabalpur district.
A search and rescue operation for the missing passengers continued overnight with teams from the Army, NDRF and SDRF joining in, State PWD Minister Rakesh Singh said.
Hydraulic cranes are being used to pull out the cruise boat from the water body, he said.
According to eyewitnesses, strong winds made the water choppy, prompting many on board to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the boat back to the banks.
However, the crew was unable to hear these shouts, and the boat drifted and then overturned, they said, adding that some locals rescued a few passengers wearing life jackets with the help of a rope.
