The All India Students’ Association (AISA) has now spoken up about the textbook revision issue brewing in Karnataka. The students' organisation has lashed out against the statement made by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's office announcing the dissolution of the Textbook Review Committee.
In a statement, AISA said that no proper explanations had been given by the CM's office on the decisions it had taken. A state-wise signature campaign was launched by the organisation on an open letter to the Prime Minister on the issue, reported TNIE.
“It must be noted that the “clarification” merely seems to have been issued to placate and mislead the people who had raised serious concerns over saffronisation of education, given that the textbooks with the lies and false claims to peddle the communal agenda have already been printed and distributed to students, which is meant to poison young minds,” a statement made by AISA read.
AISA also pointed out that though changes for the textbooks had been announced in the chief minister’s statement, there has been no communication on who has reviewed these changes and when they will come into effect. “There has been no clarification issued by the government in regard to the allegations made against Rohith Chakrathirtha and the basis for his appointment as the head of the textbook review panel. There has been no clarification provided in the statement as to why the texts of P Lankesh, G Ramakrishna, Sara Abubakar, AN Murthy Rao and others were dropped. Most importantly, the government has not clarified as to why RSS Ideologue KB Hedgewar’s speech has been introduced in a language textbook,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, organisations like the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) and the All India Save Education Committee (AISEC) allege that the textbook revisions were done undemocratically and distorted historic facts and, hence, must be taken back.
Earlier in the day, Education Minister BC Nagesh had said that the government was awaiting word from 'Swamijis' on whether to retain certain controversial revisions or not. He had also said that the opposition was trying to play up the matter due to the Assembly Elections coming up next year.
