Committee Formed for Review of Textbooks Dissolved: Karnataka CM Bommai

The Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced that there will be no new formation of committee for textbook review. The move comes amid a controversy over textbook revisions, reported news agency ANI. CM Bommai on Friday has said that the committee has been dissolved as the work it was designated with is over.

The minister however said that the government is open to further revision of the textbooks in case of any objectionable content. “There is no question of a new committee formation for textbook review. We’ll discuss with seers who have written letters to me about Basavanna and phrases related to Basavanna, I have already said that ours is a Basava Patha (path) government,” CM Bommai told the news agency.

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Earlier, several people including some prominent personalities had objected to a move by the state government to revise a chapter on the 12th-century reformist Basavanna in class 10 Kannada and social science text books.

According to a section of seers, they had alleged that social reformer Basavanna’s teachings have been distorted in the revised Kannada and social science textbooks of class 10 students. They also accused the review committee of insulting the state anthem written by poet Kuvempu.

The Karnataka government later issued a clarification that the distorted state anthem was not part of any textbook of the Karnataka board. It further ordered the cyber crime department to look into the allegations and take necessary actions in this regard.

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CM Bommai has also announced that a chapter on Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru has been newly added to the textbook.

Last month, a controversy had surfaced that alleged several errors in the  revision in the textbooks in the state board curriculum. There were also demands for the sacking of review committee chief Rohith Chakratirtha. The committee headed by Chakrathirtha was set up to examine and revise the school textbooks. It has now been dissolved.

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