There is no question of compromising on the issue of protecting the harmony and secular heritage of Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday, May 29, asserting that hate politics will not be tolerated and the environment of fear will be eradicated. He gave these assurances in a meeting held with more than 40 writers and heads of various organisations at his home office 'Krishna'.
Siddaramaiah congratulated the writers for taking a firm stand against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which, he alleged, was putting the country at risk and destroying its pluralism, and volunteering to warn the people in this regard during the recent Assembly elections. He assured that the act of polluting children's minds through texts and lessons cannot be condoned. "As the academic year has started, we will discuss and take action so that the education of the children is not disturbed," he said.
In 2022, the Basavaraj Bommai government-appointed Karnataka Textbooks Revision Committee headed by controversial right-wing orator Rohith Chakrathirtha had made several changes that had been strongly opposed by educationalists, social activists and writers. While the government was accused of saffronising textbooks by adding lessons on RSS ideologues Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and KB Hedgewar, significant lessons on Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru were also removed. Writings of around 27 Dalit writers in total were dropped, and these replaced with lessons written by writers, 95% of whom were from the Brahmin community.
After wide-spread opposition, the government had passed an order making eight changes to the revised school textbooks.
After the meeting with writers, CM Siddaramaiah said that false cases filed by the previous against Kannada activists, farmers-labour-Dalit activists, and writers will be withdrawn. The education sector will not be allowed to be adulterated in the name of New Education Policy (NEP). A separate meeting will be convened in this regard once again to discuss it comprehensively and take strict and definite decisions, Siddaramaiah stated.
"I have already issued stern instructions to the state Director General of Police to take strict action against moral policing, slanderous trolls and those who threaten writers," he said. Siddaramaiah said that he will consider the facts in the letter given by the writers seriously. "Our government will take action as per requirement," he said.
"Those who take the law into their hands and carry out communal riots will be punished according to law. Moral policing which weakens the moral strength of the police is not allowed. This cannot be tolerated for any reason," Siddaramaiah asserted.