About 30 academicians and writers met the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru and submitted a memorandum with various demands to reform the education sector, including the controversial revisions in textbooks and ban on hijab in educational institutions.
Amid calls from progressive thinkers and writers to remove the controversial revisions in textbooks made during the previous BJP government in the state, chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress government would take appropriate action so that education of children is not affected.
“There is no question of compromise in the protection of harmony and secular heritage of Karnataka. Politics of hatred will be removed and the climate of fear will be eradicated,” Siddaramaiah said.

“The act of polluting children’s minds through texts and lessons cannot be accepted. As the academic year has started, we will discuss and take action so that the education of the children is not disturbed,” the chief minister said.

In the memorandum submitted to the chief minister under the banner ‘Samaanda Manaskara Okkoota – Karnataka’, the academicians and writers said, “The anti-constitutional, communal textbooks should be amended immediately and the bad effect on the minds of children should be prevented. The textbook should be revised by next year.”
hey also urged the state government to revoke the ban on women wearing hijab in educational institutions, stressing that “thousands of girls are deprived of education due to the hijab controversy.”

Last year, the Textbook Revision Committee, headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha, had drawn flak from writers, academics, religious leaders and opposition parties, who accused the government-appointed panel of attempting to “saffronise” the curriculum by dropping works of social reformers and progressive thinkers.

The revised textbooks triggered opposition from various quarters for distortion of history and pushing a right-wing, pro-Hindutva ideology. Among the objections that were raised include omission of chapters on social reformer Narayana Guru, freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, and works of progressive writers such as Sara Aboobacker and P Lankesh. Meanwhile, chapters on RSS founder KB Hedgewar, works of right-wing ideologues such as Chakravarti Sulibele, Govinda Pai and Bannanje Govindacharya, among others, were included.
hey also urged the state government to revoke the ban on women wearing hijab in educational institutions, stressing that “thousands of girls are deprived of education due to the hijab controversy.”

Besides, objections were also raised over omissions and commissions in chapters relating to religious icons such as 12th century social reformer Basavanna, personalities such as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, among others. Noted writers such as Devanur Mahadev, G Ramakrishna, SG Siddaramaiah among other had withdrawn permission for use of their works in the textbooks in protest.

Renowned writer SG Siddaramaiah, who met Siddaramaiah along with others on Monday, said the chief minister took into account everyone’s opinions, from hijab ban to textbook revision row, and assured them that appropriate action would be taken at the earliest.

“We urged him that the saffronised textbooks should be recalled in 15 days, and pointed out the problematic words and chapters. We suggested that some sentences and words should be blackened as even a word can pollute children’s minds.”“In the name of uniforms and using hijab, they have affected the education of Muslim students. We discussed this we a well. The chief minister spoke in a positive way and said measures will be taken,” Siddaramaiah added.

The other demands in the memorandum include stringent action against those creating an atmosphere of fear by threating many writers and thinkers.

Last year, several writers including Siddaramaiah, K Marulasiddappa, Nagarajaiah, Na D’Souza, BT Lalitha Nayal, Devanooru Mahadeva among others, who opposed the textbook revision, had received death threat letters allegedly by the same person. The letter also named former chief ministers Siddaramaiah, HD Kumaraswamy, Congress leader BK Hariprasad. The letter termed them anti-nationals and threatened to eliminate them.

Further, in the memorandum, the writers also urged the state government to bring in a change in the administrative system of the education department. “Distribution of free sanitary pads to girls in high schools should be continued. Bicycle distribution scheme should be continued,” they said, among other demands.