K'taka Cong leaders allege 'saffronisation of education' after govt curtailed chapters on Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali

Karnataka Congress leaders on Wednesday criticised BJP-led state government for limiting or omitting various topics including chapters on 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali. While talking to ANI, Congress leaders alleged that government is propagating its agenda of "saffronisation of education".

Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar said, "The state government is making a political agenda. We will not allow them to change the Indian history. History can not be changed based on someone's likes. We are going to oppose it and take it to a logical end." Shivakumar alleged that the committee formed by the government can not take such decisions without personal agenda.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Saleem Ahmed called the decision "unfortunate". "It is an unfortunate decision. Instead of taking care of people amid COVID-19 crisis, they are busy in saffronisation of the books. It is unacceptable. We will form a committee to look into this decision of the government. We oppose this decision," he said.

Congress MLA Priyank Kharge said, "When people are suffering due to COVID-19 and looking for the leadership, they choose to do this. They want to push saffronisation agenda, RSS agenda. It is an unfortunate decision by the government." The Karnataka government, in a bid to reduce the syllabus for state board schools by 30 per cent, has limited or omitted various topics including chapters on Mysuru rulers Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan from the class 7 social science textbook.

The reduction in syllabus comes as schools are closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state, and classes have been moved online. The Department of Public Instruction of the Karnataka government also limited or removed various other topics from the syllabus of class 6 to 10 as they were repeated or can be alternatively taught.

Earlier, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had revised the syllabus for the classes IX to XII for the academic session 2020-21 in a "one-time measure" owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)