From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jun 27: Finally, the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP Government has buckled under the sustained pressure from Kannada litterateurs, prominent writers, activists, political parties and religious leaders over the blunders that were made in the revised textbooks published based on the recommendation of a committee headed by Kannada Development Authority member Rohit Chakrathirtha and has issued official government orders to incorporate several changes and correct the lapses.

Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda had written a detailed letter to the Chief Minister demanding immediate corrections and revisions in the textbooks while KPCC Chief DK Shivakumar and former Congress Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, JD(S) legislature party leader HD Kumaraswamy and several other political leaders and pontiffs of almost all the religious Mutts had criticized the revisions carried out in the textbooks.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh

As per the Government Order issued by the State Education Department and circulated to the media by Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh, the architect of Indian Constitution Dr Babasaheb B R Ambedkar will continue to remain as the architect of the Constitution and Kannada poet laureate KV Puttappa, popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, gets his pride of place and the reference to his emergence as a famous poet due the encouragement from others has been dropped.

More importantly, the pictures of poet laureate Kuvempu and Huyilagol Narayanrao, which had been dropped in the revised textbooks, will be reinstated.

The contributions of the prominent Lingayat or Veerashaiva mutt Sri Kshethra Siddaganga and the Vokkaliga communities Sri Adichunchagiri Mutt, which had been dropped in the revised textbooks, will also be reinstated. Leading philosopher-sages Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa will continue to be featured in the textbooks.

The wrong attribution of the author of the poem, ‘Gombe Kalisuva Neeti’, to Dr RN Jayagopal as against the original composer Chi Udayashankar will also be corrected. The contribution of Surapura Nayaks, who led the rebellion against the Mogul rulers, will continue to be included in the textbooks.

As many as 68 textbooks from Classes 6 to 8 in the Social Studies and another 15 textbooks in Kannada from Standards 1 to 10, totally 83 textbooks, will be subjected to the changes.