The Hindu : Karnataka News : ‘Bid to saffronise’ school education condemned

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Friday, Jun 27, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

‘Bid to saffronise’ school education condemned

Staff Correspondent

Congress leader says the BJP will glorify people
such as Godse
“Attempt to distort history to suit
BJP agenda”

MYSORE: Senior Congress leader H. Vishwanath has cried foul over the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s reported “bid to saffronise” education by revising the history syllabus for primary and secondary schools in Karnataka.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Vishwanath referred to Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri’s statement that a blueprint was ready for revision of the history syllabus and claimed that the government was planning to “distort” history to suit its “communal agenda.”+

“The BJP government will erase the contribution of freedom fighters and glorify people such as Godse and Golwalkar,” he feared.

‘Why history?’

If the government wishes to revise the syllabus for the modern era, subjects such as science and mathematics should be taken up for the exercise. “Why should they change the history syllabus?” the former Minister asked.

He also criticised the government for its efforts to hand over primary schools to religious institutions.

“The blueprint also proposes to hand over primary schools to maths,” Mr. Vishwanath said.

With maths imparting religious education to students, the secular character of primary schools would be lost, he said. “It will lead to sowing the seeds of communalism in young minds,” cautioned Mr. Vishwanath, who held the Primary and Secondary Education portfolio in the S.M. Krishna government.

Claiming that the BJP government, which does not even have a majority, was out to implement its “hidden agenda,” Mr. Vishwanath threatened to launch an agitation if the government did not retrace its steps.

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