The BJP government in the state, which banned Tipu Jayanti celebrations a couple of months ago, could be wading into another controversy with its Madikeri legislator petitioning the government to scrap Tipu-related content from school and college textbooks.
The letter, written by BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan to the education department, has triggered intense debate in both political and academic circles of the state.
Acknowledging that he has petitioned the state government to remove content on Tipu Sultan from school and college textbooks, Ranjan told DH that all his claims in the letter are validated by a detailed set of documents.
“What I have submitted is not merely a letter requesting the dropping of content on Tipu, but a complete dossier with valid documents that justify removal of content related to Tipu Sultan from textbooks,” Ranjan said.
The legislator added, “Let the government form a committee comprising experts from history, culture and other fields and seek a report before taking any decision. We are ready to provide any document supporting our claim to the committee.”
Supporting his claim, Ranjan even recalled the agitation launched by people of Kodagu to press the state government to drop official celebrations of Tipu Jayanti.
“If the minister concerned ignores our demand, we will be forced to meet the CM and seek his intervention. We are firm that starting from the forthcoming academic year, the government must drop anything related to Tipu Sultan from school and college textbooks,” Ranjan cautioned.
Suresh Kumar, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, said that he has not received any such letter till date.
“I have not received any letter and there is no proposal before us to remove any content related to Tipu Sultan from textbooks. I can only react after going through the letter,” Suresh Kumar clarified.