Teach truth in textbooks, not ideologies, says Bhyrappa

Amidst the ongoing controversies over the revision of textbooks and the revision committee headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha, writer S L Bhyrappa said on Thursday that children should be taught the truth and not someone’s ideologies.

Bhyrappa told a press conference that truth must be found out and it should be incorporated into the curriculum.

“A few persons are creating issues over the revision of textbooks and thus pressure is mounted on the government,” he said.

The writer compared the ongoing protest to the agitation by writers against Narendra Modi when he became prime minister.

They returned awards as a mark of protest against Modi. But everyone knows what happened to the protest after a few days, he pointed out.

“A few people launched an agitation when Modi came to power. I recommended taking back the money given with the award. The agitation by resigning from posts against the textbooks review committee is another such protest,” he said.

Bhyrappa said a few people targeted Education Minister B C Nagesh and made a futile attempt to torch his house. However, the police prevented it.

He suspected ‘powerful hands’ behind the incident and said, unless there is strong support, such incidents will not occur. “If we do not have unity, how can we protect our freedom,” he asked.

Bhyrappa said he will not give any suggestion in connection with the inclusion or dropping of topics in textbooks.

“When I was with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the then prime minister Indira Gandhi mooted revising textbooks to bring unity in the nation. A committee headed by Parthasarathi, who was close to the Nehru-Gandhi family, was formed. I was part of the five-member committee,” the writer said.

Parthasarathi claimed that the textbooks were contaminated as they had mentioned the demolition of temples and construction of mosques at Kashi by Aurangzeb, he recalled.

“I claimed that it was a fact. Thus, I was dropped from the committee within a few days. Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as prime minister, made an attempt to revise the textbooks,” he said.

Bhyrappa slammed the supporters of Tipu Sultan and asked them to read ‘Real Tipu,’ to know his real face.

Rangayana Mysuru director Addanda C Cariappa, who is from Kodagu, is well aware of Tipu and his atrocities in Kodagu.

A few persons targeted him and staged protests against him, Bhyrappa said.